Eight post perfect 4.0 GPAs during 2014-15 academic year
July 22, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; July 22, 2015 – Nearly 70 Penn State student-athletes have received Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Awards for the 2014-15 academic year. The total of 69 is the school’s second-highest and just shy of last year’s record total.
Eight of the 69 Nittany Lion student-athletes posted perfect 4.0 grade point averages this past year: Kevin Montminy, men’s basketball; Kathleen Rodden, women’s cross country/track and field; Shane Stewart, men’s golf; Ellen Ceresko, women’s golf; Dani Lazo, women’s lacrosse; Abby Smucker, women’s lacrosse; Megan Siverling, women’s swimming and diving and Melissa Minnitti, women’s tennis.
Also among Penn State’s Distinguished Scholars were members of Penn State’s NCAA Champion women’s volleyball team — Carley Muller and Kendall Pierce — as well as the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and NCAA Wrestling National Champion, Matt Brown. CoSIDA Academic All-Americans Laura Gebhart (field hockey) and Robby Creese (men’s cross country/track and field) also earned Distinguished Scholars recognition.
The women’s swimming and diving team topped the Penn State list, with eight student-athletes honorees. The women’s lacrosse squad had seven Big Ten Distinguished Scholars and the field hockey team had six.
Penn State’s three highest Distinguished Scholar totals have come in the last three years:
2014-15: 69
2013-14: 73
2012-13: 68
The Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award is presented to student-athletes who have recorded a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher during the previous academic year.
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only students with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school.
These latest academic accolades add to another banner 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:
– During the 2014 fall semester, a school record 500 of the approximately 800 Nittany Lion student-athletes earned at least a 3.0 GPA, crushing the previous high of 468 in the 2013 fall semester. Among the 500 high achievers, a record 241 garnered Dean’s List honors by posting a GPA of 3.50 or higher, while passing a minimum of 12 credits. The previous Dean’s List mark was 211 in the 2012 fall semester.
– During the most recent semester, a school spring semester record 474 Penn State student-athletes earned a 3.0 GPA; 62 percent of all student-athletes enrolled during the spring. Among the 474 high achievers, a spring semester record 221 earned Dean’s List honors with a 3.5 GPA. The combined average GPA was 3.11 among Penn State’s 31 varsity sports during the spring semester. The 474 and 221 totals, respectively, rank No. 2 overall in a semester, topped only by last fall’s academic achievements.
– A total of 277 student-athletes garnered Academic All-Big Ten accolades in 2014-15. Penn State has earned a total of 5,039 Academic All-Big Ten honorees during its 22 years of full membership in the conference.
– Matt Brown (wrestling) and Laura Gebhart (field hockey) were selected first-team CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-Americans, with Brown earning the Academic All-American of the Year for all sports. Robby Creese (men’s track and field) was a third-team honoree.
– Penn State’s 189 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time rank 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 this past spring, the second-highest total in school history, and 128 have graduated so far during this year, with more graduates expected in August.
– In 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.
– 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’s 2014-15 Distinguished Scholar Award recipients (4.0 GPA students in bold):
| Name | Sport | Year | Major | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Montminy | Men’s Basketball | Sr. | Accounting | Centre Hall, Pa. |
| Victoria Waldner | Women’s Basketball | Sr. | Kinesiology | Alpharetta, Ga. |
| Robert Creese | Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field | Sr. | Mathematics | Mount Airy, Md. |
| Wade Endress | Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field | Jr. | Kinesiology | Altoona, Pa. |
| Leigha Anderson | Women’s Cross Country | Sr. | Labor Studies And Employment Relations | Carlisle, Pa. |
| Kathleen Rodden | Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field | Sr. | Kinesiology | Ardmore, Pa. |
| Cara Ulizio | Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field | So. | Business Administration | Redondo Beach, Calif. |
| David Gomez-Tanamachi | Men’s Fencing | Sr. | Finance | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Alex Schneller | Men’s Fencing | Sr. | English | North Billerica, Mass. |
| Kaito Streets | Men’s Fencing | Jr. | Management | Redwood City, Calif. |
| Clarisse Luminet | Women’s Fencing | Sr. | Communication Arts And Sciences | Lyon, France |
| Jessica O’Neill Lyublinsky | Women’s Fencing | Jr. | Rehabilitation And Human Services | North Salem, N.Y. |
