30th Annual Penny Fall Classic

The 30th Annual Penny Fall Classic volleyball tournament begins tomorrow as the Shorewomen battle Catholic at 3:00 p.m. Five teams will take part in this year's tournament, which takes place Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday morning and afternoon. More information on the tournament is available here.

Originally called the Washington College Invitational, the Penny Fall Classic was renamed three years ago in honor of the late Penny J. Fall. Penny holds a special place in the history of Washington College athletics as she was the primary force behind the establishment and growth of women's athletics at Washington College. Penny coached several women's sports at Washington, but her 20 seasons as volleyball coach represented her longest tenure running a WC team. She won 300 matches coaching volleyball at Washington and led the team to a 33-10 record in 1977 in what was only the Shorewomen's second varsity season.

Volleyball Finishes 2-2 at Maryland D-III Tournament

I have just returned with the Shorewomen from the 2005 Maryland Division III volleyball tournament held at Johns Hopkins University. Washington finished 2-2, but could have easily went at least 3-1 if they hadn't had a few tough breaks.

WC went 1-1 on the first day, losing to Frostburg State 1-3 and defeating Hood College 3-0. The schedule makers gave us plenty of time for rest between days, scheduling WC to play at 3 and 5 p.m. on both days.

On Friday night after the matches we grabbed some dinner at a local Subway before hunkering down at the hotel for the night.

This morning we left the hotel at around 11 a.m. and proceeded to go to Ruby Tuesday's for some lunch. After a couple of hours at the restaurant we went back to JHU to warmup and get ready for games against Centennial Conference opponent McDaniel and St. Mary's.

The team defeated McDaniel 3-0, but it was not easy. WC had late rallies in games two and three to rid of the Green Terror. The match against the Seahawks of St. Mary's was not a pretty one. Self-induced errors by the Shorewomen led to a quick 3-0 defeat.

After the loss to St. Mary's, the volleyball parents in attendance brought some BBQ Beef Sandwiches, chips and dessert for all of us to enjoy. Thank you parents!

Washington will return to action on Wednesday, September 27 for a 7 p.m. for a home match against McDaniel. If you are unable to make it in person you can view live stats on the Washington College Athletics web-site at http://athletics.washcoll.edu/.

Breaking Ground

The ceremonial groundbreaking for Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium took place today outside of the construction site. President Baird Tipson, Chairman of the Board of Visitors and Governors Jat Griswold, benefactor Roy Kirby, Jr., and Director of Athletics/Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Bryan Matthews made remarks at the ceremony.

Visit the WC Athletics Web Site for more photos.

Volleyball Goes 1-3 on the Road

I was fortunate enough to travel with the WC volleyball team this Friday and Saturday to the Battlefield Classic, hosted by Gettysburg College. The team went 1-3 against some very tough competition. I attached some pictures from the end of weekend picnic. A big thank you goes out to all of the parents who showed up on Saturday and provided us with some awesome food!

Home Sweet Home

Two Washington College teams will play their 2005 home openers today. The women's soccer team welcomes Rowan for a 4:30 game on Shriver Field, while the volleyball team will play host to Goucher at 7:00 in Cain Athletic Center. As always, admission is free for both events.

Need directions? Try here.

If you can't make it to tonight's volleyball match, follow all of the action with live stats and text play-by-play.

Tough Loss for Shore Field Hockey

We just finished action here at William Paterson, and WC took a tough loss, losing to the Pioneers 1-0.

The parents have a cookout just starting now, then it will be time to head back to Chestertown.

That is all from New Jersey. Keep checking out the Sho'Blog for more updates from both home and away.

On the Road with Shore Field Hockey: Day Two

Good morning from William Paterson University. It is a beautiful day, with the sun shining bright and temps in the mid-70's. We are about 15 minutes from the start of this afternoon's game between the Shorewomen and the Pioneers.

The players and coaches got a good rest at the hotel last night. The hotel provided a nice breakfast for us, with bagels, cereal, coffee and other assorted goods. We left for Wightman Stadium at 11 a.m. and arrived about one-half hour ago.

The great thing about the location of the hotel we stayed at was that it was centered right between Montclair (where we played last night) and William Paterson, with each school being about seven miles away.

The parents who made the trip have prepared a cookout for us after the game this afternoon. We are all looking forward to hopefully having a 'victory cookout.'

The WC players look very prepared to play today as they finish their warmups. Let's hope that Shore Hockey gets off to a better start than last evening.

I will be back with more from William Paterson after the game.

Shore Field Hockey Drops First Game of Season to Montclair State

We just finished play here at Sprague Field, with the Shorewomen dropping a 4-1 decision to the Red Hawks of Montclair State.

Rachel Miller scored the lone goal for WC with :48 left in the game after sophomore Amanda Garbart rifled a shot off MSU goalie Robyn Apicelli. Garbart was credited with the assist.

When the team is done huddling up and is ready to go, we will be going to a steakhouse down the road from MSU for a late dinner. After we eat, we will head back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. The team and I need to be up early for a 12 p.m. game at William Paterson.

I would like to thank Mike Scala and everyone at MSU for being great hosts, and especially for the wonderful dinner and help they provided here for me in the press box throughout the evening.

Goodnight from Montclair, New Jersey. I will be back tomorrow morning with an update from William Paterson.

Field Hockey Ready to Start

Greetings from Sprague Field on the campus of Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey.

We left WC at 11:30 this morning and arrived at the hotel around 4:00 this afternoon for tonight's 6:30 contest. After we checked in, the players got all of their treatment taken care of from our Assistant Athletic Trainer, which was followed by a few words of encouragement from head coach Rachel Boyle.

The players are warming up as I post this entry, and are adjusting to the turf field playing surface.

I will be back with results and more news after the game.

Volleyball Comeback Falls Short

The WC volleyball team just wrapped up its first match of the season, dropping a 3-1 decision to Mary Washington.

The team got off to a slow start, losing the first two games, 30-17, and 30-13, respectively, but the Shorewomen fought back in game three, taking it 30-23. Game four was exciting until the end. The crowd of over 100 people were pumped throughout the game, but with the score tied at 26, a 3-0 run by the Eagles sealed the deal as they went on to the 30-28 win.

Washington looked good in games three and four, and hopefully that momentum will carry over on Saturday.

We are now off to grab some dinner before the three-hour bus ride home.

Goodbye for now from Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Let the Games Begin!

In about one hour, the Washington College women's soccer team will open another year of athletic competition at WC with a game against the host school at the Notre Dame Kick-Off Classic in Baltimore. The volleyball team is en route to Mary Washington for its first match of the season tonight.

Ryan is on the road with volleyball tonight and will also be on the road with field hockey this weekend for the Shorewomen's games at Montclair (Saturday night) and William Paterson (Sunday afternoon). He'll be bringing us a blog post tonight and another Saturday night.