UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Eight Penn State fall sports programs had their opening media day sessions Aug. 28 as the 2019 fall sports seasons commenced. The Nittany Lion coaches and student-athletes previewed their upcoming seasons and updated the status of their programs' competitions earlier in August.
Women's Volleyball
Women's volleyball was represented by returning All-Americans Jonni Parker and Kaitlyn Hord, and head coach Russ Rose, as he enters his 41st season at Penn State. The group talked about having a young team and what that means going against some of the more experienced teams in the nation. They also spoke about their excitement of finally getting the season started. The Nittany Lions carried that excitement into the season-opening Penn State Classic, where they went a perfect 3-0 with wins over Hofstra, Holy Cross and Wichita State.
"We're excited to step out on the court and do something that we all love," said sophomore Kaitlyn Hord. "We're pretty confident and ready to see how we stack up against other teams. We've been playing against each other all summer, so we want to see come new competition. I think we're ready."
Full session: LionVision | YouTube
Schedule: 2019 Women's Volleyball
Notes: Game Notes
Social @PennStateVBALL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Men's Golf
Seven letterwinners return for the Penn State men's golf team, including two seniors in Alec Bard and Ryan Davis, who have been regulars in the lineup since their freshman years. Add four freshmen to the mix and the door is open for a lot of competition heading into this fall's five-event schedule.
"We've had a good five- or six-year run (where) it has been tough to get into our lineup and our players have been working and waiting," said Penn State head men's golf coach Greg Nye. "For our sophomores, juniors, and now, these freshmen, there's an opportunity. That's the fun part, really. We're turning the page and working with new people."
Three of the Nittany Lions' five fall events are in North Carolina, opening with the Rod Myers Invitational at Duke and the Old Town Club Collegiate in Winston-Salem and hosted by Wake Forest. The final event of the fall is at the UNCG/Grandover Collegiate. Penn State returns to the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and heads to Cincinnati's Bearcat Invitational.
"Of our first eight events (including spring 2020), I've got to say, they are top-tier Division I tournaments and that's going to be a big challenge for our new players," Nye said. "They are going to get a strong look at some outstanding golf courses and great competition. They are going to get a full dose and their learning curve could be huge over the course of this year and that was certainly coaching intent."
Full Session: LionVision | YouTube
Schedule: Fall 2019 Men's Golf
Notes: Quick Facts
Social @PennStateMGolf: Twitter | Facebook
Field Hockey
Penn State Field Hockey head coach Char Morett-Curtiss, joined by junior co-captain Madison Hutson, addressed the challenging schedule and outstanding leadership returning for 2019.
"We are excited about our early schedule," said Morett-Curtiss. "Opening against strong teams gives the preseason purpose and we've taken advantage of that this year. We want to be on attack all year long, that will be our mentality this season."
Full Session: LionVision | YouTube
Schedule: 2019 Field Hockey
Notes: Game Notes
Social @PennStateFH: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Women's Soccer
The Penn State women's soccer team, ranked No. 7 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, picked up two wins on the West Coast vs. Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount in week two of the season. The Nittany Lions face four team ranked teams in 2019: No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Virginia, No. 12 West Virginia and No. 15 Wisconsin.
"Every experience is a little bit different," said Penn State head coach Erica Dambach. "Certainly, you learn a bit from each team. To not get to caught up on what it looks like at the beginning of the season, that's your starting point your never going to win any championships in game one…It's who grows the most, it's who embraces the journey and which team has each player embrace their role so that they can continue to get better and better. And it's our goal to make sure that there are more players contributing in October than were able to contribute in August because we worked with them, we developed them, we had a plan for them…so that in October, we had more players who can contribute."
Full Session: LionVision | YouTube
Schedule: 2019 Women's Soccer
Notes: Quick Facts
Social @PennStateWSOC: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Men's Soccer
Second-year head coach Jeff Cook and 2019 team captains Aaron Molloy and Pierre Reedy spoke to the media ahead of their season opener last Friday.
"I think we built a good foundation last year and now we look to 2019 with a lot of energy and enthusiasm," said Cook.
The Nittany Lions have a brand-new look in 2019 with 13 newcomers and 12 returners from the 2018 roster. Penn State also has one of the toughest schedules in the nation, with seven of its 16 regular-season opponents ranked in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
Full Session: LionVision | YouTube
Schedule: 2019 Men's Soccer
Notes: Game Notes
Social @PennStateMSOC: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Women's Golf
Women's golf head coach Denise St. Pierre and sophomore Sarah Willis met with the media ahead of the 2019 fall season. Coach St. Pierre is excited about the upcoming season, but unsure of what her starting lineup will look like after graduating four-year starters Cara Basso, Jackie Rogowicz and Lauren Waller in May. Willis, along with senior Megan McLean, are the lone returners of the 2018-19 starting five, and joined by senior Maddy Herr, represent the only three Nittany Lions with big time tournament experience heading into the fall. This brings with it a sense of excitement, but also some uncertainty after many years of consistency.
"It's exciting to have some different people in the lineup this year," mentioned St. Pierre. "I think it's exciting to see what kind of energy they will bring to the team. It [the fall season] is a great time to see what our players are going to do for us [on the course]."
Full Session: LionVision | YouTube
Schedule: Fall 2019 Women's Golf
Notes: Quick Facts
Social @PennStateWGOLF: Twitter | Facebook
Men's and Women's Cross Country
The Penn State cross country team is slated to begin its season on September 6 at Lock Haven University at the Dolan Duals. Coach John Gondak enters his sixth season as head coach of the cross country program. The women's cross country program is currently ranked 14th in the NCAA and 1st in the Mid-Atlantic region and looks to qualify for its fifth-straight NCAA finals.
"We have amazing opportunities here and incredible facilities," said head coach John Gondak. "The athletic department does a tremendous job in providing us with the resources and facilities that we need to go out and land the best recruits we can....When you have that combination of academics and athletics, it goes a long way towards helping people decide this is where they want to be."
Full Session: LionVision | YouTube
Schedule: 2019 Cross Country
Notes: Quick Facts
Social @PennStateTFXC: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
