SPORTS

Sports Sports Editor: Jeff Hart – J.R.Hart2@iup.edu Lead Sportswriter: Austin Smith – A.S.Smith7@iup.edu A dream come true: the Mikesells make IUP history

Jeffery Hart

Sports Editor J.R.Hart2@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

It has been officially a year and three months since the release of The Penn’s documentary on three of IUP’s best, the Mikesells, an amazingly gifted group of siblings, who wanted to compete for a swimming championship.

More than that, they wanted to compete for a championship as a family. In a year during which there has been so much uncertainty, one thing is for sure: the Mikesells are competing for a championship.

Today, Claire (redshirt senior, kinesiology), Paige (junior, kinesiology) and Luke (freshman, criminology), will be representing IUP in Birmingham, Alabama for the 2021 NCAA Division II National Swimming Championships.

Claire earned first team All-American honors two years ago. She will compete in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. Claire is seeded fourth in the 200-meter breast, where she finished eighth in the final back in 2019 and has the eighth-best time in DII in the 100-meter breast.

Paige qualified for the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle, and 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly. She is the top-seeded swimmer in the 200-meter fly with a season-best time of 1:59.65 and seeded third in the 100-meter fly at 54.45.

Luke was selected to compete in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle. He is one of the fastest swimmers in the in the 200-meter, ranking third in the nation coming into the championships. He is seeded 12th in the 500-meter free.

This is not the Mikesells’ first rodeo in the NCAA championships. This will be Paige’s third consecutive NCAA championship. This will also be Claire’s second NCAA championship appearance after redshirting last season. Even though this may not be their first time competing for a championship, the road traveled to this one has not made it easy. “At the time of making the documentary and not even knowing what we would be facing, it feels amazing that we were still able to get here,” Claire said. “We all worked really hard this season, still not even being sure that the national championship would happen. Even though this season was anything but ordinary, and we had to work really hard from August to February, the time has finally come.”

“It has definitely been a crazy past year,” Paige said. “From NCAA’s getting canceled before I had the opportunity to compete for a spot on the podium, going into lockdown with no pools open to train, being unsure if we would even have a season, let alone NCAA’s in 2021, it has been a hard and stressful year.”

Competing for a national championship is a momentous occasion for any athlete. They have a chance to make history and be rewarded for the years of hard work and dedication to their craft.

This triple-threat of siblings has a chance to do more than that. This is the only time that IUP has had three siblings competing for a championship in the same sport.

“It definitely is a cool thing to know we were the first, but I hope there are other siblings that get to share this experience because it will be a memory they will never forget,” Luke said.

“It means a lot, and hopefully, we are doing a great job at representing IUP,” Claire said. “We know it’s very rare for three siblings to be able to compete at this level together. It’s a whole new experience for us as well.

“It has been a blast being able to train beside my siblings over this past year and qualify for the national championship. We have been talking about this meet ever since we found out Luke was coming to IUP, so to finally be here all together is amazing. It’s another great memory that we are able to make together that we will be able to talk about for years to come.”

Rachel Johnson (junior, hospitality management) and Iliana Oikonomou (senior, sociology) will be representing IUP in Birmingham along with the Mikesells.

In a year of a never-ending series of unfortunate events, this gifted group of siblings has found the light at the end of the tunnel.

“From redshirting last year, to being at the 2020 championship meet when they shut it down and seeing all the emotions along the way, all I can say is we are very blessed to be here and to be able to keep doing what we love,” Claire said. “So many seniors last year were not able to finish their season the way many of us dream of doing. If I had not redshirted last year, I would not even be here today to have this opportunity to compete again.

“I think it makes this year so much more important because I know what is at stake.”

“This journey has shown me that I can train just about through any obstacles and still show improvement,” Luke said, “that, with hard work and determination, you can achieve just about anything. I have put in the hours and the hard work; now it’s time to just get up and race this week.” This championship is the culmination of all the lessons that the Mikesells have learned on the road to Birmingham. They learned perhaps the most important lesson of all: It is not about the destination, but rather the journey.

Claire (left), Paige (middle) and Luke (right) will represent IUP at the highest level. (IUP Athletics)

IUP lacrosse thankful to be on field again, splitting opening weekend games

Jeffery Hart

Sports Editor J.R.Hart2@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

“Appreciate every practice and every game,” IUP lacrosse head coach Brenna Gallagher said.

After more than a year, the IUP lacrosse team opened its 2021 season last week with a promising start.

After playing only four games in the 2020 spring season, IUP lacrosse was forced to end its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the rest of the world, the team had to adapt and overcome hardships.

“We all saw a year ago that all the lights went out,” Gallagher said. “It seemed unimaginable with the whole world. We are tested every week going into practice. It’s about accountability more than ever.”

