Feb. 21, 2018
By Andy Kuros, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Coming off the Big Ten/ACC Challenge last weekend in North Carolina, Penn State will now travel to Jacksonville, Florida to compete in the JU Tournament.
For two Nittany Lion coaches, the Jacksonville University tournament will not only serve as an important five game weekend for a Penn State team looking for to gain early season momentum, but also a trip down memory lane.
Head coach Amanda Lehotak and assistant coach Sarah Sigrest were both involved in Jacksonville's softball program for years before coming to Penn State, and the duo was instrumental in the team's sudden success.
Lehotak, who served as the program's head coach for five years and was awarded the Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year in 2011 after leading the Dolphins to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance, is always grateful for the chance she was given when she was hired to be head coach after serving just one season as the team's assistant coach.
"I had a boss when I was the assistant at Jacksonville who believed in my passion for the game, and he gave me an opportunity," Lehotak mentioned.
"I will always be appreciative of Jacksonville because they gave me my first opportunity, so in a weird way it's almost like going home," Lehotak said. "I'm always fortunate to have that as part of my history. I love Jacksonville University and I still talk to a lot of people there. It's great to be able to go back and remember where you came from."
Despite leaving JU with a school record 137 wins, Lehotak owes some of her success to Sigrest, who was her star pitcher from 2009-2012. The Alabama native was a four-year starter on the mound and left JU as the program's all-time leader in six categories, including wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched.
"We helped turn the program around there and Coach (Sigrest) was a big part of that," Lehotak said.
Sigrest, who Penn State hired in August of 2015 to work with the team's pitchers and to assist with recruiting, talked about returning to her alma mater.
"It's nostalgic to be back on that field," Sigrest said. "Obviously I'm not playing, but it's still cool to see it, even on a different side of things."
As for the 2018 Nittany Lions, both Sigrest and Lehotak are moving forward and looking ahead despite the lack of victories early in the year.
"I'm really excited for this tournament," Sigrest said. "It's a really big tournament for us because we need to win. JU always plays us really tough and they're a lot like us in a lot of ways. It should be a fun and exciting weekend."
Lehotak echoed the optimistic message of the former Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Year and drew positives from the Blue and White's play last weekend.
"I like our fight, I like our focus, and I really like us," Lehotak said. "I know the wins are not showing the progression, but we are progressing and I like where we're at."
"Our offense finally showed up and we put up some really good numbers," Lehotak added. "Obviously if you look at how many runners we left on base, we're not doing a great job of getting them in right now, but we will. We've improved immensely from week one, both defensively and offensively."
Penn State will look to turn its fortunes around as they play the University of Central Florida (UCF) Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. to kickoff the JU tournament.