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Women's Cross Country added as varsity sport

Penn State Abington has announced the addition of Women’s Cross Country as a varsity sport which will begin in the 2009-2010 academic year. This brings the total number of varsity programs to twelve.

“We are absolutely thrilled in adding another sport”, says Athletic Director, Karen Weaver. “It is another opportunity to further address the interests of student athletes in our service area. Additionally, cross country student-athletes tend to be exceptional members of their campus communities, contributing to the classroom and campus wide organizations.”

Penn State Abington has also announced that Jose Rodriguez will be the new Head Coach for the program. He has been part of the Abington community for 14 years and is presently the Director of Intercultural Affairs. Rodriguez brings an impressive background as a collegiate and adult runner to the program. A graduate of Allegheny College, Rodriguez ran on the varsity team for 3 years, a team that qualified for the NCAA Regionals in his junior and senior years. Still active in the running world, he often runs in 5K, 10K and Half Marathons.

Abington Athletic facilities upgraded

Penn State Abington spent much of Summer 2008 upgrading their athletics facilities:

• Fitness Center with new treadmills, bikes and elliptical machines as well as the Stairmaster and new Directv feed
• Strength room with new dumbbells and rack, stability balls, medicine balls, cybex machine, extra weight plates, tricep ropes and bars as well as an Olympic bar.
• new Student lounge located in front of the Men’s Locker Room
• Refinished basketball court floor
• state-of-the-art tennis courts

Abington hires new baseball coach

Penn State Abington has hired Joe Pavlow as new head baseball coach. Pavlow comes to the Nittany Lions from Rutgers-Camden where he was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He also has been the head coach of the Cherry Hill (NJ) American Legion Stealers team for both the U17 and U13 groups.

Prior to his experiences at Rutgers-Camden, Pavlow was the head coach at Paul VI high school for four seasons. During that time, his squads captured the Olympic Conference National Division (2004) and were state tournament qualifiers (2004, 2006). He also spent a season as the top assistant at Audubon (NJ). Pavlow is a 1997 graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Economics.

"This is a great opportunity for me”, said Pavlow. “I look forward to joining the Penn State family, meeting all of the players and meeting the challenges that lay ahead. The goal is to make the Abington baseball program one of the best programs in the country, I plan on doing everything in my power to make that happen."

Abington donates sports uniforms to South Africans

While in South Africa this summer, Abington's Athletics Director Karen Weaver visited Kliptown, a village within the town of Soweto, and one of many shantytowns that still house millions of black South Africans. There, she and her classmates visited with Bob Nameng, who was recently honored by CNN as a “CNN Heroes” for his work in providing hundreds of Kliptown children an outlet to pursue music, sports and to learn about their heritage

The work that Bob Nameng has done prompted Weaver to ask Penn State University if they would permit their used athletic uniforms in the sports of soccer, baseball, softball, and basketball to be donated to the youth of Kliptown. Working with administrators from both Abington’s campus and University Park, Weaver arranged for over 150 sets of uniforms to be delivered to the village as a gift from Penn State University.

Men's basketball wins PSUAC Championship

Penn State Abington's men's basketball team won the Penn State University Athletic Conference championship on Mar 8 defeating Penn State New Kensington 76-58 at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The win allowed Abington to bounce back from their loss to New Kensington earlier in the season. Ending the season with a record of 20-6 overall, the championship caps a remarkable second half of the season that saw Abington win 15 of their last 18 games, losing only once to a conference opponent.

The game also marked the end of Scott Brandt's (right) career; the senior leader played in four championship games in four years.

Penn State Abington names Deborah C. Andress as head lacrosse coach

Andress becomes the first head coach in the program’s history, as Penn State Abington announced the addition of the program earlier in January. Varsity play will begin in Spring 2009.

Andress brings an outstanding lacrosse background to the position. She has coached and/or played at nearly every level, from youth to national play. A former member of the United States Women’s Lacrosse Team Squad from 1980-1984, Andress also played for the Philly I and II club teams, perennial powerhouses in the sport. A graduate of Penn State, Andress played both field hockey and lacrosse for the Nittany Lions, and was a member of teams that won two AIAW National Championships during her tenure. She was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. More ...