William Penn Athletic News October 20
William Penn University Athletics
Lady Statesmen Downed in Four By V-Hawks
La Crosse, Wis.–Penn played at a high level Wednesday night, but just not high enough to knock off the league leaders as the Lady Statesmen fell to Viterbo 3-1 in Midwest Collegiate Conference play.
Penn (18-15, 3-3 MCC) lost by scores of 23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 28-30. The visitors actually outhit the V-Hawks .234-.225. Viterbo moves to 34-4 overall (6-0 MCC).
Morgan Bailey (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) topped the Lady Statesmen with 12 kills, while Paige Echimovich (Fr., O’Fallon, Mo., Fort Zumwalt West HS), with 11 kills, and Emily Stanton (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS), with ten kills, also reached double figures.
Brittany Rohling (Jr., Thayer, Kan., Neosho CC) finished just shy of the plateau with nine kills.
Krista Pettit (Sr., Grundy Center, Grundy Center HS) and Katherine Stumberg (Jr., Williamsburg, Williamsburg HS) combined for 43 assists, while Caitlin Hadden (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) managed 16 digs.
Penn recorded 13 team blocks (four solos, 18 assists), including a team-best six by Bailey (two solos, four blocks).
Next: Penn faces a peculiar weekend ahead, traveling to Dubuque to play in the Clarke Tournament as well as face another program in non-conference action. On Friday, the Lady Statesmen meet host Clarke in tournament play at 4 p.m. and then drive a few blocks to take on Loras at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Penn returns to the tournament venue, meeting Trinity International (Ill.) at 11 a.m. and Indiana-Northwest at 1 p.m.
NAIA Releases Preseason Wrestling Rankings
Oskaloosa–The 2010-11 Penn wrestling campaign will begin with a mountain to climb as the preseason NAIA ratings were released earlier this week.
As a team, Penn is 26th in the nation with one point. Defending national champion Notre Dame (Ohio) is dominating the national poll with 160 points and 11 individuals ranked.
Missouri Valley and Campbellsville (Ky.) are a very distant second with 79.5 points each, while McKendree (Ill.) is fourth with 73 points and Cumberland (Tenn.) is fifth with 71.5 points.
Grand View leads the state of Iowa in a tie for eighth with 54 points, while Morningside (tenth, 40.5 points) is also in the top 20.
Taylor Louie (Sr., West Covina, Calif., West Covina HS) is the only Penn wrestler ranked nationally, tying for 12th at 125 pounds.
Penn opens the year seventh as a team in the Central Qualifying Group poll with 36 points. Missouri Valley is a strong first with 198 points, while Grand View is second with 158 points and Oklahoma City is third with 144 points.
Louie tops the Statesmen in third place at 125 pounds, while Chris Diaz (Jr., Montrose, Colo., Olathe HS) is fourth at 165 pounds and Alfredo Velazquez (So., Fontana, Calif., AB Miller HS) is fifth at 149 pounds.
