From 1 to 800: A look back at Penn football
Last week, the Penn football team officially began its fall workouts, and in a little more than two weeks, the Quakers’ season will begin with a home game against Lafayette.
When the 2010 season opens, a myriad storylines will accompany it: How will the team react to the unthinkable tragedy of star player Owen Thomas committing suicide? Can the defense be as dominant as it was last year when it led the nation in scoring ‘D’ on the way to an Ivy League championship? How will head coach Al Bagnoli deal with what Pennsylvania Gazette writer David Porter calls a backfield as crowded as a “free buffet anywhere sportswriters are around?”
On a more historic level, a win over Lafayette in the season opener would mark the 800th win in program history, a plateau only nine other college football teams across all levels – Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, Alabama, Penn State, Yale and Harvard – have reached. (Oklahoma’s first win of the season, which will likely come this weekend, will also be its 800th victory).
A lot has changed since Penn first started playing the sport a couple of centuries ago, but here’s a look back at some of the program’s most significant wins on the way to 800:
Nov. 17, 1876: Win No. 1 came against the “All-Philadelphia” team as the Quakers scored four “goals” to their opponents’ zero. (Penn’s other two games of its inaugural season were losses to Princeton, but we don’t have to talk about those.)
Nov. 11, 1878: Penn’s first win against another college team was an all-out dismantling as it scored nine goals and 16 touchdowns to Swarthmore’s zero in both categories. (16 touchdowns was a lot back then, right?)
Nov. 5, 1892: After 27 straight losses to Princeton, Penn finally beat its neighbors to the north, 6-4. Penn went 15-1 that season – George Woodruff’s first as head coach – as it began to assert itself as a national powerhouse.
Nov. 29, 1894: Penn’s 18-4 win over Harvard put the finishing touches on the program’s first undefeated season and what is generally considered its first national championship. (Although no official trophy was awarded at the time, Penn was also regarded as national champs in 1895, 1897, 1904, 1907, 1908 and 1924).
The 1894 Quakers won the program's first of seven national championsips (courtesy Penn archives)
Oct. 1, 1895: Penn opened Franklin Field in grand style, shutting out visiting Swarthmore, 40-0, on its way to another national title.
Nov. 24, 1904: One of the most dominant years in Penn history concluded with a 34-0 whitewashing of Cornell. The Quakers allowed only four points the entire season.
Nov. 14, 1908: Head coach Sol Metzger’s only season in charge produced an unblemished record, a national championship and this 29-0 win at Michigan, the winningest team of all-time.
Nov. 30, 1916: A 23-3 win over Cornell in the regular-season finale set up Penn’s only bowl appearance. Sadly, their trip to the Rose Bowl did not add to the program’s win total; the Quakers and quarterback Bert Bell lost to Oregon, 14-0.
Future NFL commissioner Bert Bell led Penn to the Rose Bowl in 1916
Sept. 24, 1921: The first game of famed coach John Heisman’s second year produced an 89-0 win over Delaware, which matched Penn’s largest margin of victory of the century. The Quakers’ other most lopsided win? An 89-0 triumph over – you guessed it – Delaware two year earlier.
Oct 1, 1924: The only time Penn ever played neighbor Drexel in football led to an easy 54-0 win for the Quakers, who went on to claim their final national championship that year.
Oct. 25, 1947: Head coach George Munger’s only undefeated season included this 21-0 shutout of Navy at Franklin Field. Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik was the team’s star two-way player on that squad.
Reds Bagnell set two NCAA records during a 1950 game against Dartmouth
Oct. 14, 1950: A packed Franklin Field and a live television audience (ABC Sports broadcasted all of Penn’s home games that season) watched as Reds Bagnell amassed a whopping 490 yards of total offense by himself in a 42-26 win over Dartmouth. That was an NCAA record, and so were the 14 consecutive passes he caught.
Oct. 3, 1953: Penn beat Penn State, 13-7, which marked the last time the Quakers would ever defeat the Nittany Lions. The once-yearly series between the two state rivals fizzled out following the 1958 season, but the Quakers can take pride that they won the overall series, 25-19-4.
Oct. 6, 1956: In their first official Ivy League game, the Quakers doubled up Dartmouth, 14-7.
Nov. 26, 1959: Penn secured its first championship in the newly formed Ivy League with a 28-13 win over Cornell in the regular-season finale.
Nov. 17, 1973: Times were lean during the Harry Gamble era of the 1970s but there was nothing lean about Penn’s 42-8 whitewashing of Columbia as the Quakers set a program record with 627 yards of total offense. The record still stands today.
Nov. 13, 1982: Penn’s long championship drought ended when kicker Dave Shulman booted the Quakers past Harvard, 23-21. This was longtime P.A. man C.T. Alexander’s favorite win at Franklin Field. (Yes, that’s a plug for the profile I just wrote on him for the Gazette. You should read it. Twice.)
Fans rush Franklin Field after Penn's momentous win over Harvard in 1982
Nov. 22, 1986: The Quakers’ fifth straight Ivy League crown – and first undefeated season since 1947 – culminated with a 31-21 season-ending win over Cornell.
Sept. 26, 1992: Current head coach Al Bagnoli recorded his first victory as the Quakers ripped Colgate, 24-0, at Franklin Field. He’d go on to match Woodruff as the only Penn coach to win more than 100 career games.
