Penn State’s 277 Academic All-Big Ten Honorees Third-Highest Yearly Total; Cross 5,000 Honorees All-time

July 1, 2015 UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – 

 A total of 135 Penn State student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten laurels for the spring/at-large sports to close out the 2014-15 academic year and push its all-time total past 5,000 honorees. The total is just one shy of the school record of 136 in the spring/at-large period, set in 2013-14.

The 135 spring/at-large honorees brings Penn State’s final 2014-15 total to 277 Academic All-Big Ten selections, third highest in school history. The Nittany Lions’ record of 296 academic all-conference honorees was set in 2012-13 and the second-highest mark was 285 in 2013-14.

Penn State Highest Academic All-Big Ten Totals (starting in 1993-94): 2012-13 – 296 2013-14 – 287 2014-15 – 277

Penn State has earned a total of 5,041Academic All-Big Ten honorees during its 22 years of full membership in the conference.

To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

Women’s track and field senior standout Katie Rodden was one of 13 Big Ten student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average for the spring/at-large sports.

The women’s lacrosse team, directed by Coach Missy Doherty, led the way among Penn State spring/at-large teams with 17 Academic All-Big Ten honorees. The women’s track and field team, led by first-year head coach John Gondak, was next with 15 honorees.

Three Penn State teams led the Big Ten in their respective sports. The women’s golf team, guided by Coach Denise St. Pierre, led the conference with nine Academic All-Big Ten selections and the women tennis team, directed by first-year head coach Chris Cagle, topped the Big Ten with eight. The women’s ice hockey team, led by head coach Josh Brandwene, was tied for the conference lead with 14 Academic All-Big Ten honorees.

The men’s golf team, directed by Coach Greg Nye, and the men’s tennis squad, led by coach Jeff Zinn, both tied for second among Big Ten schools with Academic All-Big Ten eight honorees.

Penn State Spring/At-Large Teams That Led Their Sports in Academic All-Big Ten Selections:Women’s Golf – 9 Women’s Tennis – 8 Women’s Hockey – 14 (tied for first)

Overall, the Big Ten Conference recognized a total of 1,447 students competing in spring and at-large sports.

The Academic All-Big Ten honors add to another banner academic year for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. Nittany Lion student-athletes, who have captured 19 Big Ten Championships and five NCAA titles since September 2012, consistently have been among the most successful in the nation in earning their degrees and academic success. Among some of the recent academic accomplishments are:

– Matt Brown and Laura Gebhart were selected first-team CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-Americans, with Brown earning the Academic All-American of the Year in the At-Large category. Penn State’s 189 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time ranks No. 3 among Division I institutions.

– Brown, the Nittany Lions’ Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 2014-15, also earned a prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, Penn State’s 46th such recipient.

– A total of 101 student-athletes graduated in May, second-highest in school history, and 128 have graduated so far during this year, with more graduates expected in August.

– This past May, the NCAA reported that six Penn State teams have perfect four-year Academic Progress Rate scores of 1,000 and that 10 Nittany Lion squads earned perfect APR scores in 2013-14.

– Penn State student-athletes shattered school records during the 2014 fall semester, including a record 500 earning a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Among the 500 Nittany Lion student-athletes earning at least a 3.0 GPA, a school record 241 garnered Dean’s List honors during the 2014 fall semester by posting a GPA of 3.50 or higher. The combined average GPA was 3.08 among Penn State’s 31 varsity sports during the fall semester.

– Last October, the NCAA’s annual study of institutions across the nation revealed Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 89 percent compared to the 82 percent average for all Division I institutions. The 89 percent figure was second-highest, to Northwestern, among Big Ten Conference institutions.

For Penn State Athletics social media links, go to: GoPSUsports.com/ot/socialmedia.html.

Penn State 2014-15 Spring/At-Large Academic All-Big Ten Honorees

 

Baseball (8)

Name                         Year         Major                                  Hometown

Jack Anderson Jr. Supply Chain And Information Systems Evanston, Ill.
James Coates Jr. Management Girard, Ohio
Jordan Donmoyer Sr. Supply Chain And Information Systems Lititz, Pa.
Dakota Forsyth So. Business Administration Bethel Park, Pa.
Alex Malinsky Jr. Finance Apex, N.C.
Jake Pilewicz So. Business Administration Sewickley, Pa.
Taylor Skerpon Sr. Accounting Sayre, Pa.
Ryky Smith Sr. Communication Arts And Sciences York, Pa.

