The Smaller Side of Penn State Sports - 3/26/12

Baseball:
Overall Record: 5-16 (1-2 in B10)
Last Week: 2-2

Notes:
Penn State had it's best four game stretch of the season this week. On Wednesday they opened Medlar Field for the year with a 5-2 win against Pittsburgh. They hosted Indiana this weekend (which began Big Ten play) and promptly dropped Friday's game by a 14-2 score. After a long rain delay on Saturday, Penn State blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads before finally topping the Hoosiers with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Lions had a chance to go for their first series win of the season on Sunday. They held the Hoosiers to 2 runs on 4 hits, but only managed 1 run on 5 hits themselves while leaving 8 on base. Penn State hosts Coppin State in a double header on Wednesday, before traveling to Purdue for a weekend series.

Women's Basketball:

Notes:
The Lady Lions topped LSU 80-70 last week to reach the Sweet 16 where they faced #1 UConn. UConn jumped out to a 43-29 halftime lead and cruised to a 77-59 win. UConn is one of the elite teams in women's basketball, so there's no shame in losing to them and Penn State will have several key players return for another run next year.

Men's Gymnastics:
Overall Record: 7-1 (ranked #2)
Last Week: 1-0

Notes:
For the second straight week, Penn State posted the nations highest score as they downed #10 Temple 360.600-342.200. The score was a new Penn State program record, beating out their top score set against Ohio State in 2008. The Lions won all six events both individually and as a team. The gymnastics team is off this week as they prepare to travel to Iowa for the Big Ten Championships on April 6th.

Women's Gymnastics:

Notes:
The women's gymnastics team entered the Big Ten Championships as the 2nd seed but ended up placing 6th as a team. The finish has to be a little disappointing as Penn State spent most of the season as one of the nation's top teams. Selection for NCAA's is at 3 PM today. Despite the poor finish for Penn State, Junior Sharaya Musser was selected as Big Ten Gymnast of the year.

Men's Lacrosse:
Overall Record: 4-4 (ranked #17, 1-1 in the CAA)
Last Week: 1-1

Notes:
Penn State's losing streak reached three games after a 9-5 loss to Lehigh at home last Tuesday. They rebounded nicely on Saturday though, posting a 7-3 win over St. Joe's to level their record to 4-4 (1-1). The Lions host Bucknell and Villanova this week.

Women's Lacrosse:
Overall Record: 8-2 (ranked #9, 1-0 in ALC)
Last Week: 1-0

Notes:
Penn State extended their winning streak to four games with a 9-7 win over William and Mary this week. The Lions took a 1-0 lead 37 seconds into the game, but found themselves trailing 4-3 at the half. They outscored William and Mary 6-3 in the second half to secure the win. Penn State travels to Florida this weekend to take on the Gators in a conference matchup.

Softball:
Overall Record: 7-18 (0-3 in B10)
Last Week: 0-3

Notes:
A trip to Ann Arbor to open up Big Ten play for the 2012 season proved to be disastrous for the Nittany Lions. Penn State dropped all three games, and none of them were close. The first two games were shortened as Penn State lost 11-2 and 12-4. In the finale on Sunday, Penn State was held to two hits in a 6-0 loss. Penn State travels to Purdue for three games this weekend.

Men's Volleyball:
Overall Record: 16-3 (ranked #8, 9-0 in EIVA)
Last Week: 2-0

Notes:
The Lions cruised through their two match road trip to New Jersey. They dropped NJIT 3-1 on Friday and swept Rutgars-Newark 3-0 on Saturday. This Penn State team has been extremely dominant in conference this year, as the set they dropped to NJIT was the first one they'd lost to a conference opponent all season. Penn State travels to Princeton and George Mason this weekend.

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