Despite all the hardships and unforeseen circumstances, this team has found a way to remain positive and take advantage of the situation.

“Getting back on the field was an amazing feeling,” midfielder Kayte Zeiler (senior, exercise science) said. “It was like everything was right again in the world. It was definitely a day we were all looking forward too.

“If anything, losing a season taught us that you always have to play with excitement, intensity and heart because you never know when it can be taken away.”

This team took advantage of the extra time off to try to prepare for the game mentally.

“There are days where you are really tested with your patience,” Gallagher said. “Having that time off made me sit back and think how much I wanted to get back with the team and compete. It made us must get creative with how we coached. We had to do pods for practice; it is hard to do that in a contact sport. We have had to focus on the film and nuances of the game to help prepare them mentally.”

“I think the time off refocused us and made us appreciate the game more,” attacker Jordan Kulp (sophomore, nursing) said. “We know what it feels like to have a season cut short, so now we are going to go out and play every game like it could be our last.”

The Hawks opened their season against No. 11 Grand Valley State on Friday. IUP rebounded from a slow start early but could not rally past and ultimately fell to the Lakers, 14–8.

On Sunday, the Hawks took their first PSAC victory against conference rival Slippery Rock, 12–8.

It was a low-scoring affair first half as Slippery Rock grabbed a 3–2 lead early. The Crimson Hawks responded quickly with three straight goals and gave IUP a 5–3 lead at the break.

The teams traded second half goals as The Rock kept it close. SRU cut IUP's lead to 8–7 with just under 16 minutes to play.

The Hawks came back with two quick goals by Zeiler and Kulp and added another by Leah Hunter (junior, speech pathology) a few minutes later to open an 11–7 lead. Each team scored once more with the IUP defense shutting out The Rock in the final minutes.

Kulp stood out by putting up four goals and three assists to help lead her team to victory. This performance is even more impressive considering she played only three games last season.

“Jordan is truly an athlete,” Gallagher said. “She is tough and works super hard. As a freshman, she did not get the start. We put her in after we lost our starter; she got involved and got the experience.

“She has really come along and taken a big role. Jordan really had to step up and orchestrate our offense. I think it really comes down to mentality and coachability.

She gets better every game. Eyes are going to be on her against Seton Hill. She does not get shaken up by the extra attention. She is never complacent. She only cares about winning and helping her team get better.”

Even after the game, Kulp remained true to her team and her coaches, and did not try to take any credit away from the team effort it took to win.

“With Slippery Rock being our conference opener, there was a lot of energy going into the game,” Kulp said. “Once the game started, it was close. As we continued to play, I could just tell we were having fun, and when we are having fun, we do well. The game was the definition of a team win.”

Opening the season against a nationally ranked opponent and a tough conference rival is hitting the ground running. This team would not have it any other way.

“I believe the only way we will get better is going to be by playing the best,” Gallagher said. “It is always nice to have a feel-good game, but is blowing out bad competition going to make us better? Going into Slippery Rock, which is a solid conference opponent, it gave us the chance to play tough and teach the freshman that this is college lacrosse and to let us build on it.”

IUP’s next match will be today at 4 p.m. against Seton Hill at Indiana. It is truly amazing to be able to have sports back again.

Hawk Nation, show up and support your IUP lacrosse team.

(Natalie Stanton/The Penn)

IUP lacrosse has used the extra time off to get focused for this season.

IUP softball splits weekend doubleheader with Cal U

‘I am pleased with the grit and fight that these young women have’

AUSTIN SMITH

Lead Sportswriter A.S.Smith7@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The Crimson Hawks softball team went 2–2 in the weekend series against rivals California University of Pennsylvania. In Game 1 of the doubleheader Saturday, Hope Jones (sophomore, psychology) got the start on the mound. Jones played seven innings and threw a career-high 12 strikeouts. “Hope is starting to find her groove,” head coach Shauna Bellaud said. “She came into this season after having a wrist injury that she was working through in the summer and fall. She is giving her all on every pitch that she throws. She has worked hard this off-season to get to where she is right now.

“She is a fantastic leader to our young pitching staff, and I couldn’t be prouder of how she is doing.”

Renee Wall (senior, criminology) and Kaitlyn Beers (graduate, criminology) started the offensive spark with back-to-back base hits. Cal U would eventually tie it back up.

Haleigh Zimmerman (sophomore, safety science) would knock an RBI single to help the Hawks regain the lead. The game went back and forth until Beers hit a shot down center field to bring one of her teammates around for what happened to be the game-winning run to give the Hawks a 6–5 victory in Game 1.

“The grit and fight that the team had for each other showed in those innings,” Bellaud said. “The offense also executed the plan that we had for them when they stepped into the box.”