 

Softball (10)

Name               Year             Major                                           Hometown

Reina Furuya Jr. Energy, Business And Finance Waipahu, Hawaii
Shannon Good Jr. Chemical Engineering Horseheads, N.Y.
Macy Jones Jr. Energy, Business And Finance Ashburn, Va.
Lexis Knief Jr. Journalism Ramsey, N.J.
Marlaina Laubach So. Liberal Arts Macungie, Pa.
Shelby Miller So. Health And Human Development Suger Land, Texas
Mia Monopoli So. Communications Moraga, Calif.
Maegan Tupinio Jr. Science Wahiawa, Hawaii
Christina Von Pusch Jr. Supply Chain And Information Systems Devon, Pa.
Alicia Walker Sr. Health Policy And Administration Los Alamitos, Calif.

 

Men’s Fencing (9)

Name                         Year         Major                                 Hometown

Howie Chan So. Division Of Undergraduate Studies Walnut, Calif.
David Gomez-Tanamachi Sr. Finance Mexico City, Mexico
Farzaan Karimi Jr. Risk Management Medfield, Mass.
Maxwell Kleeman Sr. Economics Los Angeles, Calif.
Adam Lewicki Jr. International Politics Oakland, N.J.
Alex Schneller Sr. English North Billerica, Mass.
Kaito Streets Jr. Management Redwood City, Calif.
Lars Swanson So. Economics Mendham, N.J.
Karl Oskar Tang So. Engineering Stockholm, Sweden

 

Women’s Fencing (6)

Name                 Year         Major                                              Hometown

Brianne Cavaliere Jr. Animal Sciences Wayne, N.J.
Kane Gladnick Sr. Advertising/Public Relations Wynnewood, Pa.
Teodora Kakhiani So. Division Of Undergraduate Studies Tbilisi, Georgia
Clarisse Luminet Sr. Communication Arts And Sciences Lyon, France
Daniella Ortiz So. Liberal Arts Bayside, N.Y.
Rebecca Stanley Jr. International Politics Willis, Texas

 

Men’s Golf (8)

Name                        Year         Major                                    Hometown

Cody Cox So. Communications Milford, Pa.
James Dornes Jr. Finance Lancaster, Pa.
Christian Elliott So. Business Administration Port Perry, Ontario
Christopher Houston Jr. Supply Chain And Information Systems Gilford, N.H.
Alexander McDonald-Smith Sr. International Politics Rockaway Park, N.Y.
Shane Stewart Sr. Finance Dublin, Ohio
Jens Talbert Sr. Finance Little Rock, Ark.
Geoffrey Vartelas Jr. Supply Chain And Information Systems Cromwell, Conn.

 

Women’s Golf (9)

Name                          Year         Major                            Hometown

Kendall Allen Jr. Advertising/Public Relations Pittsburgh, Pa.
Elyse Archambault Sr. Finance St-Jean-sur-Rich, Quebec
Ellen Ceresko Sr. Marketing Jefferson Township, Pa.
Grace Chung Jr. Finance Richmond Hill, Ontario
Meaghan Coleman So. Energy, Business And Finance The Woodlands, Texas
Katlyn Elliott Sr. Science Peterborough, Ontario
Kate Granahan Jr. Recreation, Park And Tourism Management Allentown, Pa.
Catherine Herrera Sr. Accounting Houston, Texas
Erin Michel Sr. Psychology Mason, Ohio

 

Women’s Hockey (14)

Name                 Year         Major                                               Hometown

Jeanette Bateman Jr. Accounting Greeley, Colo.
Laura Bowman So. Science Minnetonka, Minn.
Micayla Catanzariti Jr. Film-Video Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
Hannah Hoenshell Jr. Science Plano, Texas
Jill Holdcroft Jr. Accounting Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa.
Paige Jahnke Jr. Communication Arts And Sciences Oakdale, Minn.
Emily Laurenzi Jr. Recreation, Park And Tourism Management Townsend, Del.
Sarah Nielsen So. Health And Human Development Edina, Minn.
Amy Petersen So. Division Of Undergraduate Studies Minnetonka, Minn.
Kendra Rasmussen Jr. Biology Eagan, Minn.
Kelly Seward So. Earth And Mineral Sciences Williamsville, N.Y.
Celine Whitlinger Jr. Biology Boalsburg, Pa.
Sarah Wilkie Jr. Health Policy And Administration Ashby, Mass.
Shannon Yoxheimer Jr. Recreation, Park And Tourism Management Jackson, Mich.

