The Smaller Side of Penn State Sports - 2/27/12

You wanted more coverage, you got more coverage. This is a new weekly feature that will attempt to bring some attention to some of the smaller sports at Penn State. We'll be recapping the weeks that each of the varsity sports had, and hopefully you guys will get a little more exposure to some of the other sports that Penn State participates in. Forgive me if I mess up some of the terminology for some sports, as I'm not familiar with them all.

Baseball:
Overall Record: 1-5
Last Week: 0-3

Notes:
Penn State took on UNC Greensboro this past weekend. The Lions dropped all three games by scores of 10-7, 8-3 and 6-0. In the series finale on Sunday, Penn State managed just two hits (both coming off the bat of senior Jordan Steranka). Penn State will look to turn things around starting this Saturday as they play 8 games in 9 days. Their trip will take them to Samford, Mississippi State and UAB.

Mens Gymnastics:
Overall Record: 4-1 (ranked #2)
Last Week: 1-0

Notes:
The #2 ranked Nittany Lions traveled to Columbus on Saturday to take on the #7 Ohio State Buckeyes. The Lions scored a 355.500 (a season high) to 347.200 win over the Buckeyes (their sixth straight win over OSU). Penn State set a school record for their score on the pommel horse as they notched a 59.500, while setting season highs in both the high bar and the vault. Penn State is off until March 9th, when they travel to Puerto Rico to take on the Puerto Rican National Team.

Womens Gymnastics:
Overall Record: 4-1 (ranked #10)
Last Week: 0-1

Notes:
The womens team also competed at Ohio State this past weekend. Unfortunately, they dropped the meet 196.025-195.000. This marked the first loss for the Nittany Lions since their first home meet in the 2011 season. The Nittany Lions return home this weekend to host Michigan and North Carolina.

Mens Ice Hockey:
Overall Record: 27-3-1
Last Week: 1-0

Notes:
The Icers won their final regular season game as a member of the ACHA in grand style, taking down Kent State by a score of 13-1. Penn State opened up a 6-0 lead before Kent State got their lone tally. Penn State responded with 4 goals in a 4:09 span at the end of the second period and the beginning of the third to stretch their lead to 10-1. The Icers finished the day with a total of 71 shots fired at Kent State goalies. The win not only marked the final game PSU would play as a member of the ACHA, but also the final regular season game that they would play as the Icers. That name will be dropped next year as Penn State enters Division 1 hockey. Next up for the Icers will be either West Virginia or Rutgers in the ACHA Tournament.

Womens Ice Hockey:
Overall Record: 13-14-3-1
Last Week: 1-1

Notes:
The Lady Icers captured the ECWHL regular season title the previous weekend after being snubbed from the year-end ACHA Tournament. This past weekend, the Lady Icers competed in the ECWHL Tournament. The first game was against UMass, the team that claimed the final spot in the ACHA Tournament. In a tight game, the Lady Icers proved which team was more deserving of the ACHA bid by getting a late goal to win 3-2. The Lady Icers squared off against the University of Rhode Island in the championship game yesterday, where they fell 4-1.

Mens Lacrosse:
Overall Record: 2-1 (ranked #20)
Last Week: 1-0

Notes:
Penn State traveled to Notre Dame to take on the 2/4 ranked Fighting Irish. Penn State hadn't beaten the Irish since an overtime win back in 2002. Ten years later, it took overtime again, but the Nittany Lions scored with two seconds left in OT to secure a 4-3 victory over a top 5 opponent. The Lions are off until Saturday, when they go to Columbus to take on the 10/11th ranked Buckeyes. If Penn State wins on Saturday, they will claim the inaugural Creator's Trophy.

Also, did you know that Evan Royster used to play lacrosse?

Womens Lacrosse:
Overall Record: 3-1 (ranked #17)
Last Week: 2-0

Notes:
Penn State went 2-0 this week against Duquesne and Lafayette, winning by scores of 16-5 and 14-10. They're off until next Sunday, when they take on Virginia at home.

Softball:
Overall Record: 2-6
Last Week: 1-3

Notes:
Penn State had a mostly forgettable weekend on the diamond. During the Carolina Classic, Penn State dropped their first game on Saturday to Notre Dame 6-3, but rallied to take a close, 5-4 win against James Madison. On Sunday, the wheels really came off for Penn State. In their first game against North Carolina, PSU fell behind 2-0 in the first. Penn State managed to take a 3-2 by the top of the third, but found themselves trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 6th. UNC dropped 6 runs on Penn State to take an 11-3 lead and the game was called prior to completing the 6th inning (mercy rule perhaps?). In the second game of the day, Penn State played JMU again. Once again Penn State fell behind, spotting JMU a 6-1 lead. Penn State rallied again to tie the game up and send it into extra innings, but they eventually fell to James Madison 10-8 in 9 innings. Penn State travels to Kissimmee, Fla this weekend for six games over three days.

Mens Volleyball:
Overall Record: 12-1 (ranked #5, 6-0 conference record)
Last Week: 2-0

Notes:
Penn State took on Princeton and George Mason this past week. Neither team proved to be difficult for Penn State to beat as they took down Princeton 25-18 25-15 25-18 and beat George Mason 25-14 25-22 25-20. Penn State improved to 12-1 on the year and 6-0 in conference. They host Ohio State on Saturday at 7 pm.

Thanks to Thank You Terry and GoPSUSports for providing the data for this post.

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