Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545007
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 6 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M BASEBALL: Penn State lost two of three to Maryland in its final regular- season series, dropping its record to 16-35 overall and 9-21 in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions did not qualify for the 12-team Big Ten Tournament. Penn State rolled to a 13-3 run-rule victory over the host Terrapins in the series opener May 14. A trio of seniors — designated hitter Michael Anderson, right fielder Jesse Jaconski and center fielder Mad- dox McDonald — all homered in the win. Anderson's 407-foot blast to left-center field in the fourth inning was his 20th home run of the year, giving him the program's single-sea- son record. He had gone into the game tied with Ben Heath, who hit 19 homers in 2010. The Nittany Lions went on to drop the next two games in the series by scores of 12-2 and 6-4. SOFTBALL: Four players homered for Penn State in an 11-5 upset of sixth-seeded North- western in the first round of the Big Ten Tour- nament on May 6 at College Park, Md. Freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik, senior center fielder Natalie Lieto, freshman first baseman Gabby Gradishar and senior catcher Madison Seidel all homered in the win, Penn State's first over Northwestern since 2011. The 11th-seeded Nittany Lions rallied after surrendering 4 runs in the first two innings. Hanik's 2-run homer to left field in the top of the third got Penn State on the scoreboard, and a 5-run sixth inning clinched the victory at Maryland Softball Stadium. In the quarterfinal round the following day, Penn State fell to third-seeded, sixth-ranked UCLA, 6-1. The Bruins plated all their runs in the first three innings, while PSU got its lone run when junior second baseman Michela Barbanente scored on a throwing error in the top of the sixth. Penn State finished its season at 33-21 and 11-13 in Big Ten play. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: The 15th-ranked Nittany Lions dropped a five-set thriller to No. 6 UC Irvine on May 1 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Sean Harvey finished with 18 kills, including 12 in the second and third sets, which PSU won, 29-27 and 25-17. But the Anteaters rallied for a 25-17 vic- tory in the fourth set and overcame an early 6-3 deficit in the fifth, winning 15-13 to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. The match marked the end of Mark Pavlik's tenure as head coach. Pavlik had announced in December that he would be stepping down at the con- clusion of his 32nd campaign. He finished as the third-winningest coach in collegiate men's vol- leyball history, going 716-249. This year's NCAA Tournament appearance was the 26th by Penn State under Pavlik's leadership. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: Senior attacker Emma Kelly scored 2 goals, and junior goalkeeper Sydney Manning saved 12 of 19 shots, but 19th-ranked Penn State wasn't able to pull off an upset of No. 6 Stanford, falling to the Cardinal, 7-5, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on May 8 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Nittany Lions led 5-4 at halftime, pulling ahead on an unassisted goal by Kelly with 1:46 remaining in the second quarter. But they were shut out in the game's final 30 minutes and saw their season end at UM Lacrosse Stadium. Penn State finished its first campaign under coach Kayla Treanor with a 12-7 record and 4-4 mark in Big Ten play. MEN'S GOLF: Penn State tied for sixth place at the Big Ten Championships May 1-3 at the Pump- kin Ridge Golf Course in North Plains, Ore. Junior Alex Creamean was the Lions' top finisher, tying for 23rd with a 4-over 214. Creamean climbed 36 spots up the leaderboard on the tournament's final day when he shot a 3-under 67. The Lions' spot in the team standings was their best since placing fourth in 2018. TRACK AND FIELD: Penn State claimed Big Ten titles in both the men's and women's 800-meter races on May 17, the final day of competition at the league's outdoor championships in Lincoln, Neb. Graduate Allon Clay won the men's 800 with a time of 1:46.58, while senior Hayley Kitching was first on the women's side, finishing in 2:01.77. Kitching become a two-time Big Ten 800-meter champ, having captured the indoor title in February. In the team standings, the PSU men placed eighth with 46.5 points, while the women were 11th with 25. — Matt Herb The victory over Johns Hopkins earned the Lions an automatic NCAA Tournament bid, and they used it to beat Army, 10-6, on May 9 in the open- ing round at Panzer Stadium. Once again, Aquino shined for PSU, posting his sixth hat trick of the year while add- ing an assist. That performance set up a rematch with Princeton. The Tigers had risen to No. 1 after falling to Penn State, 13-7, in their season opener on Feb. 14 and were looking to deny the Lions their fourth Final Four berth in eight years. They succeeded. Penn State led 10-9 early in the fourth quarter on a go- ahead goal by sophomore midfielder Chase Robertson, but Princeton seized control later in the period, scoring the last 5 goals of the game, including an empty-netter in the final minute to finish off a 14-10 victory on May 17 in Newark, Del. Penn State was not at full strength versus the Tigers. Aquino was bothered by a leg injury that had kept him out of practice. Although he started for PSU, he left the game late in the first quar- ter to receive medical treatment and didn't return until midway through the second half. He finished without a goal or even a shot, prompting Princeton coach Matt Madalon to note, "It was very fortunate for the Tigers he wasn't in for the full 60 minutes." It was a disappointing finish for a Penn State team that had begun to harbor national championship aspi- rations after hitting its stride in the postseason. But Aquino will be back in 2027, along with this season's Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jack Iannantuono and other key playmakers, giving the Nittany Lions plenty of reason for op- timism going forward. ■ Senior Michael Anderson set a Penn State single-season record with 20 home runs this year. PHOTO BY CHRIS EUTSLER/PENN STATE ATHLETICS S P R I N G S P O R T S R O U N D U P