Playoff-Bound Wildcats Keep on Winnin'

Vol. 7, No. 27

Recent Results/Upcoming Games (Through Feb. 15)



Men's Basketball
Overall record: 15-9
PSUAC record: 13-3
Monday, Feb. 9 host Penn State Brandywine, W, 78-62 Wednesday, Feb. 11 host Penn State Scranton, W, 93-77 Friday, Feb. 13 at Penn State Fayette, W, 86-70 Saturday, Feb. 14 at Penn State New Kensington, W, 106-102 Tuesday, Feb. 17 host Penn State Schuylkill, 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb.19 host Penn State DuBois in Penn State University Athletic Conference quarterfinals, TBA

Women's Basketball
Overall record: 16-8
PSUAC record: 12-3
Monday, Feb. 9 host Penn State Brandywine, W, 70-49 Wednesday, Feb. 11 host Penn State Scranton, W, 74-48 Friday, Feb. 13 at Penn State Fayette, W, 71-64 Tuesday, Feb. 17 host Penn State Schuylkill, 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20 vs. Penn State Greater Allegheny in Penn State University Athletic Conference quarterfinals, TBA

Men's Volleyball
MACVC record: 4-4
Thursday, Feb. 12 at Lock Haven University, L, 19-25, 25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 12-25 Sunday, Feb. 15 host Dickenson College, W, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 Thursday, Feb. 19 at Villanova, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 at Messiah, 2 p.m.

Men's Basketball
Penn College raced to a 20-point halftime lead against Penn State Brandywine and picked up its 10th Penn State University Athletic Conference win of the season. Greg Solyak (Lancaster) led the Wildcats with 23 points, while Tom Little (Beacon Falls, Conn.) added 18 and Joe Simon (Renovo) 12. Solyak continued his hot scoring with a personal season-high 27-point performance in a win over Penn State Scranton. Leroy Joiner (Williamsport) added 24 points, Mike Knepp (Swiftwater) scored 19 and Simon 11. The back-to-back efforts against Brandywine and Scranton earned PSUAC Player of the Week honors for Solyak. Joiner scored 24 points and the Wildcats used a big second half to turn back Penn State Fayette on Friday. The team completed a 4-0 week on Saturday with a high scoring (but close) win over Penn State New Kensington. In that game, Joiner scored 25 points, while Solyak, Little and Simon each scored 23 as the Wildcats nailed down the fourth seed for the quarterfinals of the conference playoffs. Penn College's regular season ends Tuesday with Senior Night against Penn State Schuylkill at Bardo Gymnasium. The Wildcats step into the playoffs at home Thursday night.


Women's Basketball
Playing the first of three scheduled games for the week, the PSUAC playoff-bound Wildcats romped over Penn State Brandywine. Erica Logan (Montoursville) led the scoring with 19 points, while Kelsey Mack (Douglassville) added 15 and Chelsey Holmes (Hughesville) 11. April Gallagher (Avis) scored 22 points in a win over Penn State Scranton, while Mack and Logan each added 12. Penn College completed a 3-0 week with a win over Penn State Fayette behind Logan's 21-point effort. A scheduled game at Penn State New Kensington was not played as the opponent canceled its season due to a lack of players. Penn College's regular season ends Tuesday with Senior Night against Penn State Schuylkill at Bardo Gymnasium. If it wins, the team will be assured of hosting Friday night's playoff game.

Men's Volleyball
"Drive. Will. Heart. You've got to have that on the court. You can't play 24 points. You have to play 25," coach Wes Strayer lamented after his team's Middle Atlantic Club Volleyball Conference loss at Lock Haven University. The Wildcats rebounded against Dickinson, however, winning in three games Sunday.

Also Sunday, the college hosted its first men's alumni game. The current team took the first game, 25-21, and the alumni won the next three, 26-24, 25-14, and 25-23. Strayer was happy with the way things went. "The guys had a lot of fun. I hope they learned from it," he said.

Archery
Penn College coach Chad Karstetter is pleased with what his archers have shown so far this young season, and with good reason. First, at the PA State Indoor Championships in Taylor on Jan. 31, two Wildcats recorded first-place finishes one of them setting a new state record in the process. And then, at the World Archery Festival Feb. 6-8 in Las Vegas, Penn College archers had two individual firsts and won the collegiate team title. In the state event, sophomore Danny Wido (Shickshinny) won the male compound division with a state-record 594 points and freshman Glen Thomas (Mercer) finished first in recurve with 558 points. Three Wildcats also took second: Martin Smith (Senior/Brookville) in male recurve with 532 points, Zack Plannick (sophomore/Coraopolis) with 585 points and Lindsey Fackler (senior/Halifax) in women's compound with 563 points. Other Penn College archers and their scores included:

Recurve Male
Tyler Gale (sophomore/Kennedyville, Md.), third, 524 points, and James Fanelli (junior/Glastonburg, Conn.), fourth, 514.

Male Compound
Aaron Lapinski (sophomore/Bloomsburg), third, 580; Brock Smith (senior/Brookville), fourth, 575; Jerod Bores (sophomore/Pine Grove), sixth, 566; Brad Ferguson (junior/Lewistown), 10th, 545; and Clint Hinton (freshman/Lock Haven), 11th, 541.

Female Compound
Cheryl Brooks (freshman/Reynoldsville), sixth, 522, and Julie Cain (freshman/Bellefonte), ninth, 454. "I was very pleased with the scores shot at PA Indoors. Things are looking good for this year so far," Karstetter said. "The men's compound team is right on par for the number one spot this year. If we can go to indoor nationals this year and shoot scores like that we will be on top," the coach continued. "The men's recurve team is very strong this year with the addition of Thomas. These four guys are going to be very tough to beat. And the women's team is coming along. Both new girls (Brooks and Cain) are shooting better than I expected this early, being that neither one had ever shot archery before. With the leadership of Fackler, our two new archers will be shooting competitive scores soon," Karstetter added. Competing in the collegiate division at the world festival, this is the first year that a college division was added, Wido won the men's compound event with 899 points and Plannick was second with 897, while Thomas placed first in the recurve with 863 points and Gale was seventh with 775. Penn College topped a four-team field with 2,667 points. Following were Cal-State Long Beach with 2,463, Texas A&M with 2,395 and USC with 2,360. The Wildcats now are idle until mid-March when they travel to Harrisonburg, Va., for the U.S. Indoor Eastern Regionals.

(Complete rosters and season schedules are available on the college's Athletics Web site. For more information on the PSUAC, visit on the Web; more about the USCAA also is available online.)

Photos by student photographers Kenneth L. Barto (basketball) and Jessica L. Tobias (volleyball)