Villanova heads to Sweet 16

SHANNONRYAN KRT

Villanova guard Allan Ray looked up to see a skilled Arizona guard barreling toward his freshman teammate and the hoop.

Ray knew Dante Cunningham could do one of two things: cower or overpower.

"He could have easily backed out of the way because he didn't want to get dunked on," Ray said, "but he stepped in there and went up and challenged him."·

Cunningham's blocked shot resulted in a three-pointer at the other end by Ray in Villanova's second-round NCAA tournament win on Sunday. It was just another reliable play by one of Villanova 's two undaunted freshmen forwards.

Last season, Cunningham and Shane Clark were playing in high school and prep school gyms.

Right now, they're packing their bags for the Sweet 16 in Minneapolis to play Boston Col- lege on Friday.

Cunningham, a 6-foot-9 inside presence, and Clark, a 6-7 perimeter player, became vital components to complement Villanova's four-guard lineup this season. They supply stature and surprisingly little freshman kneeknocking, going against some of the most experienced bullies in the NCAA.

They will see a Jew more of those when they come off the bench against Boston College (28-7). The Eagles start dominating forwards Craig Smith, who averages 17 .7 points and 9 .3 rebounds per game, and Jared Dudley. Both are 6-7.

The story has been told hundreds of times by now, how Villanova turned to four guards when senior forward Curtis Sumpter was lost for the season with a knee injlll)'.

The Wildcats needed size to support starting forward Will Sheridan.

Clark and Cunningham have

PAC honors Cabrini athletes

CHRISTINE BLOM SPORTS EDITOR Qrn722@CABRINI.EDU

To be honored as a Pennsylvania Athletic Conference player of the week, the athlete must be an excellent performer both in and out of uniform. They must possess passion, dedication and set an example for the rest of their teammates.

Kevin Quinn, Katelyn Penrose and Drew Sutton have all done just that. They have proven that they are capable of all of the above qualities. These three outstanding athletes have all gone above and beyond to show that Cabrini students are truly able to "do something extraordinary." plenty of that, but they also had that troublesome "freshman" tag in front of their names.

Quinn, a junior history major, Penrose, a sophomore elementary education major, and Sutton, a freshman business administration major, were all named PAC players of the week for the week ending on March19.

Villanova coach Jay Wright threw them into the fire anyway.

"One of the things you can't hide is how a player is going to play under the most stressful conditions when the big lights are on," Wright said. "You can watch them in practice all year long. It doesn't matter. You throw them into a fire like that and you find out if they're a player or not."

They were players all right.

Instead of wilting under the pressure of the NCAA tournament, the two have thrived.

Through the first two games, Cunningham has 16 rebounds, two steals and a block. He logged a season-high 31 minutes against Arizona, when Villanova's guards fell into early fool trouble.

Clark, who attended Cardinal Dougherty and Hargrave Military Academy, played a total of 27 minutes in the wins over Monmouth and Arizona.

Quinn, the starting goalie for the men's lacrosse team for two years running, as the Cavaliers were recently named 17th in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Coaches poll, was a major contributor to this title due to his honorable performance against Haverford College.

As they took on Haverford on March 19, Quinn had 22 saves, only letting in five goals. He is the leader rin the PAC among goalies for his save percentage (.694) and his goals-against average.

An important athlete on the women's side of the lacrosse program is forward Penrose.

With 10 goals in the last three games, Penrose is thought to be

Wright knew that at some point the guards would need help, and he had been prepping the freshmen for this moment.

"We prepare all the time for other combinations," Wright said. "We usually practice more without the four guards."

Sheridan has been a nice example for the freshmen, with 16 points against Arizona, 10 rebounds against Monmouth, -and no problems doing the dirty work.

The Wildcats also used Jason Fraser, a 6-9 senior whose minutes have been significantly reduced. Against Arizona, he came up with a rebound, a block and two free throws in five minutes.

Chris Charles, a 7-foot senior, played seven minutes against Monmouth.

But it was apparent long ago that Cunningham and Clark were not just being tested for the future. They are needed now.

"Coach tells us just go get an unstoppable force by her peer Lady Cavs. She had four goals against Immaculata, three against Widener, and another hat trick against Rosemont College.

Last year, as a freshman, Penrose was second on the team with 37 goals and was a part of the team that holds eight straight wins at the PAC championship. She is currently the leading scorer on the team with 13 goals thus far.

Finally, Sutton was the third competitor honored for the week. He showed that he even though he has only been playing collegiate tennis for about three weeks, he is at Cabrini to make a name for himself.

At the end of the week, his record was 11-1, only losing in a rebounds and play defense and get stops," said Cunningham, a long-armed native of Silver Spring.Md. singles match to a Division II player from Mercyhurst College in the team's home opener. He is 6--0, standing at the top with his double partner, junior communications major Matt Ingram. Ingram is also ranked first in singles, despite his one loss, making his record 5-1.

Clark and Cunningham admit the year has been full of adjustments, but also growth.

"The biggest difference is probably just growing up," said Clark, a Philadelphia native, "just learning from experience,- every game we go through."

Wright recalled the regularseason finale in Syracuse, when Clark and Cunningham played like veterans in front of a record crowd mostly rooting against them.

While coaches never like to talk about next season, especially during a run at the national championship, Wright has glimpsed Villanova's future.

It's hard not to when Clark and Cunningham are on the court.

"We have a chance," Wright said, "to be good again."

Showing grace, sportsmanship, talent and drive, these three athletes portrayed what it means to be a PAC player of the week and have done a tremendous job.

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