Game 2 of the doubleheader was high-scoring game. The Vulcans got off to a quicker start, but that did not stop Beers, who went 5–8 in both games, tallying two home runs, three runs and five RBI’s.

Beers cut the lead in half with a home run, but Cal U would tally four runs in the fourth and fifth inning to take the victory by the score of 14–5 in Game 2.

“Game 2 of our doubleheader from Saturday is a game that, as a team, we have put behind us,” Bellaud said. “With a young team, we must bounce back and move forward. Kaitlyn’s [experienced] and a leader of this team; she did what she could to keep us in the game.”

The Hawks would have little time for rest. On Sunday, they had for another doubleheader against Cal U. In game one of the, Jones got the start on the mound again for the Hawks.

They found themselves down by four runs earlier on in the fifth inning. Catcher Jenna Rhue (junior, criminology) had an RBI single to start off the offensive mojo.

Rene Wall (senior, criminology) and Rhue were a huge reason why the Hawks were able to produce four runs in the seventh and five runs in the eighth to clinch a 10–6 victory.

“From my standpoint, in these big rivalry games, I continuously tell my younger teammates to just keep it simple and play within themselves to always play at our level and not our competitors,” Beers said. “It truly does not matter who we play, but as long as we play to our strengths and together, we can handle any situation. My teammates know we have each other's back, and we have already proven that to each other, so in the end, we just need to stick to playing our game.”

The Hawks finished their big weekend on a lower note. This game was the lowest scoring out of all the games and was more of a tight battle losing 4-2.

Although Cal U was up 4–0 going into the seventh inning, the Hawks were not done. Bella Bucy (freshman, undecided) doubled right down left field in which she brought runner Rachael Rodriguez (senior, dietetics) to home.

Ashley Renzi (sophomore) would score a run as she was left on base, but the comeback would fall short.

“Our team is a young team,” Bellaud said. “I am pleased with the grit and fight that these young women have. We have work to do both on offense and defense, but we continuously are striving to get better every day.”

The Hawks' next big weekend matchup will be against Mercyhurst for a four-game weekend series starting Friday, during which the Hawks look to continue to build and grow after each game.

IUP baseball drops weekend matchups, looking to rebound against the Vulcans

AUSTIN SMITH

Lead Sportswriter A.S.Smith7@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Warm weather is arising, and baseball fans know what that means: the Hawks are starting to see a lot of action right now.

They played two sets of doubleheaders this past weekend against the division rivals Slippery Rock and got to square off against Frostburg State.

The action started with a tight Game 1 loss to Slippery Rock, 7–5. They got off to a 1–0 start earlier on through the first four innings then IUP responded themselves. In the fifth inning, Harrison Pontoli (sophomore, finance) helped the Hawks take the lead with an RBI single.

The Hawks found themselves down again until Austin Mueller (senior, business) stepped up to the plate to produce some offense in the sixth inning to tie the game. IUP would then take a 5–3 lead after Slippery Rock’s pitcher threw a wild pitch.

They would eventually tally four more runs to take the 7–5 final.

“We had some defensive miscues that allowed extra runners and gave their hitters new life,” head coach Anthony Rebyanski said. “Most of the time in baseball, if you give a good hitter another chance, you get burned. That is exactly what happened in a couple of instances in Game 1. The most important thing is that we learn from these mistakes and limit them from happening in the future.”

Ben Hudock (senior, software engineering) got the start on the mound and had a solid performance.

“We had a great outing on the mound from Ben Hudock in his first start of the year,” Rebyanski said. “As I mentioned before, we want our starting pitchers to give us a chance to win a ball game, and he did just that. He did a good job of keeping their hitters off balance and getting important outs when we needed them.”

“Our starting pitcher, Ben Hudock, pitched incredibly well in game one,” Nick Hess (senior, marketing) said. “He did a phenomenal job of executing pitches and keeping their hitters off-balance.”

The nightcap game was shortly after Game 1. During Game 2, Nick Kuhn (senior, psychology) got the start on the mound. Kuhn managed to throw four strikeouts in a little over three innings.

“Nick pitched well enough for us to win. He also did a good job of keeping their hitters off-balance all day,” Rebyanski said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t back him up defensively. If we play sound defense and make the plays behind him, we have a legitimate chance of hanging on and winning both of those baseball games today [Friday].”

The Hawks started great against Slippery Rock in Game 2 with a Chris Eisel (senior, pre-physical therapy) homerun in the first. They would add plenty of offense themselves to climb ahead, though, to a score of 6–1.

Hess did stand out in Game 2 for the Hawks, going 2–3 with two doubles and an RBI to try to spark the Hawks in the right direction again, but the Hawks would eventually fall to the score of 9–2.

“I think our offense came out firing and was ready to be competitive,” Hess said. “I have the utmost confidence in our pitching staff and our lineup to win ballgames in the future.”

