Penn State Sports Magazine
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5 0 A P R I L 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Arsenii Sergeev to put the Buckeyes in the championship game. But the NCAA Tournament gives Penn State another chance to reset. Super senior defense- man Jimmy Dowd Jr. told GoPSUSports prior to the start of the postseason that the Nittany Lions are determined to keep playing as long as possible. "Playoff hockey is the best time of year, and I'm grateful I get one last chance to experience it," Dowd said. "We know what it takes to win in these en- vironments. We've shown we can do it, and we're going into it ready to empty the tanks." ■ WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions fell to No. 8 St. Lawrence, 4-1, in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament on March 13 at Columbus, Ohio. The Saints took a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. Junior defender Kendall Butze scored Penn State's only goal of the game in the third period. Prior to the NCAA tourney, Penn State won the Atlantic Hockey America Tournament, sweeping the Rochester Institute of Technology in a best- of-three semifinal series, then defeating Mercy- hurst, 4-1, in the championship game March 8 at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions finished their season at 31- 6-1 and 19-1-0 in AHA competition. It was the winningest season in program history, surpassing the 26 victories Penn State amassed in 2022-23. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The Lady Lions ended their season with a 75-70 loss at Rutgers on March 2, the team's 10th defeat in a row. Red- shirt junior forward Grace Hall scored 16 points and graduate guard Gabby Elliott added 15, but the host Scarlet Knights came out on top in a back-and-forth game with 12 lead changes and five ties. Penn State finished 10-19 overall and 1-17 in Big Ten play and failed to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. After the season, three players announced their intention to enter the trans- fer portal: Hall, redshirt sophomore center Gracie Merkle and graduate guard Alli Campbell. Merkle was Penn State's top scorer (15.5 points per game) and rebounder (8.6 per game) this past season and was an honorable mention All- Big Ten choice. BASEBALL: Penn State dropped two of three games to visiting Michigan State March 21-23. The Nittany Lions battled back from an early 5-1 deficit in the second game of the series, scoring 4 runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings en route to an 11-5 win. Junior left fielder Jesse Jaconski hit 2 home runs, including a grand slam, and totaled 6 RBI. Junior outfielder Paxton Kling has led PSU at the plate this season. Through 23 games, the LSU transfer was tied for the team lead with a .351 batting aver- age, stood third with 29 RBI and had a team-leading 9 home runs. Penn State was 16-7 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten play through March 24. SOFTBALL: The Nittany Lions began their March 21-22 road trip to Indiana with a 14-13 win over the Hoosiers but lost both ends of a doubleheader the next day. Senior infielder Maddie Gordon had 3 of Penn State's 18 hits in the series opener, including a pair of home runs. Through 30 games, Gordon was leading the Lions with 10 home runs and 30 runs batted in. Sophomore Brooke Klosowicz was batting .500 with 8 homers and 29 RBI. The Nittany Lions were 14-16 overall and 2-5 in Big Ten play following the Indiana series. MEN'S LACROSSE: Fourth-ranked Penn State fell to No. 9 Ohio State, 13-9, in the teams' Big Ten opener March 23 at Panzer Stadium. Sophomore attackman Liam Matthews and senior midfielders Luke Walstrum and Ethan Long had 2 goals apiece, and PSU outshot the Buckeyes 40-29, but Ohio State goalkeeper Caleb Fyock made 17 saves for the visitors. The loss dropped Penn State to 6-2 overall heading into the remaining four regular-season games in its Big Ten schedule. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: Penn State earned an em- phatic road win at Oregon on March 23, defeating the Ducks, 19-10, to end a six-match losing streak. Senior attacker Brooke Hoss had 5 goals for Penn State, while sophomore attacker Kelly MacKinney had a goal and 4 assists, helping the visitors rally after spotting Oregon an early 3-0 lead. Penn State improved to 3-7 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play heading into the heart of its conference schedule. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Penn State's early-season strug- gles continued at the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational in Honolulu March 13-15. The Nittany Lions were swept by No. 5 USC and No. 3 Hawaii before ending the trip with a 3-2 loss to No. 12 Ball State. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Matthew Luoma totaled a career-high 19 kills, but it wasn't enough to lift PSU over the Cardinals. Penn State was 5-13 overall and 2-2 in EIVA play heading into the resumption of its conference season. Ten of its losses were to nationally ranked opponents. MEN'S GYMASTICS: The fifth-ranked Nittany Lions defeated No. 4 Nebraska, 329.050-328.850, on March 16 at Rec Hall to capture the Big Ten regular-season championship. Senior Josh Karnes finished first in the parallel bars (14.600) and high bar (14.000), while junior Matt Underhill won the rings (14.100), helping PSU improve to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten competition. The Big Ten title was the first for PSU since the conference began recognizing regular-season champions in 2019. The Lions will be back in action April 4-5 at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS: Freshman Elizabeth Leary placed 11th in the all- around at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., March 21-22. Leary posted a cumulative score of 39.225, and Penn State finished with 196.050 points to place 11th out of 12 teams at the conference meet. TRACK AND FIELD: Penn State opened the 2025 outdoor season by claiming eight first-place finishes March 22 at the Penn Challenge in Philadelphia. Senior Collin Burkhart and graduate Nathan Williams highlighted the men's after- noon, finishing first and second, respectively, in the hammer throw. Burkhart's 65.42-meter toss was the longest of the day, followed by Williams' 64.05. PSU throwers also finished 1-2 in the women's hammer, with sophomore Gabi Deglau (56.13) placing first, followed by junior Alex Pancoast (51.81). — Matt Herb W I N T E R / S P R I N G S P O R T S N O T E B O O K Junior Jesse Jaconski hit 2 home runs including a grand slam in Penn State's 11-5 win over Michigan State on March 22. PHOTO BY JARED FREED/PENN STATE ATHLETICS