Nov. 19, 1994: Bagnoli joined elite company again when he became the first coach since Woodruff to guide Penn to back-to-back unbeaten seasons. It ended with an 18-14 win at Cornell’s Schoellkopf Field
Sept. 30, 1995: A 20-19 nipping of Bucknell was the Quakers’ 24th straight win – a Division I-AA streak that still stands today.
Nov. 6, 2000: The Quakers scored 34 unanswered points to overcome an 18-point deficit for the second straight week and produce one of their best wins over Princeton, beating the Tigers, 40-24. A week later, the Quakers enjoyed another thrilling win – a 36-35 triumph over Harvard – before romping past Cornell to win the Ivy League title outright.
Nov. 16, 2002: Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and the rest of the ESPN College GameDay crew came to an Ivy League game for the first time ever as the Quakers hosted Harvard with a league title on the line. Penn responded with an easy 44-9 triumph, avenging a crushing loss from a season prior.
Another huge win over Harvard in 2002 impressed the ESPN GameDay crew -- although fans couldn't get the goalposts down
Nov. 22, 2003: The Quakers’ 59-7 trouncing of Cornell not only capped off an undefeated season and a second straight Ivy League title – it also proved to be the largest margin of victory in the modern era.
Nov. 19, 2009: The Quakers clinched a share of their first Ivy League title in six years with a 17-7 win against Harvard in a driving rainstorm. They won the crown outright the following week with a 35-0 rout of Cornell.
Well, there are 25 of the 799 wins the Quakers have captured over the past 134 years. I know plenty of big ones are missing, so feel free to leave your favorites in the comment section below. And who wants to compile another list when Penn gets to 1,000?
2 comments September 3, 2010
Filip Bondy chases the game
Not long after the World Cup ended, I was given New York Daily News columnist Filip Bondy’s book, “Chasing the Game: America and the Quest for the World Cup.” As a serious soccer enthusiast, I gobbled it up and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the sport. Bondy, a veteran journalist who graduated from the Annenberg School of Communications in 1975, follows the United States Men’s National Team throughout the qualifying stages of the 2010 World Cup, while splicing in key historical moments and profiling players, coaches and others involved in the U.S. Soccer Federation. Keep reading to find out Bondy’s motivation for writing it, his insights into American soccer culture, and a Penn record he claims no one has ever matched:
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: What kind of reception and feedback has your book received since it was released?
FILIP BONDY: It got very nice reviews and the blogs were about 90 percent positive. It got a lot of good publicity, but I’ll be honest with you: it didn’t sell as much as I thought it would during the World Cup – which was kind of disappointing. It wasn’t a personal disappointment but more of a disappointment because it indicates the interest in soccer may not be as steep as we thought. It’s kind of a fickle fan base and it’s still evolving in this country. With this book, I learned the hard way I guess that the American soccer fans are an eclectic group.
Bondy's book got favorable reviews but didn't sell as much as he hoped
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: But as someone who has covered soccer for more than two decades, how much have you seen the sport grow in this country?
FILIP BONDY: Oh, don’t get me wrong: It’s night and day from when I first started. You know, you would see the United States play Brazil in the Yale Bowl and get 18,000 people way back in 1993. The sheer exposure on television, that’s the biggest difference. It wasn’t that long ago when I was in my 20s or 30s when the only soccer I could watch was on the Italian network on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Now, to be able to watch English Premier League, to watch every United States match, to watch every World Cup match in high definition – that alone, I think, has changed the dynamic of support in the United States.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: What kind of research went into writing this book – and how much of it was based on your old articles and your own recollection?
FILIP BONDY: I started covering the national team in about 1989, so must of the stuff after 1989 was recollections and then interviewing those players to flesh it out. Anything that happened before 1989, I clearly had to do my homework. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Was 1989 [when the U.S. qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years] a defining moment for you as both a fan and a journalist?
FILIP BONDY: It was a defining moment as a journalist because I really finally got a chance to cover the sport I loved already. But it wasn’t a defining moment as a fan. I’m a first generation kid — my father was Czech and he brought me to international soccer games. I grew up playing soccer right through college, and even beyond. I loved the sport and always wanted to cover it. And I finally got an editor who sent me to Costa Rica for a U.S. vs. Costa Rica qualifier. Boy, that was just fun. It really opened my eyes to the World Cup cycle. I was already pretty aware of international soccer but the World Cup cycle was something I became fascinated with.
The 1989 U.S. national team greeted Bondy by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Has there always been a push-and-tug with your newspaper editors about covering soccer?
FILIP BONDY: I’ve had about 10 sports editors in my day and I’d be lying if I said any were interested in soccer. It’s ranged from indifference to out-and-out animosity. These are good sports editors but every one of them was not into soccer. I keep waiting but I’ve never had that one that said, ‘You’ve got to go out there, we’re going to become the destination read for soccer fans.’ Last week, I asked one of my editors if I could go cover the Galaxy against the Red Bulls, which are the two franchise teams in MLS right now. And he said, ‘We’d rather have you at the Mets.’ So there you go.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Has it ever been hard balancing being an author with your newspaper job?
FILIP BONDY: No, that’s been wonderful. As far as my time is concerned, I find books much better than doing TV or radio because books you can pretty much do when you want. If you can get a book contract, I think it’s a perfect complement actually to a newspaper career.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: I particularly enjoyed learning more about the history of the sport in this country. Looking back on it, what was your favorite part of the book and what did you learn yourself?
