SPORTS

Empty Feeling

Sports Editor: Jeff Hart – J.R.Hart2@iup.edu

(IUP Athletics) Normally teeming with action this time of the year, IUP’s athletic facilities like Miller Stadium (above), the KCAC (below) and the South Campus fields have been largely lifeless following the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s decision on July 15 to cancel the fall sports season.

Athletes adjusting to new norms

AUSTIN SMITH Sports Writer glxy@iup.edu @ThePenn_IUP

No matter where you are in the world, Covid-19 has challenged everyone. Loved ones lost, memorable events postponed or canceled, and future events left uncertain. Anything in life can be important to anybody, and like any other university, IUP’s community lived for its sports.

This semester at IUP will be very different on campus with most of it being online. Not to mention another huge problem, no sports will be played in the PSAC this semester, as per the conference’s announcement on July 15.

Sports added a lot of life on campus, and the cancelation has certainly had an effect on numerous IUP athletes. The PSAC’s decision in mid-July has given the IUP athletes time to reflect on it, accept it and turn their focus to a potential Spring 2021 season.

To get an inside look, we interviewed multiple athletes and to learn how the pandemic had influenced their day-to-day training and routines.

So how has Covid-19 affected what used to be normal training routines for these athletes?

“At the beginning of all the madness, it was hard to find a place to work out that was not my house,” said Georgiana Chiavacci (Senior, HR Management), a forward on the field hockey team. “Over the last few months, my usual routine was changed from going to the gym to working out outdoors and doing it alone rather than with some friends, which has benefited me and pushed me to hold myself accountable.”

Athletes like Chiavacci have lost their entire season to the pandemic after the PSAC announced the cancelation of the fall sports season. Continued on Page 19

PAGE 20: Photo Gallery: The turf projects at South Campus are complete.

“I want to bring foundations of a winning attitude to all of the players. They have all the pieces in place, they just need direction.”

Winning Mentality

With a long track record of success, Torbett takes over volleyball program

JEFF HART Sports Editor J.R.Hart2@iup.edu @ThePenn_IUP

Things appear to be on the rise for the IUP women’s volleyball team after the hiring of new head coach Julie Torbett, who became the eighth coach in program history on June 10.

In the face of a pandemic and a squad that has had its share of struggles in recent years, Torbett is looking to bring new life to this team and get the Crimson Hawks back on track toward success.

The ultimate goal is restoring IUP’s once-proud history and getting back to winning titles.

“I want to bring foundations of a winning attitude to all of the players,” Torbett said in a phone interview with The Penn. “They have all the pieces in place, they just need direction.” Over the past two seasons, the women’s volleyball team has been trending in the wrong direction, posting a combined 14-45 record since the start of the 2018 season, finishing last in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Southwest Division both years. Torbett inherits a young team, which had just one senior on the

JULIE 18-player roster last season. Eleven players were either freshmen or TORBETT sophomore, with six juniors round ing out last year’s squad.

The Crimson Hawks played a formidable schedule last season, facing the usual gauntlet of PSAC powers such as Gannon and Shippensburg, along with nationally ranked teams like Tampa and Wheeling.

While it didn’t translate to many victories, the Crimson Hawks showed flashes of potential while gaining invaluable experience. And that figures to serve them well next season, whenever that may be.

On July 15, the PSAC announced it was canceling the fall sports season in entirety and all athletic events through Dec. 31, which will also affect winter sports and delay the start of their seasons.

The IUP volleyball team has talent, Torbett has no doubt about it. But it seemed as though something was missing. With new guidance under Torbett, perhaps that piece has been found.

Torbett brings a resume of success at the Division I level, both as a coach and a player.

She has racked up 447 career victories in 26 seasons as a head coach, with 304 coming in 17 seasons at UNC Asheville from 1994 to 2010. Most recently, she led East Carolina University to 109 in seven seasons (2013-19) before coming to IUP. Her win totals at UNC Asheville and East Carolina stand as school

TORBETT’S CAREER RECORD School Record UNC Asheville (1994-2010) 304-257 Winthrop (2011-12) 34-24 East Carolina (2013-19) 109-107 Totals 447-388

records. In other words, she has a history of setting foundations of success everywhere she’s been, and her mission is to do the same at IUP.

Since arriving in Indiana in June, Torbett has been impressed with the IUP athletic department and the program’s winning mindset and culture, even drawing comparisons between IUP and the Division I schools at which she has coached.

“I have been very impressed with how Todd Garzarelli runs the department,” she said, referring to IUP’s director of athletics. “I have seen no difference between IUP and my past programs.

“It is nice to be surrounded by others who share my goal of bringing a championship here.”

Before she became a coach, Torbett played middle back and defensive specialist at Penn State for legendary coach Russ Rose, who in 41 seasons has built the Nittany Lions into a national powerhouse.

Torbett, who graduated from Penn State in 1990, played for Rose early in his tenure. She was part of the teams that laid the foundation for the powerhouse the Nittany Lions are today, so she knows a thing or two about building a winning program.

