Tennis, Women's Volleyball Teams Head for Conference Championships

Vol. 8, No. 10 (Through Sunday, Oct. 18)

Wildcat TalesCoed Tennis, Women's Volleyball Teams Seek Crowns Following is a look ahead as Pennsylvania College of Technology's coed tennis and women's volleyball teams vie for championships in the Penn State University Athletic Conference. Last week, Penn College teams won 19 games and lost six. The men's cross-country team won the PSUAC championship and had the conference's individual champ.

On the HorizonThe coed tennis team is defending its championship going into the season-ending event Saturday and Sunday at Penn State.

On the men's side, Shane Burridge (Ephrata) defends his No. 1 men's singles title. Burridge also was a member of the winning No. 1 men's doubles squad a year ago. Other men's singles players are Rob Kemrer (Milton) at No. 2, Brad Fisher (Montoursville) at No. 3 and either Dan Montville (Hughesville) or Jay Myers (Houlton, Maine) at No. 4. Doubles teams will be Burridge-Fisher at No. 1 and Kemrer-Montville at No. 2.

On the women's side, Rachel Emmons (Washington, N.J.) is No. 1 in singles and Danielle Trout (Harrisburg) No. 2. They will play doubles together.

The Wildcats' top team competition should come from Penn State York. During the regular season, each team won on its home court by a 6-3 score. Penn College is 9-1, with two matches remaining this week against Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

The key to success in the playoffs, according to coach Aimee Plastow, is "playing our best tennis. If we do that, the results will take care of themselves. "¦ If you capture enough individual titles, it's a piece of cake for winning the conference."

The fourth-seeded women's volleyball team enters its home playoff match at 2 p.m. Saturday against the No. 5 seed, Penn State DuBois, as one of the conference's hottest teams with a 10-game win streak.

"They have come together," coach Bambi Hawkins said of her team, which is 12-3 in the conference and 14-9 overall. This is the college's seventh straight playoff appearance.

Key players are Lyndsey Smith (Mechanicsburg), Alyssa Covas (Pottsville), Tara Powell (Burgettstown), Ashley Oswald (Altoona), Kate Todorich (Mountain Top) and Kara Matson (Troy).

During the regular season, the Wildcats beat both Penn State DuBois and Penn State York.

"It's going to be a tough one," Hawkins said of the first match in the single-elimination tourney. Tournament competition will continue Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

Flashback Men's Soccer On Saturday, Penn College traveled to Penn State Beaver and lost 2-1 in overtime its first PSUAC defeat since Sept. 26, 2006. Going into the match, it had won 58 of 60 conference matches since 2005. In the PSUAC standings, Penn College is second. In the most recent United States Collegiate Athletic Association rankings, it is seventh.

Women's Soccer In their only match of the week, Kierstin Steer (South Williamsport) had four goals and an assist as the Wildcats blanked Reading Community College, 9-0, to improve to 7-3. During the match, Penn College maximized its effort by scoring on nine of 14 shots on goal. It is ranked second in the USCAA.

Women's Volleyball The Wildcats ran their win streak to 10 matches with three-game wins over Penn State Wilkes-Barre and Penn State Schuylkill. Penn College is ranked fourth in the PSUAC and No. 19 in the USCAA.

Coed Tennis After nine consecutive wins this season and 12 in a row over two seasons, the Wildcats dropped their first match of the year, losing to Penn State York, 6-3. The team's last loss also was to Penn State York, 5-4, on Oct. 9 last year. Rachel Emmons (Washington, N.J.) was the lone double winner in the match for Penn College. Penn College is tied with Penn State York for No. 1 in the PSUAC standings.

Cross-CountrySaturday at the PSUAC Championships at Penn State Scranton, Mark Cordeiro (Canton) successfully defended his individual title, finishing the 8-kilometer course in 29 minutes, 43 seconds, and the Penn College men won their seventh straight conference crown, fifth in the PSUAC. Also for the Penn College men, Jeff Faherty (Sussex, N.J.) was third in 30:45, Brad Robertson (West Chester) was fifth in 31:23, Corvin Oberholtzer (Wellsboro) sixth in 31:58, Travis Cain (Bloomsburg) seventh in 32:40, Seth Beckman (Linden) eighth in 32:44 and Eric Flanagan (Fairfax, Va.) ninth in 32:58.