FILIP BONDY: What did I learn? Well, I learned about [head coach] Bob Bradley actually. I didn’t know much about him before writing the book. And with the 1950 team for example, I had assumed from watching the movie on that game [“The Game of Their Lives”] that the English players were obnoxious, arrogant guys. Walter Bahr set me straight on that and said they were gentleman, they congratulated after the game and guys said to him, ‘We could have played forever and we wouldn’t have scored against you.’ So that was eye-opening for me.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: For a lot of soccer fans, World Cup qualifying can be overlooked. Have you gotten the sense that it seems Americans almost expect now to see their team make the World Cup every four years?
FILIP BONDY: I think it can be overlooked for a number of reasons. First of all, there’s not much suspense in CONCACAF [Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football]. You can pretty much pencil in the United States and Mexico. That’s one problem. Another problem is sometimes the most important road matches you can’t even watch. That’s what happened this year. The most important match of all was in Honduras toward the end, and it was a wonderful match and you couldn’t get it unless you went to a sports bar. That was a contractual problem that U.S. Soccer had with the Honduran federation. So you come across these weird problems and then add the fact that there’s not much publicity in local papers in terms of advancing the matches … it all combines to make qualifying a different experience in United States then it is in Europe, when fans are watching every game breathlessly.
The Americans celebrate qualifying for the World Cup after an arduous -- but sometimes overlooked -- journey
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Is that one of the main reasons you wrote the book – to expose the World Cup qualifying because it can sometimes be overlooked?
FILIP BONDY: Well, I love the World Cup cycle, not just the World Cup. In CONCACAF, the experiences are so unique. From the mud pile that Barbados calls a home field to the absolute pit in Costa Rica – you get these experiences that you wouldn’t get anywhere else in the world. You get to travel to crazy places. And it’s tremendous fun.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Another particularly interesting part of book I thought focused on the national team’s mistakes in keeping some of their top prospects. From your experience, what do you think U.S. Soccer can do, if anything, to become one of the elite teams in the world?
FILIP BONDY: Sometimes they look closer than other times. I really don’t know. It’s a very confusing thing. They seem to play very well against finesse European teams like Spain, Italy, France and Portugal. But then they come up against very different teams from Northern Europe or Eastern Europe or, god forbid, Argentina and Brazil, and they look light years away. Everyone is still waiting for that great scorer who can make a difference. I do think we will eventually see that player, and when we do we may be a lot closer than we are right now. But I don’t think I see that player yet.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: What was your time at Penn like?
FILIP BONDY: I earned the fastest degree in Annenberg in history. I made it through in less than two years – in a year-and-a-half, which I don’t think anyone has ever done. I want that on the record: nobody has equaled that, I’m sure. Annenberg is famous for keeping people forever. … I’m happy I got a graduate degree. I probably wouldn’t have been hired at the New York Times when I was, and it helped me get teaching jobs. And I really enjoy Philadelphia, which I think is the most underrated city in America.
One of Bondy's greatest feats is getting through Annenberg in less than two years
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Finally, do you have any early predictions for 2014?
FILIP BONDY: Well, it will be in Brazil. There are pretty much seven or eight teams that you know are going to advance beyond the first round, and then there are probably four or five teams that you know have no chance of advancing. We are in between those two groups, and we’ll probably still be between those two groups for the next World Cup, unless we find that golden generation, which we’re waiting to come along. We had a version of that with John Harkes and Tab Ramos and Tony Meola, who were all from one town basically. We’re waiting for a second wave to lift us the other step. We’ve had a few players along the way like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard, who could have been part of a golden generation – but they didn’t really have enough support elsewhere. We just don’t have that much talent – not yet. We need about three real stars and about six guys out there who are very good and we haven’t been able to find that. I think maybe some day we will but we don’t have it yet.
Add comment August 19, 2010
Danny Cepero’s last stand?
Danny Cepero C’08 walked out of the locker room, shook hands with a few coaches, and quietly left PPL Park in Chester.
The former Penn soccer star had just been given a dream opportunity to suit up for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer … but Cepero knew it was only a fleeting dream.
He had been borrowed on loan from his current team, the Harrisburg City Islanders of the lower-level United Soccer Leagues, because the Union’s backup goalkeeper, Brad Knighton, was serving a one-game suspension. And with the Islanders’ season about to wrap up this weekend – and the prospects of returning to MLS on a more permanent basis a daunting one – Cepero left the stadium following Wednesday night’s game unsure of his next move.
“It comes down to the question: Do I want to keep playing soccer or will I look to move in a different direction?” said Cepero, who didn’t see any game action for the Union. “I’m exploring all of my different options soccer-wise and outside of soccer in terms of getting internships and getting my foot in the door somewhere. I’m 25 so the clock’s ticking.”
Not long ago, Cepero’s soccer future seemed more certain. After logging more shutouts (23) than any other goalie in Penn history, Cepero found his way onto the prestigious MLS side, the New York Red Bulls, where he scored an incredible goal in his debut before leading them to the 2008 title game.
But after a rough 2009 campaign, Cepero was cut by the Red Bulls – which, he admitted in a previous blog post, was a surprising turn of events. He’s played for the Islanders throughout most of this season, and was eager to return to Major League Soccer this week, if only for one game.
