Penn State Sports Weekly Overview

Story posted September 15, 2013 in CommRadio, Sports by Aaron Carr

The following is the Penn State sports overview for the week of September 9th to the 15th and features results from every active Penn State athletic team.

Football:

The football team lost its game to UCF 34-31 on Saturday night from Beaver Stadium, to drop their season record to 2-1. Leading the charge for the Nittany Lions were quarterback Christian Hackenberg (262 passing yards, 1 TD), running back Zach Zwinak (128 rushing yards and a career-high 3 TDs) and wide receiver Allen Robinson (9 receptions, 143 yards and 1 TD). Penn State looks to rebound in its upcoming Saturday game against a Kent State team that fell to 1-2 on the season, after losing 45-13 to #8 LSU on Saturday. Kickoff for the game against Kent State is set for 3:30 p.m.

Player of the Week: RB Zach Zwinak. The senior running back had an up and down performance against UCF as he scored three TDs, but also had a costly fumble in the fourth quarter that effectively sealed the win for the Knights.

Stat of the Week: 507. The Penn State defense was gashed for 507 total yards against UCF. The Lions defense gave up a combined 443 yards against Syracuse and Eastern Michigan.

Men’s Golf:

The golf team concluded its outing at the Gopher Invitational on Monday and finished in 8th place after shooting an 875 after 54 holes. Sophomore JD Dornes led Penn State with a career-best 1 over par, after shooting a 214 during the three rounds of the tournament. Penn State heads to Ann Arbor for its next tournament, as Michigan will host the Wolverine Intercollegiate from Sept 16th to the 17th.

Player of the Week: Sophomore JD Dornes. The Lancaster, Pa. native had by far the best individual performance of any Penn Stater during the tournament, finishing tied for tenth overall.

Stat of the Week: 71. Junior Xander McDonald-Smith shot a 71 in the final round of the tournament to jump from 27th place to finish tied for 19th overall.

Women’s Golf:

The women’s golf team wrapped up the Cougar Classic this past week and finished 13th out of the field of 20 teams. Leading the way for Penn State was led by senior Ellen Ceresko who shot a 4 over par for the tournament and finished tied for 19th individually.

Player of the Week: Senior Ellen Ceresko. The Jefferson Township, Pa. native lead the way for the Nittany Lions and finished in the top 20 individually.

Stat of the Week: 33. Penn State shot a 33 over par for the tournament.

Women’s Volleyball:

The women’s volleyball team swept all three of its matches this week, defeating Marquette 3-0 on Friday then Central Arkansas 3-0 and Florida Gulf Coast 3-0 on Saturday to push its record to 6-1 on the season. The Lady Lions weekend performance led them to a title in the Hilton Garden Inn Homewood Suits Classic from Fort Myers, Fl. Penn State returns home this weekend for the Penn State Classic beginning on Saturday against Albany.

Player of the Week: Sophomore Megan Courtney. The native of Dayton, Ohio led Penn State in kills in each of the three matches during the tournament, totaling 28 for the weekend.

Stat of the Week: 0. In each of Penn State’s six victories on the season, they have yet to drop a set to their opponent.

Cross Country:

The cross country team participated in the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational this past Friday with the women’s team claiming the title with a perfect score and the men finishing second. Senor Emily Giannotti and redshirt sophomore Roby Creese each won individual titles for the Nittany Lions. Penn State takes a break from competition until Oct. 5 where it will participate in the Paul Short Run from Bethlehem, Pa.

Player of the Week: Senior Emily Giannotti. The senior won her first career cross country race this past Friday finishing in 21:17.

Stat of the Week: 15. The women’s team picked up a perfect 15 points to claim the team title.

Field Hockey:

The field hockey team won each of its contests this week, defeated Lock Haven on the road 3-0 on Wednesday and Princeton 4-3 on the road on Sunday. The upset victory over Princeton is even more impressive, considering the Tigers are the defending national champions. Penn State (3-3) returns home for its next game on Friday when it takes on Delaware.

Player of the Week: Senior Ashtin Klingler. The Selinsgrove, Pa. native scored a goal in each of the Nittany Lions victories this week.

Stat of the Week: 4. Penn State scored a season-high four goals against Princeton.

Men’s Soccer:

The men’s soccer team tied Cal on Friday in its only game of the week to bring its record to 2-2-1, in the young season. Redshirt sophomore, Kyle MacDonald, had the lone goal for Penn State. The Nittany Lions host Robert Morris on Tuesday for their next game of the season.

Player of the Week: Redshirt sophomore Kyle MacDonald. The native of Yardley, Pa. sent the game into overtime with his first career goal.

Stat of the Week: 1. Penn State had one shot on goal against Cal. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, it was the goal by MacDonald.

Women’s Soccer:

The women’s soccer team had a busy week, playing three games and winning each one of them to improve its record to 6-1-1. Penn State defeated Bucknell 6-0 on Tuesday, Oklahoma State 4-2 on Friday and Tulsa 3-2 on Sunday. Penn State returns home to face Big Ten rival Northwestern on Friday.

Player of the Week: Sophomore Mallory Weber. The Novi, Mich. native scored four goals this week including two against Bucknell.

Stat of the Week: 13. The Lady Lions totaled a combined 13 goals in their three wins this week.

Women’s Tennis:

The women’s tennis team competed in the Racquet Club of Midland Invite over the weekend. As of press time, the tournament was still on going for Sunday and official results have yet to be posted on GoPSUSports.com for any of the weekend matches. Those interested should check back on GOPSUSports.com for updates on Monday regarding the results of the invite.

Aaron Carr is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email adc5230@psu.edu.