The pitching was great, but in the end, Slippery Rock just had a bit more offense in Game 2 to get the edge on the Hawks.

“Kuhn is always a great competitor,” Hess said. “He mixes speeds well and knows how to grind to get outs. I have a lot of faith in our team when he is on the mound.”

The Hawks also had a doubleheader against Frostburg State at Dougherty Field on Saturday. The Hawks just fell short to a score of 10–8. Frostburg State had a 10–1 lead earlier on in the game.

The Hawks flew right back to offensive mode when Hess started with an RBI single, and more Hawks followed. Austin Vigliotti (junior, sports administration) and catcher Ty Diehl (junior, exercise science) would both add singles with runners on bases throughout the whole rally back.

“Being down 10–1 with one out in the last half of the game is a difficult feat to come back and win by,” Rebyanski said. “We stress to our guys daily to not quit until that final out is made. We battled and made it close, but we don’t want to have to play catch up in the last frame of games.” The Hawks had one more game on the four-game weekend, the night cap game against Frostburg State. The game was deadlocked at 1–1 in the first inning, but Frostburg State would power against the Hawks throughout the rest of the game.

Frostburg State would add four runs in both the third and fourth innings and then eight runs in the fifth inning, which put the game out of reach. The final score of Game 2 resulted in a 20–3 loss.

The Hawks look to rebound on the diamond today with a non-conference doubleheader against California University of Pennslyvania at Dougherty Field.

Sports

Men’s basketball return to KCAC without audience

(Steven Langdon Jr, The Penn) Armoni Foster (left) and Ethan Porterfield (right) combined for 35 points during the game Friday.

STEVEN LANGDON JR

Editor-in-Chief PBYW@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Crimson Hawk basketball returned to the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex (KCAC) for the first time in over a year Friday night against Clarion University. An 80-63 victory of the California University of Pennsylvania Vulcans on March 4 last year was the last opponent the men’s team faced at their home arena.

Although it was a scrimmage, the fans were surely missed in an entertaining come from behind 7774 victory. There is no telling what the crowd would have done if they were there.

Maybe they would have been jumping up and down causing an earthquake in the KCAC, or even stormed the court. Unfortunately no one will ever know.

You could hear a pin drop even after Dave Morris (redshirt junior, kinesiology health and sport science) hit the go ahead shot with around a minute left.

The story was not the game, however, but the eeriness of the KCAC without fans. Head coach Joe Lombardi also shared the same sensation.

“[It was] strange because it was an official game,” he said. “It was a different atmosphere without anyone in the building.

“It was different but I am also very grateful for the opportunity to do it.”

Morris also touched on the feeling of not having fans cheering the team throughout.

“Being there without the crowd was definitely off, especially having the best fans in the PSAC,” Morris said. “We knew they were there in spirit though, and we had to give it our all to defend our home territory.”

The team started off cold going down 13 at halftime. Matters were worse, given that Clarion was on fire converting on 11 shots from beyond the arch.

The hot streak carried into the second half as the lead got as high as 15 for the Golden Eagles. About halfway through the second half, the Crimson Hawks flipped a switch.

Coach Lombardi said he did not change anything in the second half and that it was a team effort, as they kept chipping away at the deficit leading to the clutch shot by Morris who had all eight of his points in the second half.

Leading the team in scoring was Armoni Foster (redshirt junior, criminal justice) with 22 points and seven assists.

“I thought Armoni played well,” Lombardi said. “He scored the ball, but also had a lot of good passes.

“Dave Morris playing in the second half also gave us a big lift, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

Tommy Demogerontas (redshirt senior, Eberly College of Business) was second with 14 points. He was a big part of the scoring last season before a knee injury sidelined him the rest of the year after the third game.

Ethan Porterfield (sophomore, kinesiology health and sport science), PSAC West Freshman of the Year last season, was a big part of the run near the end of the game. He converted the shot that tied the game at 74. On top of that, he had 13 points.

Tomiwa Sulaiman (freshman, kinesiology health and sport science) was the standout freshman for the Hawks. Originally from London, he had seven points and 11 rebounds to his name. Sulaiman was also a rim protector, collecting three blocks.

“Coming back from down 15, we knew at halftime that we have been here before and we can’t let it break us,” Morris said. “We stick to our coaches principles, take that and add our drive and togetherness to rally us back.

“We never get too worried. That’s our culture, we strive to be resilient.”

Most will never remember this game or even know it happened. But for those who were there, it is a game that will never be forgotten.

Not just because it was a Crimson Hawk come from behind win. Not because there were less than 15 fans and media in attendance.

The reason is because, despite everything that has happened in the last year from a No. 1 seed in the national tournament and entire season taken away because of COVID-19, it was a return to some normalcy.

Crimson Hawk basketball doing what they do best: defy the odds.