'Wildcat Weekly': Your Connection to Penn College Athletics

Vol. 7, No. 9

Recent Results/Upcoming Games(Through Oct. 12)Baseball Final fall overall record: 14-6 Final fall PSUAC record: 8-2Monday, Oct. 6 host Penn State York at Bowman Field, L, 7-6; W, 10-0 in six innings

Cross-Country Men's overall record: 21-4 PSUAC record: 11-0 Women's overall record: 11-0 PSUAC record: 10-0Saturday, Oct. 11 at Penn State Mont Alto Invitational, men finished first in a four-team field; women finished first in a three-team field Saturday, Oct. 18 at Albright College Invitational, 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at PSUAC Championships, TBA

Golf Final overall record: 18-1-1 Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 6-7 - at Penn State University Athletic Conference championships at Penn State Blue Course, finished first among nine teams

Men's Soccer Overall record: 9-0 PSUAC record: 7-0 Wednesday, Oct. 8 at Penn State Hazleton, W, 7-3 Thursday, Oct. 9 at Davis College, W, 3-0 Saturday, Oct. 11 host Penn State Schuylkill, W, 5-0 Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Penn State Beaver, 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 at Penn State York, 1 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, Oct. 21-22 at PSUAC playoffs, TBA

Women's Soccer Overall record: 7-2 Tuesday, Oct. 7 host Susquehanna University, W, 1-0 Monday, Oct. 13 host Penn State Abington, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 at College Misericordia Jayvees, 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 host Alfred (N.Y.) University, 1 p.m. Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1 USCAA Tournament at Vermont Technical College, TBA

Team Tennis Overall record: 9-2 PSUAC record: 9-2 Tuesday, Oct. 7 host Penn State Mont Alto, W, 9-0 Thursday, Oct. 9 at Penn State York, L, 5-4 Saturday, Oct. 11 at Penn State Brandywine, W, 5-4 Tuesday, Oct. 14 host Penn State Hazleton, 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 at Penn State Lehigh Valley, noon Oct. 24-25-26 PSUAC Championships, TBA

Women's Volleyball Overall record: 11-9 PSUAC record: 9-6 Tuesday, Oct. 7 at Penn State Hazleton Tournament, lost to Penn State Brandywine, 3-1; defeated Penn State Abington, 3-0. Thursday, Oct. 9 host Penn State Schuylkill, W, 3-1 Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 PSUAC Championships, TBA Sunday, Oct. 19 PSUAC Championships, TBA

'Cat Tales Golf In two-day action on the 7,172-yard, par 72 Penn State Blue Course, the Wildcats stormed to an 18-stroke lead Monday and played well enough Tuesday to capture their sixth straight conference championship. The tournament also served as the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Invitational and the field included two non-PSUAC schools.

Penn College topped the nine-team field with a 618 (305-313). Penn State Wilkes-Barre was second at 629, followed by the Newport News (Va.) Apprentice School, 648; Penn State Abington, 658; Penn State New Kensington, 662; Penn State Hazleton, 663; Penn State Mont Alto, 687; Penn State Schuylkill, 708; and Penn State Greater Allegheny, 789. Scores of the top four individuals on each squad determined the team score.

Individually for Penn College, Eric Schall (Jersey Shore) finished second with a 152 total (77-75) and Len Nicholas (Hollywood) was third with a 154 total (76-78). For their top five finishes, they were awarded All-American honors. Wildcats Schall, Nicholas, T.C. Reynolds (Montgomery) and Craig Flint (Port Allegany) also earned all-PSUAC honors.

Reynolds, who was a co-champ in the PSUAC two years ago, had a 156 total (76-80), as did Flint (76-80). Also for Penn College, Kyle Shoultes (Sellersville) had rounds of 80-81 (161) and Douglas Wagner (Huntingdon Mills) had rounds of 81-84 (165). Chris Martin of the Apprentice School was the tournament medalist with back-to-back 74s. In all, 58 players competed.

"In their hearts, I think they just really wanted to show that that loss (Sept. 23 to Penn State New Kensington that ended Penn College's six-year unbeaten streak at 155) was a fluke. They came back to play and show to themselves that they're one of the best. They shot a 305 at a neutral site. That's just phenomenal," said coach Chet Schuman, in his ninth season.

Penn College concluded its season with an 18-1-1 record. Over the past six seasons, it is 166-1-1.

