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MEN'S LACROSSE Lions top Ohio State, claim Creator's Trophy Penn State used a six-goal run span- ning two quarters to capture its second Creator's Trophy, defeating 19th-ranked Ohio State, 11-8, on March 1 at Ohio Stadium. It was the 14th consecutive road victory for the Nit- tany Lions, who improved to 3-1. "Our seniors made sev- eral plays down the stretch today against a very good Ohio State team," head coach Jeff Tambroni said. "We feel fortunate to have come away with a road win and we are very proud to have the Creator's Trophy back in Happy Valley." The Nittany Lions, who went into the game ranked ninth and later moved up to seventh, the highest ranking in the pro- gram's history, got four goals and an as- sist from Shane Sturgis, the leading scorer in NCAA Division I, along with a five-point outing from Kyle VanThof. Sturgis, who came into the game aver- aging 6.0 points and 4.67 goals, contin- ued his torrid pace with his fourth game of five or more points. He was 4 for 6 shooting and picked up a ground ball for good measure. Heading into a road trip to sixth-ranked Denver on March 10, Sturgis had 18 goals and 23 points with a shooting percentage of .643. Penn State went on a 6-0 run during a span of 10 minutes, 13 seconds bridging the second and third quarters. The Nit- tany Lions' scoring binge turned a 2-1 deficit into a 7-2 advantage. The Lions' stifling attack held Ohio State (1-3) to only 28 shots on the after- noon and didn't allow the Buckeyes to score for more than 19 minutes. Austin Kaut made nine saves, including six second-half stops. Kaut also picked up seven ground balls in the winning ef- fort. The Nittany Lions improved to 13-5 all-time against the Buckeyes and have now won two of the past three contests. Those two most recent victories coin- cide with the launch of the Creator's Trophy. The trophy is awarded as part of an annual competition between Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan, the three current Big Ten schools that play men's lacrosse. Next season, Big Ten lacrosse action begins when Maryland, Rutgers and Johns Hopkins join the fold for the inaugural campaign. WOMEN'S LACROSSE Cyr's 6-point effort fuels win over Loyola Paced by sophomore midfielder Madi- son Cyr's career-high six points (four goals, two assists), ninth-ranked Penn State rolled past No. 12 Loyola, 18-11, at the Penn State Lacrosse Field on March 8. The Nittany Lions, who evened their all-time series with the Greyhounds at 14 wins apiece, improved to 3-3 overall with their first victory against Loyola (2- 4) since 2010. Cyr matched her career high in assists and also caused a pair of turnovers and a ground ball. She dominated the Grey- hounds all over the field as she set per- sonal bests in goals, points and draw controls (five). Midfielders Kelly Lechn- er and Jenna Mosketti netted four-goal games, while freshman Abby Smucker notched her first three-goal perform- ance. ■ more than happy to share the credit with longtime coach Glenn Thiel, who retired in 2010. "The leadership of this senior class has made the biggest di9erence, top to bottom," Tambroni said. "They com- mitted to one coaching sta9, and then a month later, they're coming in and playing for another sta9. I think the most impressive thing is, these guys have stuck together. A lot of them started for us as freshmen, and they've all made signi8cant contributions somewhere along the line." The stars of that senior class include Shane Sturgis – who tallied 18 goals in the Lions' first four games – All- America goalie Austin Kaut, and All- CAA defenseman Tyler Travis. Look- ing back on Tambroni's hiring shortly before he and his classmates stepped on campus, Sturgis said they had little trouble accepting the new guy. "I was actually really happy, because of his history," Sturgis said. "We thought he was the right guy, and each year since he's been here, we've gotten better." Continued improvement this season would mean a regular-season CAA title (the conference coaches, in a bitter farewell to the program leaving for brighter pastures, voted to ban the Lions from the postseason tourna- ment) and winning at least once in NCAA play. It can't happen fast enough for Tambroni, who simulta- neously insists his team is "just start- ing to scratch the surface" while ac- knowledging that, right now, his play- ers believe "they can play with any- body in the country." He says his play- ers have bought into his vision, that they understand the level of selfless- ness and commitment it takes to win trophies. He thinks they're close. But in early March, with just four games on their resume, he wasn't about to say just how close. For a short-term update, you'll have to wait