William Penn Athletic News October 26
William Penn University Athletics
League Coaches Tab Penn Women for Fourth
Oskaloosa–The Lady Statesmen cagers are not the only ones who think they will be in contention for league hardware this winter as the Midwest Collegiate Conference’s preseason coaches poll was released yesterday.
Penn, who owned a 17-14 record last year (9-7 MCC, 5th), have been picked fourth out of the nine teams with 52 points.
2010 NAIA Tournament quarterfinalists Grand View and Iowa Wesleyan are picked to be the frontrunners this year as the #8 nationally-ranked Vikings top the poll with 78 points and six first-place votes. The Tigers, who are #12 in the NAIA’s preseason rating, are not far behind, with 67 points and the other three first-place votes.
Although not receiving a first-place nod, St. Ambrose is just one point back of Iowa Wesleyan, holding a strong third with 66 points.
Mount Mercy (48 points), Viterbo (34 points), Waldorf (32 points), Ashford (18 points), and Clarke (10 points) round out the rating.
Penn opens its season next Monday by traveling to Lamoni to face Graceland in non-conference action at 7 p.m.
2010-11 MCC Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
School Points (First Place Votes)
Grand View 78 (6)
Iowa Wesleyan 67 (3)
St. Ambrose 66
William Penn 52
Mount Mercy 48
Viterbo 34
Waldorf 32
Ashford 18
Clarke 10
Statesmen Cagers Picked Fourth in League
Oskaloosa–The Midwest Collegiate Conference continues to get stronger in men’s basketball and the pressure will be on the Penn men’s basketball team to perform each and every night as the league’s preseason coaches poll was released yesterday.
The Statesmen, who owned a 22-11 record last year (9-7 MCC), have been picked fourth out of the nine teams with 54 points. Penn was tied for fifth a year ago, but went on a great postseason run with two straight upsets before falling to top-seeded Grand View in the MCC Tournament Finals.
St. Ambrose is considered the strength of the conference, leading the ranking with 77 points and five first-place votes. Mount Mercy is a close second with 73 points and three first-place votes.
Defending league champion Grand View is third with 58 points and the final first-place tally.
Iowa Wesleyan (46 points), Ashford (39 points), Viterbo (24 points), Clarke (22 points), and Waldorf (12 points) round out the rating.
Penn opens its season next Friday by hosting Crossroads (Minn.) in non-conference action at 7:30 p.m.
2010-11 MCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
School Points (First Place Votes)
St. Ambrose 77 (5)
Mount Mercy 73 (3)
Grand View 58 (1)
William Penn 54
Iowa Wesleyan 46
Ashford 39
Viterbo 24
Clarke 22
Waldorf 12
Lady Statesmen Pick Up One National Vote
Oskaloosa–The Penn women’s basketball team will open up the 2010-2011 season on the national radar as the NAIA Division II women’s basketball preseason poll was released yesterday.
Penn, who was 17-14 (9-7 MCC) a year ago, is unofficially tied for 38th with one vote.
Defending national champion Northwestern heads Division II with 405 points and 14 first-place votes. Davenport (Mich.) is second with the other first-place vote, while Indian Wesleyan, Black Hills State (S.D.), and Morningside round out the top five.
Grand View leads a Midwest Collegiate Conference class that boasts three teams in the top 25. The Vikings are #8, while Iowa Wesleyan is 12th and St. Ambrose is 25th. Seven programs from the state of Iowa are represented in the preseason poll (including WPU).
Penn opens its season next Monday by traveling to Lamoni to face Graceland in non-conference action at 7 p.m.
Penn Sixth in Final Fall Test
St. Charles, Mo.–The Statesmen linksters showed one more time this fall that they could make a lot of noise when spring rolls around as they competed in the Lindenwood Fall Invitational Monday and Tuesday.
Penn placed sixth out of 19 teams with a two-day, 54-hole tally of 968 (326-312-330) at Whitmoor Country Club, a par-72 layout.
Host Lindenwood held off a charge from Viterbo to win by one stroke, 931-932. The Lions, who tied for 11th at last year’s NAIA National Championships shot 302-309-320, while the V-Hawks, who have quickly moved onto the national radar, owned scores of 312-309-311 and also had the meet medalist.
Derrick Meier of Viterbo won the title with a final tally of 222 (74-74-74), six strokes ahead of the nearest competitor.
Adriaan de Villiers (So., Akasia, South Africa, Akasia HS) was just four strokes behind that nearest competitor to take third overall. The sophomore, despite playing 36 holes on Monday and fighting a stiff wind Tuesday, actually performed better as the tournament progressed. de Villiers finished at 232 with scores of 81, 77, and 74. A total of 101 golfers started the invitational, but four withdrew.