Torbett detailed how she plans to get IUP back on track toward the ultimate goal of attaining titles.

“I think we need to work on instilling trust and confidence in the players,” she said. “More mental training as well. There’s a lot of mental training that is necessary in this to be successful.”

Even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, she has taken advantage of the extra time she has been afforded following the PSAC’s announcement on July 15 that the fall sports season was canceled.

“There are things that you just can’t do during this. It can be very frustrating,” Torbett said. “The delay will allow me more time to be with the girls. It’s a blessing in disguise. We have to try to find the positives during these crazy times.”

Whenever the Crimson Hawks get back on the court, the team is primed and ready to start training with their new coach in order to start achieving their goals of winning.

With a department that has a winning mentality, a solid plan, and a resume of success behind her, Torbett has everything she needs to have success here at IUP.

Athletes adjusting to new norms, training regimens

Continued from Page 18

Furthermore, the PSAC’s decision has canceled all athletic events have been canceled through Dec. 31, meaning winter sports athletes like basketball players Justina Mascaro (Senior, Finance & Economics) and Courtney Alexander (Redshirt Senior, Nursing), are also affected. The IUP basketball teams, along with the swim teams, will lose the first two months of their season and can only hope they’ll play in the spring, even if it is a shortened season.

“Last summer, I had a strict workout schedule while I interned in Pittsburgh. I would wake up early before work and lift three days a week and did cardio and basketball stuff the other days,” said Mascaro. “The coronavirus has given me the whole day to work out, and I found that to be more difficult. It is easier to push things off and say you will do it later.

“I realized I was more motivated when I had a schedule. Every week, I would plan my workouts out, and I found this to be more successful.”

Basic, everyday preparation and training for these athletes quickly became difficult due to the abnormal training situation that was put in front of them. Most athletes would go to a gym with all the necessary equipment to train and work out, but these cunning athletes and coaches had to be creative and think of a solution.

Conditioning isn’t the only obstacle that faced these athletes. How about basic communication? With social distancing guidelines in place, that meant virtual team meeting and the like. No more team dinners, at least for now.

“My team and our coach still try to keep in contact as much as we can,” Chiavacci said. “We typically have Zoom meetings a few times a month as a team, along with talking several times a week in our group chat to catch up with each other. Although it is virtual, we are still able to pick up right where we left off.”

“Coach McConnell and the entire coaching staff organize Zoom meetings every other week for us. Each meeting is different, from playing a Kahoot to hearing from alumni,” Mascaro said. “This helps us stay focused and connected as a team. In addition to these meetings, I keep in contact with my teammates and coaches through phone calls and texts.”

You could say the virtual atmosphere has had an impact on these athletes, but they have made it work.

“A lot of people would fall into the mindset of not working as hard because nothing is set in stone, but I know I would only be cheating myself and my team if I don’t stay focused on working hard for the potential season,” Alexander said. “I think of it this way … working hard builds character and mental strength, so even if a season is shortened or cancelled … my hard work will help me grow in some way.”

“I have been continuing to train as I would if we were having our normal fall season. Although my season may be very different, I still like to keep up with workouts and running as if nothing has changed to better myself and my team,” Chiavacci said.

These athletes are still on a roll with their athletic training even with COVID-19 knocking on the door.

“I have been watching old games and trying to pinpoint the areas I did well in and the ones I need to improve. This allows me to align my workouts with my goals for next season,” Mascaro said.

Even though there have been many negative impacts for IUP athletes, it has also provided some silver linings as well.

“The blessing for me, and most people probably, was the time I could spend with my family and high school friends. I have not been home for this long in four years, so it was an adjustment that also helped me work on patience with my family,” Alexander said.

Chiavacci concurred.

“To me, the silver lining in all of this is that I was able to spend lots of time with my family over the last five months while acquiring new hobbies that I probably wouldn’t have tried if I did not have all that free time, like golf and poker,” she said. “I was also fortunate enough to be home when my first niece was born and spend so much time with her before I head back to school in a week.”

This pandemic has had a massive effect on these athletes both good and bad. Perspective, mental fortitude, perseverance, and communication have proven to be key to these athletes to allow them to stay on track for the hopeful return of sports next semester.

Whenever sports do come back, these athletes will be ready.

South Campus turf projects completed

(Paul Marchwinski/The Penn) Shortly after the conclusion of the spring semester, the South Campus turf projects at Ruth Podbielski Field (top left), home of the IUP softball team, and IUP baseball’s Owen J. Dougherty Field (middle left), were completed. Formerly all-natural surfaces, both fields were upgraded with new synthetic turf playing surfaces, including pitching mounds, backstops and foul territories. The infield at Podbielski Field is all turf. The outfields will remain natural grass, although Podbielski Field will have a turf warning track. Additionally, new home and away turf bullpens were added behind each dugout (bottom left).