BaseballAdam Thomke (South Williamsport) pitched a six-inning perfect game, striking out six, as the Wildcats blanked Penn State York, 10-0, in their fall finale. York won the first game, 7-6. Garrett Hornung (Emporium) had a hot bat in both games, going 2-for-4 with a double in the first and 2-for-3 with a double and three runs batted in in the second. Matt Mientus (Macungie) went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the opener and Phil Woodring (Waynesboro) went 2-for-2 with a triple in the nightcap. Reflecting on the fall portion of the season, coach Chris Howard said, "We got a chance to play a lot of new guys. A lot of the younger guys really stepped up and played a key role in this half of the season, so I know we have some guys who we can really count on." Statistically on offense, Devon Liquori (Hawley) hit .465 with five home runs and 31 runs batted in, Thomke hit .420 with two homers and 15 RBI, Brett Baker (Northampton) hit .412 and Hornung hit .403 with five doubles, two triples and drove in 15 runs. Woodring had an on-base percentage of more than .800 and scored 34 runs. On the mound, Thomke was 4-0 with a 1.50 earned run average and 33 strikeouts and Mark Shaffer (Hanover) was 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA. Howard also praised the outfield defensive play of Dane Glick (Belleville). "Like I told the guys, you can't win the championship in the fall, but you sure can lose it. We took care of business in the fall and now we've got to keep it going until the spring," Howard said of his defending Penn State University Athletic Conference champs. Workouts will resume in February, with a trip to Florida planned for March before the spring season opens April 1. To help fund the Florida trip, the team is holding a one-day shoe sale beginning at 9 a.m. Nov. 3 at Penn's Inn on campus. Brand-name footwear will be available at a fraction of its original price, Howard said. A percentage of the sales will go to the squad.

Cross-CountryAt Penn State Mont Alto, Penn College runners took the top four spots in winning the men's competition. Mark Cordeiro (Canton) was first in 32 minutes, 23 seconds, followed by Steve Hoffman (Ocean City, Md.) in 33:06, Jeff Faherty (High Point, N.J.) in 33:11 and Seth Beckman (Linden) in 33:33. For the winning Lady Wildcats, Tamara Pavlov (Lewisburg) placed second in 12:20.

Men's Soccer After two weeks off, the Wildcats returned to action against Penn State Hazleton and won, 7-3, to remain undefeated and extend their two-season win streak to 23-0. Stephen Lis (Elliottsburg) had two goals and two assists, Steve Bullock (Manheim) had two goals and Patrick Kehoe (Oley) had a goal and an assist. In a win over Davis College that pushed Penn College's two-season win streak to 24-0, Lis had a goal and an assist as the Wildcats recorded their sixth shutout of the campaign. "We're undefeated, but, at the same time, we have to keep working to get better," coach Enrique Castillo said after his team blanked Penn State Schuylkill on Saturday to go to 9-0 on the season and 25-0 over two seasons. On the schedule this Saturday is a key match at Penn State York, which the Wildcats edged a year ago to capture their fourth consecutive conference championship.

Women's SoccerPenn College took a big step in elevating its program with a 1-0 win over NCAA Division III Susquehanna University. Hannah McCracken (Williamsport) scored at the 28-minute mark and the Lady Wildcats' defense played superbly as Susquehanna had 19 shots on goal to only four for Penn College and held a 9-2 edge in corner kicks, but couldn't get in the net. Penn College goalie Chelsey Holmes (Hughesville) made 17 saves.

Team TennisErica Logan (Montoursville), Shane Burridge (Ephrata), Austin Moran (Mount Joy) and Robert Kemrer (Milton) each won their singles and doubles matches in a shutout of Penn State Mont Alto. The Wildcats lost to Penn State York, 5-4, the same score by which they won at home againstPenn StateYork on Sept. 22. Logan was the lone double winner (singles and doubles) for Penn College. Logan again was the only double winner as the week ended with a win over Penn State Brandywine.

Women's VolleyballIn early-week action, Penn College lost to Penn State Brandywine, 25-27, 25-18, 19-25, 15-25, and beat Penn State Abington, 25-20, 25-18, 25-12. Two nights later against Penn State Schuylkill, the Wildcats dropped the first game 19-25, but got things going the rest of the night by taking the next three games 25-6, 25-17 and 25-22. Kristin Bernard (Hastings) had 10 digs; Alyssa Covas (Pottsville) nine kills, six digs and three blocks; Karlee Shubert (Hanover) 10 kills and three blocks; Lyndsey Smith (Mechanicsburg) four aces, 20 assists and nine digs; and Courtney Barton (Liberty) one ace, five kills, five assists and seven digs in the win. "Jam the Gym (against Penn State Schuylkill) was a great success," coach Bambi Hawkins said. "Our ladies started out a bit nervous as they let Set No. 1 slip by. As the second set started, however, there was a different atmosphere.

"It seemed to be triggered by a solo block at the hands of Shubert," the coach continued. "Quickly, we realized that the crowd had come ready to celebrate as several gentlemen suddenly revealed the 'WILD-CATS/block party' body art they had prepared. Our ladies then gave the entire Penn College crowd multiple reasons to celebrate as they took our team's volleyball to the level that the coaches have been pushing for all year." ( Complete rosters and season schedules are available on the college's Athletics Web site ).