Hello, my name is Penn State and I have been NCAA sanction free for eight days. After hearing about the hell all the Nits had to endure in Piscataway before the eventual win, it's time to get back to the Lions that we all know and love.
Penn State is still flying high. We're back and better than ever!
Cross Country
The rainy conditions didn't altar the game plan for either the men or the women on Saturday at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational.
Senior Matt Fischer captured the title on the men's side with a time of 26 minutes, 12 seconds on the 5.2 mile course. Senior Glen Burkhardt, junior Robby Creese and junior Wade Endress all had top-10 finishes on the afternoon as well.
Penn State won the overall event finishing six points ahead of Syracuse.
Freshman Elizabeth Chikotas finished second on the women's side with a time of 21:04. The women tallied four total top-10 finishes on the afternoon edging out Syracuse as well.
This Week Ahead: The teams get a long break and won't head out for a meet until Oct. 3 in the Notre Dame Invitational.
Field Hockey
It was a weekend sweep of Princeton and Lafayette for the Nittany Lions at home.
Senior Taylor Herold scored a career-high three goals in a 5-2 win over Princeton on Friday.
The 5-1 win over Lafayette on Sunday was led by two goals from Senior Jenna Chrismer.
I've always wondered if their backs hurt from playing so much. Field Hockey is still a foreign language to us midwestern folks.
This Week Ahead: The people from Ann Arbor come here on Friday. Ew.
Soccer
The men have risen to No. 16 in the country after a great 1-0 win in Bloomington over the Hoosiers. Sophomore midfielder Mason Klerks scored his first career goal in the 27th minute for a great road win. I've been telling you all, go out and see this team play!
The No. 8 ranked women ran the tables during their Indiana road trip. Junior Raquel Rodriguez scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over Purdue on Friday. On Sunday, Britt Eckerstorm pitched her third shutout of the year over Indiana.
Jeffrey Field will be rocking this week!
This Week Ahead: The men host Saint Francis (Pa.) tonight and then Ohio State on Sunday. It will be Mack Brady Day on Sunday. Oh, and if you want to watch me on television then order here as I'll be on the call for the Big Ten Network. The women host Ohio State on Friday night.
Volleyball
Penn State seemed to bounce back rather nicely this weekend in the Villanova Classic after dropping their first match of the season to Stanford.
American. 3-1. Win
Villanova, Yale and Kansas. All 3-0. Wins.
Business as usual.
This Week Ahead: Penn State hosts Eastern Illinois and DePaul on Friday and Illinois-Chicago and East Carolina on Saturday in the Penn State Alumni Classic. Not to brag or anything, but I'll be on the call as well for the EIU game at 4 p.m. on Friday if you want to listen in :)