Monday, May 4, 2026
Last week in review: United East Conference runner-up finishes for the men’s lacrosse and women’s tennis teams, and a spot in this coming weekend’s UE Final Four for the third-seeded softball squad. What a fantastic spring season it is.
Also, on Sunday, 13 individuals and one team were honored during the annual CATS (Celebrating Athletic Triumphs and Successes) Award ceremonies.
On the horizon: The softball team, which achieved its third 30-win season in four years and is on its third 10-game win streak of the campaign, will open the double-elimination UE tournament at noon on Friday against No. 2 Wilson College in Media. While the Wildcats and Wilson didn’t meet during the regular season this year, last season they split. Penn College’s lone UE losses this season have been to Brandywine twice. Wilson’s lone loss was to Lancaster Bible College. Penn College did not play Lancaster Bible.
Last week’s highlights: In Wednesday’s semifinal against third-seed Pitt-Bradford, a 13-goal Penn College first quarter set the tone for the team’s program-record-tying 14th win of the season. Owen Kupsey, of Chadds Ford; Gavin Selchert, of Lansdale; and Chase Kaplan, of Fort Myers, Florida, all scored three goals, with Kaplan also recording a team-best four assists. In the goal, Ryan Twist, of Great Meadows, New Jersey, had one save in 15 minutes of work to get the win as the team advanced to the title match for the third straight year.
Facing top-seeded St. Mary’s (Md.) College for the championship on Saturday, the second-seeded Wildcats trailed 10-12 after three periods before going on a 4-1 run opening the fourth quarter to take the lead at 14-13 with 9:27 to play. But from then on, St. Mary’s took charge, scoring the last three goals for its win in the closest finish in a series it has dominated. Aidan McFalls, of Gilbertsville, led Penn College with five goals, and Kupsey scored three. Brothers AJ Dotson, of Wilmington, Delaware, and Elliot Dotson finished with four and three assists, respectively. Goalkeeper Twist made 18 saves.
SCHEDULE/RECORD
Final overall: 14-5
Final UEC: 3-2 (2-1 regular season)
Wednesday, April 29 – UEC Semifinal vs. No. 3 Pitt-Bradford, W, 29-6; No. 4 Cairn University at No. 1 St. Mary’s, St. Mary’s won, 27-1
Saturday, May 2 – UEC Championship at No. 1 St. Mary’s College, L, 16-14
Last week’s highlights: Winners in Tuesday’s UE semifinal upset of defending champ Penn State Harrisburg were Faith Murray, of Dillsburg, at No. 3, Leah Vest, of Muncy, at No. 4, and Cici Miller, of Dover, at No. 6 in singles. Winning in doubles for the Wildcats were Murray-Lauren Peck, of South Williamsport, at No. 1, and Vest-Kiera Wene, of Ephrata, at No. 2.
In Sunday’s championship against St. Mary’s (Md.) College, the third-seeded Wildcats dropped a 4-0 decision to the top seed. Penn College closes out its season with eight UE and nine overall wins, both program records.
SCHEDULE
RECORDS
Final overall: 9-11
Final UEC: 8-4 (6-3 regular season)
Tuesday, April 28 – UEC Semifinals at No. 2 Penn State Harrisburg, W, 4-0
Sunday, May 3 – UEC Championship vs. No. 1 St. Mary’s (Md.) College, L, 4-0
Last week’s highlights: The winningest season in program history ended for the third-seeded Penn College men’s tennis team with a 4-0 United East semifinal loss at second-seed St. Mary’s (Md.) College on Thursday.
SCHEDULE/RECORDS
Final overall: 8-7
Final UEC: 6-3 (5-2 regular season)
Thursday, April 30 – UEC Semifinal at No. 2 St. Mary’s (Md.) College, L, 4-0
Season ends
Last week’s highlights: In Friday’s first game against No. 6 Penn State Abington, pitchers dominated as the teams combined for just seven hits and five runs, and Penn College’s Mackenzi Tice, of Mansfield, earned her 19th win against two losses with a 15-strikeout, three-hit effort. Taylor Brown, of Bellefonte, doubled in the fifth inning to drive in what proved to be the game-deciding run.
In Friday’s second game, Tice got the call back to the mound, and Abington grabbed a 3-0 first-inning lead before the Wildcat bats came alive from the third inning on. Payton Crawford, of Bloomsburg, doubled in a run in the third and tripled in another in the fifth, while Brown had an RBI double, also in the fifth, as Tice became the first single-season 20-game winner in program history. For her career, Crawford surpassed the 100-hit mark.
Also, Tice earned the final United East Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week award of the regular season, going 3-0 with a 0.54 ERA over 16.0 innings, allowing one earned run while striking out 27 and limiting opposing hitters to a .200 batting average in games April 21-24.
SCHEDULE
Home games at the Lumber Yards
Overall: 31-5
UEC: 16-2 (14-2 regular season)
Friday, May 1 – UEC Quarterfinal (first game best-of-three) vs. No. 6 Penn State Abington, W, 3-2
Friday, May 1 – UEC Quarterfinal (second game best-of-three) vs. No. 6 Penn State Abington, W, 5-4
United East Final Four (Double elimination at Penn State Brandywine)
Friday, May 8 – No. 3 Penn College (31-5, 16-2) vs. No. 2 Wilson College (30-9-1, 17-1), noon; No. 1 Penn State Brandywine (31-7, 18-0) vs. No. 5 Penn State Harrisburg (24-12, 12-6), 10 a.m.
Friday, May 8 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m.
Friday, May 8 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (elimination game), 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 9 – TBA
Sunday, May 10 – TBA
Last week’s highlights: Three players from the four-time UE Championship team received all-conference honors, with individual second-place finisher Gunner Redmond, of Lock Haven, being named to the first team, and Chase Dillman, of Boyertown, and Brady Handy, of Huntingdon, named to the second team.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday-Friday, May 12-15 – NCAA Division III Championship at the Mission Resort and Club at Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida.
SCHEDULE
Thursday-Sunday, May 14-17 – USA Archery Target Nationals at East Lansing, Mich.
Male Athlete of the Year: Carter Davis (York, wrestling)
Female Athlete of the Year: Sara Darlington (West Chester, women’s soccer)
Male Newcomer of the Year: Justin Crismale (Glen Gardner, New Jersey, men’s soccer)
Female Newcomer of the Year: Ella Garman (Boiling Springs, women’s soccer)
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Nick Woodruff (Wyalusing, wrestling)
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Mia Patterson (Loyalsock Township, women’s basketball)
Mr. Wildcat: Hunter Gabloff (Succasunna, New Jersey, men’s soccer)
Ms. Wildcat: Kenni Galbreath (Shrewsbury, women’s basketball)
Breakout Moments of the Year: Breana Valentine (Fairfield, women’s basketball), AJ Dotson (Wilmington, Delaware, men’s lacrosse)
Comeback Players of the Year: Darlington, Zach Foskey (Gilbertsville, men’s soccer)
Staff Member of the Year: Meridith Boucher (head athletic trainer)
Community Service Award: Men’s lacrosse team
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