“It was a cool experience,” Cepero said. “Under the circumstances, they needed a goalkeeper in case something happened to (starter) Chris (Seitz). Being I went to school in Philly and I know the area and I know some of the guys on the team, that helped a lot in terms of training.”
Penn assistant soccer coach Rob Irvine and former player Mike Klein W’09 were among the Quaker contingent in the crowd in support of Cepero. If they don’t come to Harrisburg’s season finale Saturday, it may be their last chance to see him on a soccer field.
Cepero — who a year ago told the Pennsylvania Gazette, “I love what I do, but I also know that it’s not going to last forever” — is planning to return to his home in Long Island, polish up his resume and search for other ways to make a living.
“I’m looking at PR and marketing and advertising,” said Cepero, who got his Penn degree in May of last year. “Based on the fact that I haven’t been crunching numbers in Wharton or doing much of anything besides soccer, that would be the easiest transition.”
Then he added uncertainly, “I’ll just see what happens and go from there.”
No matter what happens, he can always say he was once on the Philadelphia Union.
Add comment August 12, 2010
The curious case of Dan Leibovitz
When Dan Leibovitz C’96 left a Division I head coaching to take a job as an assistant coach at Penn, a few eyebrows were raised. The situation became even more curious when the man he replaced at Penn, John Gallagher, ended up taking Leibovitz’s old job at Hartford (with a quick pit stop on Steve Donahue’s staff at Boston College).
Almost four months have gone by since the coaching carousel, and despite what others might say, Leibovitz continues to be 100 percent certain returning to his alma mater was the right move.
“It’s not for everyone to understand,” said Leibovitz who was an assistant coach under John Chaney at Temple for 10 seasons before becoming the head man at Hartford in 2006. “I’ve never really lived my life that way. This was an opportunity for me that made a lot of sense. My whole life really is here in Philadelphia, and (Penn head coach) Jerome Allen and I have a really unique relationship. All through growing up, we talked about working together. We never knew what that would mean and when the opportunity would come.”
Besides, as far as steps backward go, there could be worse ones than leaving the Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion for the Palestra, right?
“It didn’t take very long to make,” Leibovitz said of his decision to come to Penn. “Some people may think it was (a step back) and in some ways I see that, but I look at this place and this University and the mission of this athletic department, and I’m just happy to be part of something very special.”
In truth, the wheels were set in motion back in the late 80s when the two were high school basketball teammates at Episcopal Academy.
“Jerome showed up after school to play basketball in the gym one day,” Leibovitz recalled. “The gym was open from 4-7 and we probably stayed until 7:30. And we just hit it off. He was my guy. The rest of the time, we worked out together, we spent a lot of time in each other’s homes. … We did everything together.”
From high school until now, Allen has been one of Leibovitz's best friends
After transferring from Franklin & Marshall, Leibovitz attended Penn during the Jerome Allen/Matt Maloney glory years. “It was a great time for Penn basketball and it was a difficult time if you were a marginal Division I prospect – which is what I would call myself,” he said. So while he was an undergrad, he started to get into coaching, becoming the 8th-grade coach at Epsicopal while getting involved in the Sonny Hill League. He landed with Temple shortly after graduation, hired by Chaney, the legend himself.
“I don’t know where I am in life without John Chaney,” Leibovitz said. “My son’s middle name is Chaney, which says a lot. I wouldn’t be the person I am without Coach Chaney. That’s another reason it’s great to be back in the area – Coach (Chaney) can spend time with my son, daughter and wife.”
Temple qualified for the postseason in all 10 years Leibovitz was at Temple. And even the most infamous moments led to great memories – like the day after the 2002 Penn-Temple game when Temple’s mascot, Hooter the Owl, picked up a technical foul.
“We had a team meeting in the locker room and this 5-foot-4 guy walks in and says he’d love to talk to the team and apologize,” Leibovitz recalled with a laugh. “It was the guy who wears the Hooter suit. So he tells the whole story and says how he really supports our guys and he’d never do anything to hurt the program. Everyone thanks him, he walks out and Coach Chaney goes, ‘Who the hell was that guy?’”
Leibovitz, right, learned a lot from his mentor Chaney
When it came time for career advice, however, Chaney always knew what was going on. The legendary Temple coach advised Leibovitz to take the job at Hartford because he said there’s no substitute for head coaching experience … but he also understood there’s nothing wrong with returning to the tradition of the Palestra and the Big 5. (By the way, now that he’s at Penn, can someone please update Leibovitz’s Wikipedia page?)
With the college hoops season still more than three months away, Leibovitz hasn’t yet been fully absorbed into the pageantry of the Palestra. Instead, his workdays have been made up of doing less glamorous things like instructing kids at summer camps and watching AAU basketball games from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
But with his old buddy in charge, he’s excited for practices to begin. And just like he knew coming back to Penn was the correct thing to do, he also knows Jerome Allen will be a successful head coach.
“He’s been successful at everything else he’s done in life,” Leibovitz said. “I don’t think people all of a sudden forget how to be successful.” (Ed’s note: Isiah Thomas is the obvious exception.)
And if he has another son, would he name him Jerome or Allen?
“Good question,” Leibovitz said with a laugh. “We’ll have to figure out if that’s going to happen first.”
