Month: March 2017

Brandywine Basketball takes down Wilkes Barre

Posted By under Sports

By: Margot Gargus, Lions Eye Staff Editor, mbg5317@psu.edu

Coming off a six game losing streak, Brandywine men’s basketball team seemed to be running out of luck. The players came together and fought hard to take the win with the score of 76-74, against Penn State Wilkes Barre. The team knew what they were in for going into the game however.

“That game was personal,” said leading scorer Isaiah Allford-Wilmore, “There was a lot of trash talking and we knew a lot of the players; taking that win was a must.”

Leading the Lions to victory was junior, Junior Sanchez, scoring a booming 19 points by the end of the game.

Junior said, “I knew I put in the work in the gym and I was confident in my performance. I hadn’t gotten as much time as I had hoped in the first half of the season; I just had to be patient and wait for my time.”

Building the team’s confidence on and off the court, Junior has been a leader since the beginning of the season.

“Having him out of there with me raises my intensity and he is just a fun guy to play with,” states Wilmore.

The game was a fight from start to finish but still ended close.

“It is important we focus on our fundamentals in order to cut back on these close games. The more we all focus on our own game on top of working together the less we have to worry in the end,” states freshman, Pat Gallagher.

Junior Captain, Cyrie Spencer scored 17 points against Wilkes pushing his team even closer to victory. Although the team couldn’t seem to catch a break the players never hung their heads.

“We have a lot of talent, we’ve just been having trouble finding chemistry at the end of games which has led to us blowing big leads,” Pat said.

Only two games out of the playoffs the boys are fighting with all they’ve got to get the spot they know they deserve. With the season coming to a close, make sure to come out and support Penn State Brandywine men’s basketball team as they finish the second half of the season

Track and Field comes to Brandywine

Posted By under Sports

By: Margot Gargus, Lions Eye Staff Editor, mbg5317@psu.edu

With a running start this spring, track and field is the newest sports team competing at Penn State Brandywine. Designated as club sports in 2016-17, the team could be vaulted to varsity status for 2017-18 depending on the participation numbers.

With two new coaches leading the team, Angela Fitch and Joe Frassenei, the team is ready to have a dominant first season.

With dual roles in both track and field and cross country, Fitch will serve as the head track and field coach and assistant cross country coach while Frassenei will serve as head coach of cross country and assistant coach of track and field.

Fitch brings more than a decade of coaching experience to Brandywine. As a high school coach, she led her team to states while mentoring students who earned NCAA Division I scholarships. Students can expect to learn fundamentals and techniques too, since Fitch was a USA Track & Field independent coach.

Frassenei brings more than two decades of cross country and track and field coaching experience to the team, most recently at the high school level.

Fitch looks forward to success on the track saying, “Our track/field athletes will surprise everyone this year. We have great quality athletes, so be on the lookout for great performances.”

When asking freshman Niral Patel about his expectations, he said, “I want to try and get in the best shape I can to help lead the team to as much success as possible. I am beyond excited to be able to compete on Brandywine’s first ever track team. I think the coaches are very helpful and nice people to talk to if I have any troubles involving track or school.”

Working daily in the off-season, this new team begins with its first meet, the Philadelphia Classic on March 17 & 18 at Temple University. Don’t miss the action.

Student enthusiasm and coaching experience—this sounds like the start of a good track and field experience.

Brandywine’s 50th Anniversary Preview

Posted By under Campus News

Najla King, Lion’s Eye Staff Editor, nxk5136@psu.edu

With the new semester in full swing, Penn State Brandywine has many things in the coming months to celebrate. Along with a new residence hall, a student union building, and new staff members, Brandywine also celebrates their 50th anniversary as campus in the Penn State community.

To celebrate this accomplishment, the Penn State Anniversary Committee, comprised of faculty, staff and students, have been planning events since spring semester of last year.

Co-chair of the committee, and Brandywine’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Bill Tyson said, “for the 50th anniversary we tried to highlight some of our campus’ achievements while also tying in some of our history as well.”

The events started with a roller skating party in the gym for students and staff. About 300 students filled the rink and, under the lights of a disco ball, they skated to the groove of 60s, 70s, and 80s music.Some events are for students and staff, while others are open to the public and alumni.

Tyson explained, “We chose to have a roller skating party because our school started off in a building underneath a roller skating rink. In February, Black History Month, we have some alumni coming in to speak with students about what campus was like for them in the 60s and starting the Black Student League on campus.”

Merging history and current student life at Brandywine, the 50th anniversary events continue well into the fall semester until the actual fifty-year mark on September 25, 2017.Students, faculty, staff, and alumni are encouraged to come out to various events on campus each month to learn about Brandywine’s history and commemorate 50 years.

For more information on when the events are scheduled, visit Penn State Brandywine’s official Facebook page, @pennstatebrandywine, check emails from student affairs, pick up a spring 2017 calendar in the advising suite, or be on the lookout for postings around campus.

“We want our students to come out and have fun during these events but we also want them to learn a little about their campus history,” said Tyson.

Food, prizes and surprises are only a small portion of what students, staff and alumni can look forward to in the coming months leading up to Brandywine’s 50th Anniversary.