 

Men’s Lacrosse (11)

Name                  Year         Major                                            Hometown

Nick Aponte So. Division Of Undergraduate Studies West Islip, N.Y.
JP Burnside Sr. Supply Chain And Information Systems Garden City, N.Y.
Dan Craig So. Division Of Undergraduate Studies Shelburne, Ontario
Jack Donnelly Sr. Science Toronto, Ontario
Drake Kreinz Jr. Management Delafield, Wis.
Ryan Mullen Sr. Communication Arts And Sciences Hatboro, Pa.
Tommy O’Neill Jr. Management Information Systems Shamong, N.J.
TJ Sanders Jr. Supply Chain And Information Systems Orillia, Ontario
Mike Sutton So. Health And Human Development Sewell, N.J.
Peter Triolo So. Engineering Smithtown, N.Y.
Kyle Zittel Sr. Science Eden, N.Y.

 

Women’s Lacrosse (17)

Name                Year         Major                                                Hometown

Natalia Angelo Sr. Journalism Ulster, Pa.
Taylor Bleistein So. Liberal Arts Bayville, N.Y.
Megan Callaghan So. Education Dallas, Texas
Tatum Coffey Sr. Journalism Island Heights, N.J.
Heather Harman Jr. Recreation, Park And Tourism Management Alpharetta, Ga.
Danielle Lazo Sr. Biobehavioral Health Stevensville, Md.
Stephanie Lazo So. Health And Human Development Stevensville, Md.
Kelly Lechner Sr. Rehabilitation And Human Services Silver Spring, Md.
Jessica Loizeaux Sr. Recreation, Park And Tourism Management Mullica Hill, N.J.
Margaret McCormick Sr. Advertising/Public Relations Eldersburg, Md.
Jenna Mosketti Jr. Communication Arts And Sciences Fallston, Md.
Sarah Piazza So. Health And Human Development Bel Air, Md.
Natalie Schmitt So. Business Administration Malvern, Pa.
Emily Smith Jr. Rehabilitation And Human Services Centennial, Colo.
Abigail Smucker So. Health And Human Development Bel Air, Md.
Erika Spilker Jr. Communication Arts And Sciences Severna Park, Md.
Jane Truffer So. Education Arnold, Md.

 

Men’s Tennis (8)

Name                        Year         Major                                      Hometown

Matthew Barry Jr. Marketing Lido Beach, N.Y.
Marc Collado So. Engineering Barcelona, Spain
Nika Dolidze So. Division Of Undergraduate Studies Tbilisi, Georgia
Alexander Fennell So. Kinesiology Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
Tomas Hanzlik Sr. Accounting Prague, Czech Republic
Christian Lutschaunig So. Business Administration Richboro, Pa.
Michael Reilly Sr. Economics Raleigh, N.C.
Roman Trkulja Jr. Management Information Systems Toronto, Ontario

 

Women’s Tennis (8)

Name                   Year         Major                                        Hometown

Ekaterina Blik So. Division Of Undergraduate Studies Moscow, Russia
Devan McCluskey Jr. Media Studies Franklin, Tenn.
Melissa Minniti So. Kinesiology Gaithersburg, Md.
Daria Sapogovia Fr. Engineering Belarus, Minsk
Taylor Shukow Fr. Communications Boca Raton, Fla.
Samantha Tutelman So. Business Administration New York, N.Y.
Katherine Whiteaway Jr. Kinesiology Sawbridgeworth, England
Jacqueline Zuhse Jr. Economics Frederick, Md.

 

Men’s Track & Field (8)

Name                       Year         Major                                       Hometown

Ryan Brennan Sr. Security And Risk Analysis Chester, N.Y.
Glen Burkhardt Sr. Mechanical Engineering Kennett Square, Pa.
Robert Cardina Jr. Advertising/Public Relations Lancaster, Pa.
Robert Creese Sr. Mathematics Mt. Airy, Md.