Add comment August 5, 2010
Donald twins shine on international waters
Liz, left, and Rebecca Donald after winning bronze in Belarus (courtesy of USRowing)
Who says summer is a slow time for college athletics? In the past week, three women tied to the Penn golf program qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Penn lacrosse assistant coach Brian Dougherty led the U.S. national team to a gold medal in the Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship and a pair of rising Penn seniors, twin sisters, Elizabeth and Rebecca Donald, won bronze in the women’s double sculls the World Rowing Under-23 Championships.
I got a chance to speak to the Donalds over the phone from their Massachusetts home, just a few days after they returned from Brest, Belarus, where they represented their country on the world’s stage. Here’s the interview with the wizards of the water:
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Can you guys just talk about what the whole experience was like in Belarus.
LIZ DONALD: It was pretty incredible. The venue that we were rowing at was the largest venue I’ve ever been at. It was a 10-lane course with a large warm-up area and a huge training facility for the Belarus national team. We didn’t see much of the city but it was a great experience. It was really great traveling with such great athletes on the United States team, and we were lucky because we were traveling with five other guys from Craftsbury (Small Boat Training Center), where we’ve been training. In that sense, it felt pretty familiar getting up in the morning and hopping on bus with them. It was quite the experience practicing and then racing alongside all these different countries.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: And the immediate feeling after knowing you won a medal – just talk about what that was like.
LIZ DONALD: I did a write-up for Penn Athletics. It was pretty crazy. We finished the race and Germany and Belarus were extremely fast, so they crossed and their times immediately went up on the big scoreboard. And then there was a pause and the entire stands were quiet. And we just waited and everyone was just staring at the board and I just stared up there. And then United States flashed across the screen and it honestly took me a second to realize United stood for the team I was rowing for. As soon as we just realized what had happened, my hands flew up into the air.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: In some sense, do you feel like you won this medal for Penn, too?
REBECCA DONALD: Yeah I mean we’re representing Penn and we’re representing Craftsbury and we also feel like we’re representing all the coaches we’ve raced for. They’ve really kind of shaped the athletes we are now, and we feel like we owe them a great deal of our success.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Was your family out in Belarus supporting you?
LIZ DONALD: Our family has been great supporters. Our parents [Malcolm and MaryEllen] have barely missed a race through high school and Penn. Our dad is known for making chicken salad at the Penn races, so everyone knows he’s here when they look at the table and see that. Both parents came out to Belarus and we’re so happy they did. Although we didn’t see much of them because of our tight schedule going to and from course, it was great seeing them when getting our medals. Our one brother [Peter] didn’t make it over but he was very present in emails and on Facebook letting everyone know how we’re doing. He’s our little media guru.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: I’m sure you get this a lot but this really does seem like the perfect sport for twins, right?
REBECCA DONALD: Yeah it’s in our advantage. The hardest part for any smaller boat is finding your pair partner. We definitely have an advantage because we know we’re pretty much have the same size and weight. And it’s really nice as far as we know how to communicate really well with each other. On the racecourse, I can say one word and we’re off and running. We also make really good training buddies. We push each other really well and we know how to get each other motivated – and on the negative side we also know how to push each others buttons. But for the most part, it’s been great.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: In general, are you guys always on the same team or are there some instances where a sibling rivalry exists?
REBECCA DONALD: As far as rowing goes, we’ve always been on the same team. Liz started rowing before I did but we’ve always been on the same boat competing. We did different sports throughout high school but ultimately found rowing.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: How are you similar and how are you different?
LIZ DONALD: With rowing, Rebecca is definitely stronger than I am so she pushes me. I’m just a little more in tune with technique. So I think we really balance each other out because it can’t be all power or all technique. Away from rowing, we have different majors. Rebecca was always better at math than I was and then I was always better at English. Our high school coach always said Rebecca’s a little crazy and I’m a little more focused and reserved.
The Donalds balance each other out on the water
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Have you guys always been close?
LIZ DONALD: We don’t always get along in the boat when we’re training together but we’re always friends when we ultimately leave the boathouse. We’ve always been really close. Fighting usually ends in fits of laughter, so that’s pretty unique. We’re always sisters at the end of the day. For other training partners, that isn’t the case.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: Are you guys excited for your senior years at Penn, both in rowing and away from the water?
REBECCA DONALD: We’re both really excited. We have a lot of goals for ourselves, both on the water and off the water. Off the water, we’re really excited to finish up our majors [Liz is majoring in Communications and Public Service, while Rebecca is studying graphic design and marketing.] With the crew team, there’s a phenomenal class coming in so we’re really looking forward to getting to know them and having their speed impact the team. And then we’re also excited – hang on, I’m going to put Liz on because she’s really excited about answering this question…
LIZ DONALD: (laughs) I can be a little better at articulating. But Rebecca and I have talked about carrying this momentum back to Penn and we both feel there are goals for Penn crew as a whole that we have yet to help the team achieve. Our senior class is awesome and we’re really excited to get back and see our friends and hopefully push the team with the help of our teammates to the next level. Fifth at Sprints is good but we want to push it a little harder and a little further before we graduate.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: How long will you keep rowing after graduation? And what are some other things you want to do in future?
REBECCA DONALD: Our goals have always been is just to see how far we can take (rowing) and see how fast we can go. We’ll continue rowing for sure after school. We were racing for the U-23 team this summer, but now we’re aged out so it’s onto the senior level, where things will get a lot more competitive.
