A United East Championship three-peat. Five all-conference players, three of them on the first team. A three-time conference coach of the year. An Elite 20 honoree. The Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s golf team had it all this season.
And over the next week, the college’s men’s lacrosse, baseball and softball teams will be in a position for similar experiences when they step into postseason playoffs — lacrosse on Wednesday and baseball and softball on Friday. Previews will be forthcoming.
Men’s Golf
The Wildcats bested a nine-team field over two days at the Chambersburg Country Club course to capture their third consecutive UE Championship on Saturday. It also gives them another trip to the NCAA Division III Championship next month.
After Friday’s opening round of 324 on the par-73, 6,801-yard course put Penn College in command with a 12-stroke lead, the Wildcats sealed it with Saturday’s second-round 326 and 650 total, 21 strokes better than second-place Penn State Berks. In doing so, they became the first team to three-peat as the conference champ since 2017.
Seniors Peyton Mussina, of Montoursville, the defending UE individual champion, and Will Orwig, of Mifflintown, the first-day leader this year, both finished with 158 scores – Orwig shot 73-85, and Mussina shot 80 and 78 – to place third in a 44-player field. Also for Penn College, Gunner Redmond, of Lock Haven, shot 87-80—167 and tied for seventh, Brady Handy, of Huntingdon, shot 89-83—172 and tied for 17th, and Logan Gawlinski, of Kittanning, shot 84-91—175 and tied for 21st.
For their finishes, Mussina, Orwig and Redmond earned UE first-team honors, and Handy and Gawlinski were named to the third team. Coach Rob Lytle was named the UE Coach of the Year for the third straight year, and Mussina was honored with a UE Elite 20 Academic Award, given to the conference championship-competing golfer with the highest GPA.
Earlier last week, Mussina was named United East Men's Golfer of the Week. It is the first time this spring and 12th time in his career that Mussina was selected for the weekly award after his play in the Gettysburg Spring Shootout, where he carded rounds of 73-73—146 (+2) to finish seventh among 54 golfers.
Schedule
Friday-Saturday, April 25-26 – UE Championship at Chambersburg Country Club, 1 of 9
Tuesday-Friday, May 20-23 – NCAA Division III Championship at Midvale Country Club in Penfield, New York
Men’s Lacrosse
Hosting Bryn Athyn in a UE match on Saturday, Penn College rolled 28-3 to conclude a 13-4 regular season, the best and winningest in program history. Eliot Dotson, of Wilmington, Delaware, scored five goals and had three assists, and teammate Owen Kupsey, of Chadds Ford, tallied five goals and had one assist, while goalie Ryan Twist of Great Meadows, New Jersey, made three saves in 30 minutes of work for the win.
In improving to 3-1 in the conference, the Wildcats earned the No. 2 seed in the UE and will host third-seeded Bryn Athyn (1-3 UE, 3-6-1 overall) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in a semifinal. The winner will face St. Mary’s (Md.) College (4-0 UE, 8-7 overall) on Saturday at a time to be determined. Rosemont College, which was 2-2 in the UE, is unable to compete in the postseason.
Also, Antonio Santora, of Haskell, New Jersey, was named the UE Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for his play in wins at Westminster College on April 16 and Cairn University on April 19. The freshman faceoff specialist won 24 of 27 faceoffs, including 9 of 9, with a goal, against Cairn. He won 15 of 18 faceoffs against Westminster and finished the week with 19 ground balls.
Final UE standings: St. Mary’s (Md.) College 4-0, Penn College 3-1, Rosemont 2-2, Bryn Athyn 1-3, Cairn University 0-4.
Schedule/Record/Series History
Overall: 13-4
UE: 3-1
Saturday, April 26 – host Bryn Athyn (UE), W, 28-3
Wednesday, April 30 – United East semifinal host Bryn Athyn, 4 p.m. (PC leads 3-0)
Baseball
Hosting Penn State Brandywine in the UE on Monday, the Wildcats lost 7-3. Levi Purnell, of Snow Shoe, homered in the sixth inning.
A week ago, Penn College and Penn State Brandywine combined for 37 runs in a 19-18 Wildcats win. On Wednesday at St. Elizabeth University in a UE game, the teams combined for 46 runs in a 28-18 Penn College victory that was Penn College’s largest offensive outburst since a 32-7 win over Clarks Summit University on March 9, 2022. The most productive Wildcats on offense were Nathan Gustkey of Philipsburg, who was 4 for 5 at the plate, including a solo homer, with four RBIs and four runs scored; Shawn Townsend, of Hatboro, who was 3 for 5 with four RBIs and six runs scored; and Ethan Stahl, of Cogan Station, who was 6 of 7 with three RBIs and four runs scored. For St. Elizabeth, four players hit home runs.
Concluding the regular UE season on Saturday at Notre Dame (Md.) University, Penn College dropped the opener 10-9 before winning the nightcap 13-0. In the first game, the Wildcats led 7-1 through 6 ½ innings before being outscored 9-2 the rest of the way. Dallas Griess of Williamsport led the offense with three RBIs. In the second game, three Penn College pitchers combined for the shutout, with starter Ethan Hannevig, of Pine Grove, going seven innings and earning the “W.” Offensively, Gustkey and Purnell both finished with three RBIs.
