Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
M A Y 2 0 2 6 47 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M OLYMPIC SPORTS MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State's hopes of returning to the Frozen Four ended with a 3-1 loss to Minnesota-Duluth in the semifinals of the Albany (N.Y.) Regional on March 27. Freshman forward Shea Van Olm opened the scoring with a first-period goal off an assist from junior defenseman Casey Aman, but the sixth-ranked Bulldogs responded with 3 unanswered goals to end No. 10 Penn State's season. The Nittany Lions finished 21-14-2 and 12-10-2 in Big Ten play. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Tanisha Wright landed her first recruit as Penn State's head coach when she signed four-star guard Kamrah Banks of Crispus Attucks High in Indianapolis. The 5-foot-9 Banks averaged 20.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a senior. She was previously committed to the University of Central Florida but told Rivals she "wanted to be the start of something" at Penn State. BASEBALL: Nineteenth-ranked Oregon swept visiting Penn State April 24-26, drop- ping the Nittany Lions to 12-29 overall and 5-16 in Big Ten play. The closest of the three games in Eugene was the second. PSU led 4-0 after the first inning, but the Ducks tied it in the seventh and won on a walk-off home run in the 10th. Through Penn State's first 41 games, se- nior infielder Michael Anderson was lead- ing the Big Ten with 18 home runs and was tied for sixth with 47 RBI while batting .364. SOFTBALL: Penn State swept host Illinois April 24-26, winning by scores of 6-1, 10-0 and 10-3. Freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik went 7 for 12 with 7 RBI and 3 home runs in the three victories. The Nittany Lions were 32-17 overall and 11-10 in the Big Ten heading into a series against Nebraska May 1-3. In the process, they've broken several single-season school records. Through 49 games, Penn State had scored 355 runs, surpassing the record of 341 set last year, and it had hit 75 home runs, topping last year's total of 74. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: The Nittany Lions won the EIVA Tournament with a 25-23, 25- 20, 25-18 sweep of Princeton in the cham- pionship match April 25 at Rec Hall, claim- ing their fourth consecutive league tourney title and 38th all-time. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Sean Harvey was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after hitting .308 with 12 kills, 6 digs, 5 blocks and an ace against the Tigers. His performance helped Penn State claim the EIVA's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Nittany Lions (22-7, 12-0 EIVA) were set to open the tourney May 1 against UC Irvine at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. MEN'S LACROSSE: The 16th-ranked Nit- tany Lions closed their regular season with a 16-8 win at Rutgers on April 18. Sophomore attackman Hunter Aquino had 4 goals and an assist for Penn State, which improved to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play and earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Lions were set to face Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals April 30 in Piscataway, N.J. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: No. 18 Penn State fell to No. 8 Michigan, 13-12, in the quar- terfinals of the Big Ten Tournament April 22 in Ann Arbor. Freshman attacker Rocquette Allen had 4 goals for the visitors, including an unassisted tally that sparked a late come- back bid, but Penn State wasn't able to fin- ish off its rally from a 4-goal fourth-quarter deficit. The Nittany Lions were 12-6 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play and were hoping to earn an at-large bid to the 29-team NCAA Tourna- ment when the field was announced May 3. MEN'S GYMNASTICS: Junior Landon Simp- son and graduate Kellen Ryan earned All- America status in the all-around at the NCAA Championships April 17-18 in Champaign, Ill. Simpson was fourth overall with a score of 77.298, while Ryan placed seventh with a 76.098. MEN'S TENNIS: Penn State closed its regu- lar season with road losses to Nebraska (4-2, April 17) and Wisconsin (4-0, April 19). The Lions finished 16-13 overall and 3-10 in Big Ten play. WOMEN'S TENNIS: PSU fell to No. 23 Washington, 4-1, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament April 23 at Columbus, Ohio. The Lions finished their season at 14-11 over- all and 5-8 in Big Ten play. MEN'S GOLF: The Lions carded a 9-under 843 to take first place out of 13 teams at the Rutherford Intercollegiate April 18-19 at the Penn State Blue Course. Senior Andrew Bar- raza finished with a 5-under 208 to claim the individual title. WOMEN'S GOLF: The Nittany Lions placed seventh at the Big Ten Championships April 24-26 at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, Calif., posting their best finish in the team standings since they were sixth in 2021. Fresh- man Audrey Lam finished with a 4-over 217 to tie for ninth place in the 90-player field. TRACK AND FIELD: Penn State broke two program records in the 4x800-meter relay at the Penn Relays April 25 in Philadelphia. On the women's side, graduate Allison Johnson, sophomore Tayissa Buchanan, freshman Boh Ritchie and senior Hayley Kitching finished in 8:18.43, capturing the meet title and breaking a three-year-old school record by more than five seconds. On the men's side, graduate Yukichi Ishii, junior Andrew Regnier, senior Niko Schultz and graduate Allon Clay finished in 7:10.00, placing second behind Michigan while smashing the previous Penn State record of 7:11.17 that had stood since 1985. ■ WINTER/SPRING ROUNDUP M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Sean Harvey was named the Most Outstanding Player of the EIVA Tournament after totaling 12 kills on .308 hitting against Princeton in the title game. PHOTO BY BRYCE MOSMEN/PENN STATE ATHLETICS