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: So do you guys recommend that all the twins out there take up a sport together and them become the best world at it?
LIZ DONALD: (laughs) It’s definitely fun sharing it with someone. There’s definitely a history in the sport of rowing that twins, sisters and brothers, have had success together. You have to have a pretty good relationship to get along day in and day out because we see a lot of each other. We have to learn when to give each other space but sometimes that’s tough to do when you’re training so many hours a day.
Add comment July 29, 2010
Running through the United Kingdom
By the time summer rolls around, most college athletes are finished playing sports for their school until fall.
For a few lucky members of the Penn track and field team, that was not the case.
During the last two weeks of June, eight men and eight women from Penn had the privilege of competing against universities across the United Kingdom, joining their track brethren from Cornell for a NCAA-sanctioned trip that happens once every four years.
“It was the perfect way to close out my time at Penn,” said women’s 800-meter specialist Anna Aagenes C’10, who blogged about the trip for the Penn Athletics website and was also recently featured in this blog for her contributions to Penn away from the track.
The Penn and Cornell track teams combined to defeat University of Birmingham Sport in one meet and then Oxford and Cambridge in another, maintaining their winning streak against the two legendary English universities.
But the running, throwing and jumping part of the trip was almost secondary to touring the UK countries. Some highlights included:
- Racing against a steam engine train across the Welsh countryside
- Eating chocolate at Cadbury World in Birmingham
- Punting in the Thames River in Cambridge (standing on a boat, not kicking a football)
- Watching the World Cup among soccer fanatics at a London bar
Another interesting part of the trip for Aagenes was talking to British student-athletes and discovering that college sports are far more imbedded into the fabric of American society than it is across the pond (where club teams are more prevalent). The first scheduled meet, in fact, was turned into an intra-Ivy meet because only a couple of athletes from the school team in Bangor, Wales showed up.
“Some of them wished they had what we had,” Aagenes said. “It gave us a deeper appreciation of how lucky we are. … They just don’t really have the same type of support we have as Division I athletes.”
That type of support was made clear to Aagenes and her teammates as soon as they packed their bags, boarded a plane at JKF and spent two weeks of their summer on an all-expense paid vacation/track tour/ultimate bonding experience.
“It’s a pretty rare thing,” Aagenes said. “I feel very fortunate I was able to do it.”
Here are some more photos from the trip (courtesy of Aagenes):
Add comment July 24, 2010
The end of an announcing era
When you go to Franklin Field this fall, pay close attention to the raspy voice booming from above. It’s a voice that every Penn grad should recognize. It’s a voice that’s been announcing Quaker football games for the past-half century.
But this season will be the last time you’ll hear that recognizable voice; after 50 years on the job, C.T. Alexander will retire as the Franklin Field public address announcer.
Last week, I went to Franklin Field to interview C.T. along with his son, John Alexander, who has been his chief spotter for 30 years. The three of us went up to the crumbling press box (which is now only used for coaches) to talk about some of their favorite memories and snap some photos. It was a truly great interview – which says something since it was over 100 degrees that day.
C.T. Alexander with his son John in the Franklin Field press box
My story on the father/son announcing team will run in the September/October Gazette issue, so I can’t give away too many spoilers here. But, for your reading entertainment, I can share some notes C.T. gave me on his “accomplishments.” (You’ll see why that word is in quotes.)
- Dean of Stadium Announcers (self-appointed)
- First to use color-coded spotter sheets; first to use recycled paper for spotter sheets
- First announcing team to stand at attention during the entire national anthem – at every game
- First Voice to have pre-game warm-up that includes a prescribed regimen of triple-gargle, mike holding and voice testing
- First Voice to climb the steps to the Penn press box without stopping
- Considered “Best Dressed Ivy Stadium Announcer” six of the last ten years and three years running.
- Only Ivy League stadium announcer to have organized a card section for the Penn stands during his undergraduate years. (Ed’s note: If you don’t know what a card section is, watch the Budweiser World Cup commercial with the fans trying to distract the guy taking a penalty kick.)
Also, in case anyone is curious as to what a football P.A. announcer brings to a game (well, at least, C.T.), here’s a list: press pass, seat cushion, Penn two-deep, opposition two-deep, binoculars (2), ref signals guide, parking permit, ballpoint pen, duct tape, radio & earphones, other games score sheets, newspaper radio listings, sunscreen, higlighter, hat. (Man, when I cover games, all I bring are a press pass, pen, and occasionally even a notebook.)
In all seriousness, C.T. will be missed. Like his good friend Coach Lake (the Penn football legend who passed away in April), the late basketball P.A. man John McAdams and Palestra caretaker Dan Harrell, he is the kind of person that makes college athletics so great.
The Penn football season begins in two months. Just remember to pay attention to The Voice.
1 comment July 16, 2010
Glen Miller’s second chance
Glen Miller is back.
Fear not, Penn fans. The former coach who many believe singlehandedly set the basketball program back five years won’t be at the Palestra any time soon.
But after earning the ignominious distinction of being the first Ivy League men’s basketball coach ever to be fired midseason when he was cut loose by Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky last December, Miller has landed on his feet as the new director of basketball administration at the University of Connecticut.