"When it comes to running, Mark is a beast. He's very dedicated to running. He loves the sport. He loves the challenges of different competitions we go to and different courses we run," coach Mike Paulhamus said. Cordeiro became only the second Wildcat runner to capture back-to-back individual conference championships, following in the footsteps of Greg Kammerle, who won in 2006 and 2007.

The Penn College men finished with 22 points, followed by Penn State Scranton (75), Penn State Schuylkill (104) and Penn State DuBois (135). Two non-conference teams also competed and finished behind the Wildcats.

"I have a great bunch of kids. They are dedicated and they enjoy the sport," Paulhamus added of his men's squad.

The Penn College women finished second in the conference for the fifth straight season. Tamara Pavlov (Lewisburg) was third individually, covering the 6-K course in 26:56. Hollie Schuster (Jersey Shore) was fifth in 28:07 and Abigail Schuler (Waynesboro) was sixth in 28:21.

"They all ran a good race. Tamara was leading until the last half-mile. It was a fun race to watch," Paulhamus said.

In team scoring, Penn State Scranton finished with 27 points and Penn College with 39. One nonconference team also competed and finished behind the Wildcats.

GolfPenn College's championship streak may be over, but the Wildcats did well enough Monday and Tuesday on Penn State University's Blue Course to finish third in the PSUAC Championship and fourth in USCAA National Championship.

Craig Flint (Port Allegany) finished the two-day event fifth with a 155 total and was named a USCAA All-American for being in the top five. Eric Schall (Jersey Shore) finished ninth with a 157. Also for the Wildcats, Dan Krammer (Burlington, Conn.) shot 167, Dean Bell (Schwenksville) a 171 and Kurt Linhart (Zionsville) a 178.

Overall, Rochester University took the team title with a 608, followed by Penn State Mont Alto at 632, Penn State Wilkes-Barre at 641 and Penn College with a 650. Eight teams finished below Penn College and three other entries did not finish the tournament.

Going into the competition, Penn College was the defending USCAA and PSUAC champ. It had won six consecutive conference titles, including four straight in the PSUAC. For the season, the Wildcats end 20-7 overall and 17-6 in the PSUAC under first-year coach Matt Haile.

Recent Results/Upcoming Games Cross-Country Men's overall record: 34-9 Final PSUAC record: 12-0 Women's overall record: 16-9-1 Final PSUAC record: 2-1Saturday, Oct. 17 PSUAC Championships at Penn State Scranton, men finished first among four teams (Mark Cordeiro of Canton individual champion), women second among two teams (Tamara Pavlov of Lewisburg third). Saturday, Oct. 24 at East Stroudsburg Invitational, 10 a.m.

Golf Final overall record: 20-7 Final PSUAC record: 17-6Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 12-13 USCAA-PSUAC Championships at Penn State Blue Course, finished fourth in the USCAA and third in the PSUAC

Tennis Overall record: 9-1 PSUAC record: 9-1Tuesday, Oct. 13 at Penn State York, L, 6-3 Saturday, Oct. 17 host Penn State Wilkes-Barre (2), postponed Wednesday, Oct. 21 host Penn State Wilkes-Barre Thursday, Oct. 22 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 24-25 at PSUAC Championships, University Park

Men's Soccer Overall record: 13-2-1 PSUAC record: 9-1-1 Saturday, Oct. 17 at Penn State Beaver, L, 2-1 overtime Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Misericordia, 7 p.m.

Women's Soccer Overall record: 7-3 Thursday, Oct. 15 host Reading Community College, W, 9-0 Saturday, Oct. 24 at Valley Forge Christian College, 3 p.m.

Women's Volleyball Overall record: 14-9 PSUAC record: 12-3Tuesday, Oct. 13 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, W, 25-1, 25-16, 25-11. Thursday, Oct. 15 at Penn State Schuylkill, W, 25-18, 25-17, 25-15. Saturday, Oct. 24 host Penn State DuBois in PSUAC Tournament, 2 p.m.