until the NCAA tournament rolls around in May. Long term? Mark your calendars – for next May, and beyond. ■ STURGIS It all came down to the final race, and Penn State's 4x400-meter relay team delivered on the final day of the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio. The Nittany Lion women led Michigan by only half a point heading into the final event of the day. By the second exchange, Penn State had pulled into first place and never looked back, winning the relay and the team title. The Big Ten indoor track and field title is the third overall for Penn State's women's program. "The women were outstanding today," said Beth Alford-Sullivan, Penn State's director of track and field. "Michigan pressed us hard throughout the week- end, but we kept our composure and competed great. This is a championship win to remember." Penn State's championship run was paced by three individual titles and the 4x400-meter relay victory. The Nittany Lions finished with 114.50 points, while Michigan finished second with 104. Ne- braska was third with 92 points. Junior Dynasty McGee, senior Ma- hagony Jones, freshman Tichina Rhodes and sophomore Kiah Seymour com- prised the winning 4x400 meter relay team, which brought home the title with a time of 3 minutes, 34.55 seconds. Jones and Seymour also notched indi- vidual victories as well as runner-up fin- ishes on day two. The 200 meters was a strong race for the Lions, with Jones win- ning in a time of 23.10 seconds and Sey- mour finishing second in 23.48. Seymour took home an individual title in the 400- meter run with a time of 52.53, while Jones narrowly missed a second Big Ten individual title, finishing just 0.01 sec- onds out of first in the 60-meter final. The Penn State men finished third at the indoor championships. Sophomore Brannon Kidder claimed the Lions' only individual victory of the championships by defending his title in the 800 meters with a lean at the line in 1:49.52. "Our men had a few mistakes on day one that cost us on overall points," Al- ford-Sullivan said. "We had a great team effort and everyone gave their very best. I am proud of our top-three finish. We will be back in it again next year." ■ N O T E B O O K MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING Ryan is top swimmer at conference meet Shane Ryan set a conference record in the 100 freestyle event March 1 at Michigan en route to be- coming the first Penn Stater ever to be named Swimmer of the Big Ten Championships. Ryan, a sophomore from Havertown, Pa., entered the final with the second-best time in prelims with a mark of 42.46 seconds, only .04 seconds behind Minnesota's Derek Toomey. In the final, it was Ryan's turn to excel. He posted a time of 42.08 seconds, setting the Penn State record, the Big Ten championship meet record and the overall Big Ten record while hitting the NCAA "A" qualifying standard. "He's been working a long time," head coach Tim Murphy said. "His 100 freestyle race was impressive. I asked him to be ahead at the 75- yard mark because I felt if he was there he would beat anybody in the last lap, and he decided to lead from start to finish. It was very impres- sive, an excellent swim." Ryan also won the 100 backstroke with a time of 45.13. As a team, Penn State finished fifth in the competition. RYAN TRACK & FIELD PSU wins women's indoor title MEN'S ICE HOCKEY OT goal lifts Badgers over Penn State The Nittany Lions dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Wisconsin on March 9 at Pegula Ice Arena. With 20 seconds remaining in the over- time period, Badgers forward Mark Zengerle got a backdoor pass from Nic Kerdiles that he one-timed past Nittany Lion goalie Matthew Skoff. "Man, 20 seconds left in overtime, that's a tough one to swallow," Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "But we will learn to win those." Penn State didn't have Zengerle or Kerdiles covered, and they made the Lions pay. Said Gadowsky, "They are finishers, and they finished. What can I say?" Even with the loss, which dropped them to 6-24-2 overall and 2-15-1-0 in the Big Ten, the Lions played well overall and gave them- selves a chance to win, Gadowsky said. The team "worked really hard for 60 minutes and 40 seconds and have nothing to show for it," he said. –MEGAN FLOOD WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY Nittany Lions fall in CHA tourney Penn State's season ended in the first round of the College Hockey America tournament with a 3-0 loss to RIT on March 1 in Rochester, N.Y. The Tigers took the opening series, 2-0, for the second consecu- tive year. Penn State was the sixth seed in the tournament and finished its sec- ond season of varsity competition at 4-29-3. ■

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