WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Penn College released the 2019-20 winter sports schedules including: men's basketball, women's basketball, and wrestling.  Highlights of the winter schedules consist of the men's basketball program hosting the Crosstown Challenge in November, the women's basketball team traveling to Alvernia University for the opening tip-off tournament, while wrestling travels to Nashville, Tenn. to participate in the Gator Boot Duals. 
 
Men's Basketball
The Wildcats head coach Geoff Hensley returns to the helm of the program for his second season and is excited to build upon the groundwork that was established last year.  Penn College looks to continue their upward trend and reach new heights in the NEAC standings.    
 
"We have an extremely challenging non-conference schedule this year," Hensley says.  "We are hoping these early, tough tests will over-prepare our team for conference play in January and February".
 
The Wildcats open the season on the road with a trip to Valley Forge University on Nov. 12, then host their home opener with the Crosstown Challenge on Nov. 16 and 17 by facing Rosemont College and SUNY Delhi.  The Wildcats then will play 3 games in 6 days by hosting Alvernia University on Nov. 21, then playing at Lycoming College on Nov. 23 and finishing up with Elmira College at home on Nov 26.  Upon returning from a quick Thanksgiving break, the Wildcats face Clark's Summit on Dec. 3 as a challenging tune-up game before beginning conference play at SUNY Cobleskill on Dec. 7.
 
To begin the 2020 year, the Wildcats travel to King's College on Jan. 2 and then to Pitt-Greensburg on Jan. 7.  The team will then return to Williamsport to host three NEAC contests, highlighted with the reigning conference champions, Morrisville State, on Jan. 12.  The Wildcats continue conference play through January and February, which highlights the Alumni weekend game on Jan. 25 against Gallaudet University.  The Wildcats conclude the regular season with Senior Night on Feb. 15 against Gallaudet University before finishing up with three away contests at Gallaudet, Keuka College and Wells College on Feb 22.  The NEAC post-season conference tournament begins with the quarterfinals on Feb. 29 and continues with the semifinals and championship game at the top-seed host site. 
 
"We are extremely excited for this year.  We have a great core group returning while we welcomed in the largest recruiting class in the history of Penn College Basketball.  Our main focus is on continuous improvement and playing our best basketball towards the end of the season.  With so many new players, the real test will be how quickly we can learn to play together and reach our maximum potential as a team," Hensley said.
 
To view the entire 2019-20 men's basketball slate, click HERE.
 
 
Women's Basketball
The women's basketball program begins a new era under the leadership of first-year head coach Britni Mohney.  The Wildcats look for steady improvement as the team welcomes five new players to join seven returners with a combination of speed, size and experience. 
 
"We are eager and ready to start this new era for the women's basketball program," Mohney says.  "The returning members' garnered ample experience as young players, and we are excited to see how that will transfer on to the court as seasoned student-athletes."
 
The Wildcats open the season with five straight away contests.  They begin with the Alvernia Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 16 and 17, then travel to the Susquehanna University Tournament on Nov. 23 and 24 and finish the away stand with cross-town rival Lycoming College on Nov 26.  After a quick Thanksgiving break, the Wildcats host their home-opener facing Wilson College on Dec. 2 and then open NEAC-play travelling to SUNY Cobleskill on Dec. 7.  The Wildcats finish the semester with two contests after finals, hosting Bryn Mawr on Dec. 14 and concluding with a trip to Centenary University on Dec. 17.    
 
The Wildcats open the 2020 year with a road trip to Marywood University on Jan. 6 before bouncing back in NEAC play by hosting Cazenovia College on Jan. 11, Morrisville State on Jan. 12 and Penn State Harrisburg on Jan. 15.    The Wildcats continue conference play through January and February.  Penn College hosts Alumni weekend on Jan. 25 by hosting Gallaudet University and conclude the regular season with a weekend trip to New York to face Keuka College and Wells College on Feb. 21 and 22.  The NEAC conference tournament begins on Feb. 29 with the semifinals and championship game to follow. 
 
"This is an exciting year for our basketball program.  Our program is moving in an upward and onward direction.  This is an exciting time to be a part of this program and we are optimistic of the season ahead of us," says Mohney.
 
To view the entire 2019-20 women's basketball slate, click HERE.
 
 
Wrestling
The wrestling team continues its upward trend under third-year head coach Jamie Miller.  This past season, the wrestling team had four regional place finishers, including all four wrestlers advancing to the semifinals.
 
"As we did last year, we are looking to continue to build off the success we saw the previous year," says Miller.  "Two years ago, we had one Regional place finisher, last year we had four.  We brought in a really high caliber recruiting class that is going to push our returners and add depth at a lot of weight classes that we haven't had before."
 
The Wildcats open the season at the Lycoming Divisional Tournament on Nov. 3.  Penn College then travels to Kings College on Nov. 9 and Muhlenberg College on Nov. 16.  The Wildcats host a quad-match on Nov. 23 which features Scranton, Washing & Lee and York.  Penn College head to Messiah College for the messiah Petrofes Invitational on Dec. 6-7, and then make a big trip south to wrestle at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio on Dec. 19 and continue to the Gator Boot Duals in Nashville, Tenn. on Dec. 21. 
 
The Wildcats open 2020 with the North-South Duals on Jan. 11 before hosting the Mid-Winter Classic at Liberty Arena on Jan. 18.  The team continues matches through January and February before concluding with the Future's Tournament at Muhlenberg on Feb. 23.  Regionals begin on Feb. 28 and the Wildcats look to build upon their success they established last year. 
 
"We continue to make our schedule more challenging every year with the same goal in mind: to be as prepared as we can for the Regional Tournament in February," Miller explained.  "It's very exciting as we have wrestlers who will be looking to take the next step and put themselves in a position to compete for a trip to nationals."
 
To view the entire 2019-20 wrestling slate, click HERE.