| Rebecca Stanley | Women’s Fencing | Jr. | International Politics | Willis, Texas |
| Katilynn Breneman | Field Hockey | Sr. | Recreation, Park And Tourism Management | Washington Boro, Pa. |
| Carly Celkos | Field Hockey | So. | Rehabilitation And Human Services | Berlin, N.J. |
| Amanda Dinunzio | Field Hockey | Sr. | Spanish | State College, Pa. |
| Laura Gebhart | Field Hockey | Sr. | Community, Environment, And Development | Mount Joy, Pa. |
| Kirsten Gochnauer | Field Hockey | So. | Health And Human Development | Mount Joy, Pa. |
| Haley Kerstetter | Field Hockey | Jr. | Advertising/Public Relations | Selinsgrove, Pa. |
| Christopher Gulla | Football | So. | Business Administration | Toms River, N.J. |
| Tyler Yazujian | Football | Jr. | Security And Risk Analysis | Royersford, Pa. |
| Cody Cox | Men’s Golf | So. | Communications | Milford, Pa. |
| James Dornes | Men’s Golf | Jr. | Finance | Lancaster, Pa. |
| Alexander McDonald-Smith | Men’s Golf | Sr. | International Politics | Rockaway Park, N.Y. |
| Shane Stewart | Men’s Golf | Sr. | Finance | Dublin, Ohio |
| Ellen Ceresko | Women’s Golf | Sr. | Marketing | Jefferson Township, Pa. |
| Max Gardiner | Men’s Hockey | Sr. | Economics | Deephaven, Minn. |
| Tommy Olczyk | Men’s Hockey | Sr. | Accounting | Long Grove, Ill. |
| David Thompson | Men’s Hockey | So. | Finance | Glen Mills, Pa. |
| Laura Bowman | Women’s Hockey | So. | Biochemistry And Molecular Biology | Minnetonka, Minn. |
| Amy Petersen | Women’s Hockey | So. | Risk Management | Minnetonka, Minn. |
| Kelly Seward | Women’s Hockey | So. | Geography | Williamsville, N.Y. |
| James Burnside | Men’s Lacrosse | Sr. | Supply Chain And Information Systems | Garden City, N.Y. |
| John Donnelly | Men’s Lacrosse | Sr. | Science | Toronto, Ontario |
| Taylor Sanders | Men’s Lacrosse | Jr. | Supply Chain And Information Systems | Orillia, Ontario |
| Kyle Zittel | Men’s Lacrosse | Sr. | Science | Eden, N.Y. |
| Taylor Bleistein | Women’s Lacrosse | So. | Criminology | Bayville, N.Y. |
| Kristin Brent | Women’s Lacrosse | Sr. | Rehabilitation And Human Services | Rockville Centre, N.Y. |
| Tatum Coffey | Women’s Lacrosse | Sr. | Broadcast Journalism | Toms River, N.J. |
| Dani Lazo | Women’s Lacrosse | Sr. | Biobehavioral Health | Stevensville, Md. |
| Jess Loizeaux | Women’s Lacrosse | Sr. | Recreation, Parks And Tourism Management | Mullica Hill, N.J. |
| Abby Smucker | Women’s Lacrosse | So. | Biobehavioral Health | Bel Air, Md. |
| Jane Truffer | Women’s Lacrosse | So. | Education | Arnold, Md. |
| Samuel Bollinger | Men’s Soccer | So. | Biochemistry And Molecular Biology | State College, Pa. |
| Michael Robinson | Men’s Soccer | Sr. | Mechanical Engineering | Lansdale, Pa. |
| Antionette Chase | Women’s Soccer | Jr. | Animal Science | Wayne, Pa. |
| Raquel RodriguezCedeno | Women’s Soccer | Jr. | Recreation, Park And Tourism Management | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Lexis Knief | Softball | Jr. | Journalism | Ramsey, N.J. |
| Alicia Walker | Softball | Sr. | Health Policy And Administration | Los Alamitos, Calif. |
| Andrew Schuehler | Men’s Swimming & Diving | So. | Accounting | Collingswood, N.J. |
| Anna Farnsworth | Women’s Swimming & Diving | So. | Health Policy And Administration | State College, Pa. |
| Casey Francis | Women’s Swimming & Diving | So. | Health And Human Development | Pomapno Beach, Fla. |
| Mackenzie Hornibrook | Women’s Swimming & Diving | So. | Supply Chain And Information Systems | West Chester, Pa. |
| Katelyn Miller | Women’s Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Psychology | Hershey, Pa. |
| Allie Pennetti | Women’s Swimming & Diving | Jr. | Rehabilitation And Human Services | Wexford, Pa. |
| Kaitlin Saloky | Women’s Swimming & Diving | So. | Biobehavioral Health | Bloomsburg, Pa. |
| Haley Sinatro | Women’s Swimming & Diving | Jr. | Biology | West Hartford, Conn. |
| Megan Siverling | Women’s Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Nutritional Sciences | Chester Springs, Pa. |
| Tomas Hanzlik | Men’s Tennis | Sr. | Accounting | Prague, Czech Republic |
| Christian Lutschaunig | Men’s Tennis | So. | Business Administration | Richboro, Pa. |
| Melissa Minniti | Women’s Tennis | So. | Kinesiology | Gaithersburg, Md. |
| Samantha Tutelman | Women’s Tennis | So. | Business Administration | New York, N.Y. |
| Katherine Whiteaway | Women’s Tennis | Jr. | Kinesiology | Sawbridgeworth, England |
| Tal Ben-Artzi | Women’s Track & Field | So. | Psychology | Kibbutz Gazit, Israel |
| Connor Curry | Men’s Volleyball | Sr. | International Affairs | Newport Beach, Calif. |
| Carley Muller | Women’s Volleyball | So. | Communications | Manhattan Beach, Calif. |
| Kendall Pierce | Women’s Volleyball | Jr. | Health Policy And Administration | Eden, N.Y. |
| Matthew Brown | Wrestling | Sr. | Criminology | West Valley City, Utah |
| Nicholas Ruggear | Wrestling | Sr. | Rehabilitation And Human Services | Oxford, Pa. |
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