Shortened spring season sees success for a few Penn teams

Despite COVID-19 restrictions across the Ivy League limiting athletic participation in spring 2021, several athletics teams in that part of the season were able to participate in limited capacity. 

Baseball

The Quakers finished their 2021 baseball season with a 6-8 record, highlighted by a two-game winning streak against La Salle to end the year. Strong performers included sophomore Wyatt Henseler, senior catcher Andrew Hernandez, and senior pitcher Kevin Eaise. Despite being only his first season of collegiate baseball and having limited practice leading up to the season, Henseler led the team with 17 RBIs, a .365 average, and a .990 OPS. Hernandez was a steady force behind the plate, while also batting in 11 runs. On the mound, Eaise went a perfect 2-0 in three starts, and maintained a 2.42 ERA for the season. The Quakers return to action on the diamond this season on February 25, 2022 against Texas A&M. 

Softball

The Quakers finished their 2021 softball season at 5-5, highlighted by a midseason three-game winning streak against Villanova and La Salle. Strong performers for the Quakers included junior outfielder Emma Nedley, freshman infielder Sammy Fenton, and junior pitcher Julia Longo. Nedley led the team with three home runs and seven RBIs at an impressive .333 batting average. Fenton led the team with a .393 batting average and batted in six runs of her own. On the mound, Longo went 3-2 in five starts with an outstanding 1.66 ERA. The Quakers open up their 2022 season against Delaware State on March 16th. 

Track & Field

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams performed well this past season, as 10 runners qualified to compete in the NCAA East Region Preliminaries in Jacksonville, FL. Strong performers for the men included senior Anthony Russo, who finished 17th for the 10,000 meters, junior Michael Keehan, who ran the 3,000 meters and finished 13th, and junior Noah Carey, who finished 12th in the 5,000 meters. 

For the women’s team, freshman Isabella Whittaker broke out as a star. She finished third in her heat in the 400 meters, and 11th out of 48 total runners, to qualify for the quarterfinals. Whittaker then went on to finish 10th in the quarterfinals and set a program record with a time of 51.92 seconds. This performance qualified her for the national semifinals in Eugene, OR, where she finished 24th and earned an All-American Honorable Mention. 

Rowing

Penn men’s heavyweight rowing competed in four regattas this past season, with their best quad performance coming in the IRA Invitational, the final regatta of the season. Members on that quad were rowers sophomore Jake Nordell, and freshmen Brian Decelles, Colin Rosser, Ben Rutherford, as well as cox Nicole Ahadian, who finished 5th out of 20 competing boats.

Penn men’s lightweight rowing also competed in four regattas this past spring, with first-place finishes in three of the four competitions. Penn women’s rowing also competed in four regattas this past spring and finished with two first-place finishes in the Murphy Cup and Kelly Cup.

Tennis

Penn men’s tennis finished with a 4-2 record this past spring, highlighted by two dominant 6-1 wins against rival Villanova. Strong performers include sophomore Zach Smith, who went 6-0 in singles, and juniors Harsh Parikh and Aditya Gupta, who went a perfect 5-0 in doubles. The team overall finished 25-11 in singles matches and 12-6 in doubles. 

Penn women’s tennis finished with a 2-0 record against Drexel and Villanova this past season, with their remaining two scheduled matches being cancelled. Strong performers included senior Marija Curnic and freshman Iris Gallo, who both went 2-0 in their singles matches. The team overall finished 9-3 in singles matches, and 3-3 in doubles. 

Lacrosse

Both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams played in only one game this season. The men’s team beat Carbini 23-9, led by seniors Adam Goldner’s nine goals, and Dylan Gergar’s seven goals. They open the 2022 season on February 19th against Georgetown. 

The women’s team beat La Salle 16-11 led by five goals from senior Zoe Belodeau. They also open up their 2022 season on February 19th against Delaware.