UE standings through Sunday: Keystone College 15-1, Penn State Harrisburg 12-4, Cairn University 11-5, Penn College 11-5, St. Mary’s (Md.) College 11-5, Penn State Abington 9-7, Lancaster Bible College 8-8, St. Elizabeth University 7-9, Rosemont College 6-10, Penn State Berks 6-10, Wilson College 6-10, Penn State Brandywine 4-12, Valley Forge 3-13, Notre Dame (Md.) University 3-13.
Schedule/Record/Series History
(Home games at Bowman Field)
Overall: 18-16
UE: 11-4
Monday, April 21 – host Penn State Brandywine (UE), L, 7-3
Tuesday, April 22 – at Pitt-Bradford (2), ppd.
Wednesday, April 23 – at St. Elizabeth (UE), W, 28-18
Saturday, April 26 – at Notre Dame (Md.) University (UE, 2), L, 10-9; W, 13-0
Friday-Saturday, May 2-3 – United East Second Round (best-of-three), TBA
Softball
In UE action against Penn State Harrisburg on Tuesday, Penn College split, losing 6-3 and winning 5-0. In the first game, Harrisburg scored all of its runs in the third inning. Ryleigh Rinker, of Poway, California, had two hits and plated two runs to lead the Penn College offense. In the second game, Mackenzi Tice, of Mansfield, spun a four-hitter, fanning nine, for her 10th win of the season. Mackenzie Weaver, of Montoursville, and Harley Kunes, of Mill Hall, both had two hits and drove in two runs.
Closing out the regular UE season on Sunday at UE-unbeaten Penn State Berks, the Wildcats were swept 10-5 and 5-4 in eight innings. In the first game, Weaver had a three-run home run to pace the offense but gave up seven runs – only two earned – in taking the loss in the circle. In the nightcap, back-to-back Berks bunts in the bottom of the eighth inning produced the winning run. Tice took the loss in the circle despite allowing one earned run while striking out seven and walking none.
Penn College is seeded fourth, entering the playoffs.
Final UE standings: Penn State Berks 16-0, Penn State Brandywine 14-2, Penn State Harrisburg 13-3, Penn College 10-6, St. Elizabeth University 10-6, Cedar Crest College 10-6, Wilson College 9-7, Penn State Abington 9-7, Notre Dame (Md.) University 9-7, Rosemont College 8-8, Lancaster Bible College 6-10, Keystone College 4-12, Gallaudet University 2-14, Cairn University 0-16, Valley Forge 0-16.
Schedule/Record/Series History
(Home games at Elm Park)
Overall: 24-13
UE: 10-6
Tuesday, April 22 – host Penn State Harrisburg (UE, 2), L, 6-3; W, 5-0
Sunday, April 27 – at Penn State Berks (UE, 2), L, 10-5; L, 5-4
Friday-Saturday, May 2-3 – United East Second Round (best-of-three) host No. 5 St. Elizabeth University (PC leads 3-2), TBA
Men’s Tennis
Penn College dropped a 6-1 decision at St. Mary’s (Md.) College on Monday in a United East makeup match. Penn College’s lone winner was Matt Williams, of Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, at No. 6 singles.
In a United East quarterfinal at fourth-seeded Penn State Berks on Sunday, the fifth-seeded Wildcats lost 4-1. Winning in singles for Penn College was Will Long, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, at No. 6. Winning in doubles for the Wildcats was the team of Kyle Shuler, of Williamsport-Logan Ogden, of Williamsport, at No. 2.
Final UE standings: Penn State Harrisburg 7-0, St. Mary’s (Md.) College 6-1, Penn State Abington 5-2, Penn State Berks 4-3, Penn College 3-4, Lancaster Bible College 2-5, Cairn University 1-6, Penn State Brandywine 0-7.
Schedule/Record/Series Record
Final overall: 4-10
Final UE: 3-5 (3-4 regular season)
(Home matches at Central PA Tennis Center)
Monday, April 21 – at St. Mary’s (Md.) College (UE), L, 6-1
Sunday, April 27 – United East Conference Quarterfinal at Penn State Berks, noon (Berks leads 9-2)
Women’s Tennis
Eighth-seeded Penn College lost 4-0 at fifth-seeded Penn State Abington on Tuesday in a United East play-in match and was eliminated from further playoff action.
Winding up its season at home on Friday in a nonconference match with Penn State Altoona, the Wildcats lost 5-2. Posting singles wins for Penn College were Lauren Peck, of South Williamsport, at No. 2 and Faith Murray, of Dillsburg, at No. 3.
Final UE standings: St. Mary’s (Md.) College 8-0, Penn State Harrisburg 7-1, Cairn University 6-2, Lancaster Bible College 6-2, Penn State Abington 5-3, Notre Dame (Md.) University 3-5, Penn State Berks 3-5, Penn College 2-6, Cedar Crest College 2-6, Penn State Brandywine 1-7, Bryn Athyn 1-7.
Schedule/Record/Series Record
Final overall: 2-15
Final UE: 2-7 (2-6 regular season)
(Home matches at Central PA Tennis Center)
Tuesday, April 22 – United East Conference play-in at Penn State Abington, L, 4-0
Friday, April 25 – host Penn State Altoona, L, 5-2
Archery
Schedule
Friday-Sunday, April 25-27 – Eastern Region Outdoor Championships at Harrisonburg, Va.
Friday-Sunday, May 16-18 – USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals at East Lansing, Mich.
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.
For more about the United East, visit the conference website.