Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641865
Penn State's comprehensive facilities master plan should be completed in July, deputy athletic director Phil Esten said during a visit to the Chamber of Busi- ness and Industry of Centre County on Jan. 28. Penn State Inter- collegiate Athletics is working with Popu- lous on the project, which encom- passes approximately 20 athletic fa- cilities and 300 acres on the Univer- sity Park campus. More than 1,000 people have been engaged and have provided feedback as part of the project, which is aimed at helping determine priorities for the period of 2016-20 and beyond. Two facilities projects are already under way – the Morgan Academic Center and the Lasch Football Build- ing. Esten said that fundraising is tak- ing place for upgrades to the Penn State Lacrosse Field. The Lasch Build- ing and lacrosse facility renovations second 5gure ranks third. As a junior, his 2.98 ERA was the team's best, and he was even more e6ective during the Big Ten season, putting together a 2.70 mark. And those numbers were compiled under less- than-ideal circumstances, as he was some- times called upon to provide long relief rather than simply coming on in the eighth or ninth inning. O6ensively, Haley will be one of the keys for Penn State. As a sophomore, the Upper Darby, Pa., native batted .333 in Big Ten games to lead the team and also paced the Lions in on-base percentage (.396), runs (15), doubles (nine) and triples (three). Anderson said he's looking to get to the Big Ten tournament this year, something the Nittany Lions weren't able to do in his three previous seasons. "This will be my senior year, so that's the immediate goal," he said. "We're trying to progress each year, and I think we've done a lot of great things since Coach Cooper has been here, but the di6erence this year is more guys want to be leaders. It's still a young team but more guys want to be leaders, and they're really shortening the learning curve for a lot of the younger guys, and I think that's going to help when adversity hits during the season so we can shorten that learning curve again, and they can really help contribute." The Lions were set to open their season against Monmouth on Feb. 19 at the Base- ball Complex Tournament in Cary, N.C. They won't play a home game until March 18 when Niagara arrives for the start of a three-game series, and the Big Ten season begins a week later at Illinois. The Lions will also play host in May to TCU, which Cooper described as "a College World Se- ries-type program." Last year, the Horned Frogs went 51-15 and reached the CWS for the second season in a row. With one more season to go, Anderson is eager to get started. "The overall ex- citement and energy we've seen – whether it was in Cuba or just in Holuba practices these past few weeks – have been di6erent this year," he said. "We're trying to do something di6erent this year. We're trying to do something special and make some noise in the Big Ten, and we really believe that we will." ■ ESTEN FACILITIES Esten says biggest needs include upgrades to natatorium, track