Sebastian Stobart (Jr., Harare, Zimbabwe, St. Georges College) also improved on each round, but his numbers were a bit higher than his teammate’s, tying for 27th at 243 (84-83-76).
Joe Lennon-Joiner (Buckinghamshire, England, The Misbourne School) tied for 59th at 251 (84-76-91), while Geoff Dammann (So., Wyoming, Midland HS) tied for 65th at 254 (84-81-89).
Viktor Heurlin (Stockholm, Sweden, Frans Schartau HS) was a serious contender for medalist honors following the first day, posting 77-78, but withdrew late in the third round due to medical reasons.
Lady Statesmen Sneak by Iowa Wesleyan in Five
Oskaloosa–The Penn volleyball team moved back above .500 in league play with a 3-2 win over Iowa Wesleyan in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Wednesday.
Penn (21-17, 4-3 MCC) won by scores of 22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 15-7.
The Lady Statesmen, who lost the hitting battle .131-.079, were led offensively by Emily Stanton (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) and her 14 kills. She also had a match-high .224 attack percentage.
Morgan Bailey (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS), with 13 kills, and Brittany Rohling (Jr., Thayer, Kan., Neosho CC), with ten kills, met the double-figure mark as well, while Paige Echimovich (Fr., O’Fallon, Mo., Fort Zumwalt West HS) came up just short with nine winners.
Katherine Stumberg (Jr., Williamsburg, Williamsburg HS) tallied 23 assists and Krista Pettit (Sr., Grundy Center, Grundy Center HS) added 21, while Caitlin Hadden (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) managed 35 digs.
Stumberg served up four aces and Rohling was in on three blocks (all assists).
“We lacked focus and execution in the first four games, but came alive in the final game and played to our potential to close it out,” Lady Statesmen Head Coach Jeremy Wise said.
Next: Penn travels to Chicago, Ill. to play in the Benedictine (Ill.) Tournament this weekend. On Friday, the Lady Statesmen meet Purdue-Calumet (Ind.) at 5 p.m. and Augustana (Ill.) at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Penn takes on Trinity International (Ill.) at 10 a.m. and North Central (Ill.) at 2 p.m.
Penn Men Come Up Short on Senior Night
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen soccer team faced a strong opponent and an even stronger wind Tuesday, but was unfortunately unable to defeat either in a 3-2 loss to William Woods (Mo.) in non-conference play.
On a blustery night with winds gusting from 10-25 mph, Penn (7-8-2) fought even with the Owls (10-6-1) in the first half as the teams combined for five goals on 14 shots. The second half proved to be a bit of a dud, however, with neither squad putting the ball in the goal. William Woods claimed the final shot battle 19-9.
Joao Paulo Dutra Parra was a one-man wrecking crew for the visitors, outscoring the home team all by himself with three unassisted goals.
Parra opened the scoring in the 11th minute, but Penn answered right back when Daniel Beseau (Fr., Florissant, Mo., Timberland HS) knocked home a pass from Nick Gorrie (Fr., Kilmarnock, Scotland, Grange Academy) at the 17:11 mark. The goal is the freshman’s fourth and the assist is Gorrie’s second.
Parra put William Woods back ahead just over five minutes later, but again, the Statesmen responded. Mark Dryden (Fr., Arbroath, Scotland, Arbroath HS) did the work this time off a ball from Jordan Hoffman (Fr., Hyde Park, Utah, Skyview HS) at the 35:27 juncture. Dryden has now scored three times, while Hoffman now leads Penn with four assists.
The Owl striker had the last laugh, however, collecting his hat trick with only 1:58 remaining until halftime.
Statesmen goalkeeper Tadeo Cavazos (Sr., Baytown, Texas, Lee HS), one of five seniors playing their final regular season home game, made one save in the loss.
Next: With the regular season concluded, Penn now prepares for the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament which begins this weekend. The #8-seeded Statesmen have drawn top seed Grand View in Sunday’s quarterfinals in Des Moines. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m.
Lady Statesmen End Windy Night with Scoreless Tie
Oskaloosa–Two teams stepped onto the pitch Tuesday night, but Mother Nature came out on top as Penn and Coe tied 0-0 in non-conference action.
The Lady Statesmen (5-9-3) were outshot 16-12, but not one of those attempts found the back of the opposing net on a blustery night where winds topped out at around 25-30 mph.
Erika Larson (So., Plain City, Utah, Fremont HS) paced the home team with three shots, while three other players managed two apiece.
Kori Lajeuness (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Ritenour HS) started the game and played the entire first half, while Laura Jones-Gentry (Fr., Fruitland, Idaho, Fruitland HS) concluded the contest and recorded all three of the team’s saves.
Next: Penn travels to Davenport Thursday to face St. Ambrose in Midwest Collegiate Conference play at 3 p.m. The game is a make-up of last Saturday’s contest that was called midway through due to lightning.