Miller called it a step backward, but demotions could be worse. He’ll be making $120,000 a year and will be working for one of the preeminent basketball programs in the country, not to mention his old coach and boss, Jim Calhoun.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the job is that it used to be called the director of basketball operations and was previously held by Beau Archibald, who was forced to resign in May amidst allegations of recruiting violations.
Thus, Miller has been thrust into a situation that will be heavy on NCAA compliance but light on actual coaching duties – a big change for the longtime head coach.
Calhoun was pleased to bring Miller back to UConn
In speaking with the Hartford Courant and New Haven Register, Miller spouted out some clichés (“I prefer to look forward, not backwards”), some more poetic clichés (“the windshield is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror”) and some regret (“no doubt I’m going to miss things.”)
He also admitted failing at Penn, though he seemed to do so with resigned reluctance (“That was the first time in my career that there was a failure, for whatever reason”), puffed his own chest a bit when it came to his basketball pedigree (“A lot of the duties that I’ll be responsible for, I’ve either done those for a long time or I’ve supervised coaches who were responsible”) and added one thing sure to make Penn supporters think yeah right (“It’s going to require me to be very organized and be a great communicator”).
Communication, of course, may have been Miller’s biggest downfall – both with the players who fled the program like it was the Titanic and with the alumni who never could get a good read on the standoffish head coach.
But just as Miller is looking at the windshield, so should the Penn hoops program. New head coach Jerome Allen and assistants Mike Martin, Dan Leibovitz and recent hire Rudy Wise have just began an all-out July recruiting blitz, while the current players and incoming freshman are honing their skills in summer leagues.
The 2010-11 season is still a long way off, but it’s fair to say it’s a very important one – both for the Quakers, who are hoping to restore their misplaced winning tradition, and their old maligned coach, who wants to do the same.
Let the countdown begin.
Add comment July 6, 2010
Anna Aagenes stands for All American
In the future, maybe 10 years from now, maybe 20, sports and homosexuality won’t be a toxic mix – at least that is the hope.
But until that day comes, there need to be leaders of the cause, pioneers, bold men and women who can gently help along others who aren’t as bold.
Basically, there need to be people like Anna Aagenes C’10.
Aagenes was not only a track star during her last four years at Penn; she was an openly gay track star. And as a leader in the LGBT community, she strived every day to make her school a more accepting place for gay athletes.
“It’s been the best thing I could have done,” Aagenes said, “to bring together my two identities.”
The truth is, Aagenes never encountered many problems for being gay. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue. All you have to do is think about the fact that there has never been an openly gay male athlete in the four major American professional sports to realize there’s still a long way to go. And a welcoming environment in high schools and colleges around the country will certainly help pave the way toward conquering homophobia in the professional ranks.
“I definitely see it changing,” Aagenes said, just a few hours before boarding a plane for a track competition in the UK with runners from Penn and Cornell. “This really is the last frontier in terms of acceptance. Our generation is going to be the one that changes things. The older generation has the mindset that sexuality is a very big deal. The positive thing is people are starting to talk about homophobia in athletics. The younger generation is much more accepting.”
Aagenes first came out as a junior at Central Bucks West High School but not all of her track teammates knew. When she got to Penn, she immediately came out to the whole team before joining the Queer Student Alliance, a large undergraduate organization. Later, as a chair of PATH (Penn’s Athletes & Allies Tackling Homophobia), she founded the Pride Games, a fun “field day” competition designed to bring together athletes and members of the LGBT community.
In April, she was presented with the 2010 PennGALA Student Leadership Award.
Aagenes, center, with her student leadership award
“There are a lot of closeted athletes,” said Aagenes, who set a few school records as the captain of the track and cross country teams at Penn. “I mean, I was one of them. Through activities and talking to people, it’s been really rewarding doing these events and meeting people you never had the opportunity to meet. It’s really important with people struggling to come out to their teams.
“The majority of my experience at Penn has been very positive,” she continued. “But I’ve heard stories of others who have less-than-positive experiences – both at Penn and at other schools.”
As a leader of the cause, Aagenes never intended to push people to come out to their teammates. She simply wanted to make sure that was an option.
“People don’t have to necessarily have to be out,” she said. “The big deal is that they could because it’s a huge burden to hide part of your identity. No one deserves to live in fear if they’re found out. The worst part about remaining closeted is the fear.”
Now that she’s graduated, Aagenes plans to stay in Philly, where she will work with HIV patients at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She also plans on staying involved with LGBT issues while continuing to be a voice – and a beacon of hope – for other gay athletes.
When she’s no longer needed anymore, that’s when she knows her job will be done. She just hopes that day will come soon.
Add comment June 25, 2010
Talking about the World Cup With Rudy Fuller
Whether you like the sport or not, it’s hard to argue that soccer is growing in this country – and in Philadelphia in particular. In the next month, the United States will play England in one of the most anticipated soccer games in American history, the Major League expansion team Philadelphia Union will open its new stadium in Chester, and a World Cup champion will be crowned.
With the World Cup having arrived, I thought it would be a good time to chat with Penn men’s soccer coach Rudy Fuller to get his take on what all the excitement means for the Quakers program. The interview, which also includes some fun memories and predictions, can be found below:
PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: As a longtime soccer coach, what does the World Cup mean for you personally?
RUDY FULLER: It’s like if Christmas came every four years. It’s a very exciting time. Anybody who’s a fan of soccer certainly looks forward to the World Cup every four years. There’s quite a buildup for it, so for it to be here, it’s a very exciting time.
PGS: How many World Cups do you remember watching?
RF: The first World Cup I can remember watching was 1986. And that was when [Diego] Maradona played such a big role in Argentina winning. I was a teenager and it was exciting because I had been playing soccer for a number of years and all of my friends and me were following it closely. At that point, Maradona was the Michael Jordan for soccer.
PGS: What are some of your other favorite World Cup memories?
RF: The World Cup in the U.S.A. in 1994 is the one that jumps out to me. I had just graduated from college and ended up volunteering with the World Cup organizing committee in Washington. I think anyone would tell you the U.S. put on quite a show that year. And that was largely responsible for where we are today with Major League Soccer; one of the criteria to FIFA awarding the World Cup to the U.S. what that they form a top-tier professional league. To have it go off the way it did – full stadiums, packed houses, great games – and then the offshoot of that, the creation of the MLS happening two years later, I think that was really a springboard to where we are today.
Other than the World Cup in the U.S., I haven’t been able to travel to any of them. But the 2002 World Cup was the next one that would really stand out to me when the U.S. made it to the quarters. I remember waking away from that World Cup wondering if there would be another time where the U.S. would be that close to being able to play in a World Cup final. At that time in 2002, you really got a feel for the depth of the soccer community in this country. I remember the Portugal game came on at 2:30 in the morning. It was the opening game for U.S. and the U.S. ended up winning it 3-2 in a phenomenal game. But it might as well have been 2:30 in the afternoon the way my phone was ringing off the hook and emails were flying around. I walked away from that World Cup really amazed how many people were following the team and following the game.
The Americans' win over Portugal in 2002 remains a defining moment
PGS: Can you see the U.S. winning the World Cup in the future?
RF: After the run they had in the Confederations Cup last summer, I think the U.S. is a team that can beat anybody on any given day. I think that’s saying a lot. Because if you go back 10 years, you couldn’t have said that. Sure, we had an upset here or there. But we’ve gotten to a point that with what they did last summer in the Confederations Cup by beating Spain, who was on an unbelievable run at the time, it shows you that anything is possible. Now I would love to think we can win a World Cup in my lifetime. But it’s one of the hardest things to do in the world. I think in the history of the World Cup only five or six teams have won it. It’s like the Ivy League basketball title when it was the 30-year span with Penn and Princeton winning it every year. But all things are pointing in the right direction.
PGS: Have you noticed the talent level improving in this country and in particular at Penn?
RF: I think the talent level nationwide has gotten better and better. Penn is a very specific example, but you can look at the game nationally, both at the college level and the professional level, and you can see that it’s continued to grow and develop. There’s a tremendous energy about the game in this country right now. You really feel like you’re reaching a tipping point for the game in this country where stars are really aligning. I was at New Deck earlier today watching the opening game for the World Cup and there was a really good crowd there. I think nationally the game is on the cusp of really becoming a part of the sports landscape in a major way.
PGS: How much do you think the Philadelphia Union will help you recruit and help Penn soccer in general?
RF: I think it’s a huge, huge asset for us. Having an MLS team in our backyard is great for our program, our school and our city. For the student-athletes who came to Penn and are serious about soccer, to be able to watch the game is one of the best ways to improve yourself as a player. When they first announced that we were getting a team, we were thrilled – selfishly for ourselves in terms of going to games and having a team but also in terms of attracting quality student-athletes to Penn who have aspirations to go on to the next level.
PGS: With all the excitement with the Union and the World Cup, are there certain things you’re doing to utilize that stuff to build your program?
RF: In the fall of 2008, when we won the Ivy League championship, I reached out to the president of the Sons of Ben [the official supporters group of the Philadelphia Union, which formed two years before the city was awarded an MLS franchise] and said, ‘Listen, you guys don’t have a team to root for yet and we could use some help improving the atmosphere at our games. Why don’t we help each other and we can be your team until the Union comes around.’ They thought it was a great idea and we thought it was a great idea, so there were some games over the past two years when we had flags waving and songs being sung. It was a great thing for our program.
The Sons of Ben and Philadelphia Union have helped attract attention to Penn soccer
In the longer term, I think the hope is we’re able to use the MLS franchise in Philadelphia to leverage our program – things like opportunities for our players to train with them in the offseason or having games at PPL Park. Wouldn’t it be great to have a Penn-Villanova game at PPL Park before a Union game? I mean, what a great day for Philadelphia soccer that would be. There are a lot of things we’re hoping to do to try to take advantage of having an MLS team in the city.
PGS: Finally, do you have any predictions for the World Cup?
RF: I’m cautiously optimistic about Saturday’s game. I think the U.S. team is going to be very ready, focused and up for the game against England. It wouldn’t surprise me if they got a result in that game, much the same way they got a result against Portugal in 2002. I do think they’ll get out of the group. And at that point, anything can happen. I don’t foresee them winning the World Cup, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they made the quarterfinals of maybe even the semis.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s a vey fashionable choice right now, but I think Spain would be my favorite. I think teams like France and Italy and Argentina have things going on off the field that will impact their on-field performance. There’s always far too much pressure on England; I think sooner or later the pressure always gets to them. So I think Spain or Brazil, but I would go with Spain.
Add comment June 11, 2010
