Nittany Lions with 142 Academic All-Conference Honorees So Far in 2014-15
April 8, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A school record 70 Penn State student-athletes from eight winter teams have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. The previous mark for the winter sports season was 65 honorees, set last year.
The 70 winter honorees brings Penn State’s 2014-15 total to 142 academic all-conference honorees (from 15 sports) and comes on the heels of the record-breaking fall semester academic performance (see below). 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.
Student-athletes with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher from the Penn State men’s and women’s fencing and women’s ice hockey teams will be recognized in the spring and at-large sport categories later this year.
Head coach Tim Murphy’s women’s swimming and diving team led the way with 19 honorees, including Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec), who earned honorable mention All-America laurels at the NCAA Championships. Head coach Guy Gadowsky’s men’s ice hockey squad had 18 players earn Academic All-Big Ten accolades, including honorable-mention All-Big Ten honorees David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) and Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada). Murphy’s men’s swimming and diving team had 10 honorees, including senior swimmer Nate Savoy (Sinking Spring, Pa.), who was an honorable mention All-American this past season.
Head coach Cael Sanderson’s Nittany Lion wrestling team had seven wrestlers earn Academic All-Big Ten laurels, led by 2015 national champion and three-time All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), who earned his third such honor. Junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown), who along with Brown was one of Penn State’s five All-Americans this year, also was honored by the Big Ten. Head coach Coquese Washington’s women’s basketball team also had seven players honored, including Sierra Moore (Hanover), an honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection.
Head coach Randy Jepson’s men’s gymnastics team, the 2015 Big Ten Champions, had five athletes honored, including Craig Hernandez (Libertyville, Ill.), a two-time Big Ten pommel horse champion. Coach Jeff Thompson’s women’s gymnastics team had three honorees, including senior Alex Witt(Odessa, Fla.) and Kevin Montminy (Centre Hall) was recognized from head coach Pat Chambers’ Nittany Lion basketball team.
Overall, the Big Ten Conference recognized a total of 735 winter sports student-athletes who were named to the Academic All-Conference team. The list of honored student-athletes features 32 men’s and 68 women’s basketball players, 47 men’s and 67 women’s gymnasts, 76 men’s hockey players, 141 men’s and 200 women’s swimmers and divers and 104 wrestlers.
Penn State student-athletes, who have captured 18 Big Ten Championships and five NCAA titles since September 2012, consistently have been among the nation’s most successful in earning their degrees. Among some of the recent academic accomplishments are:
– 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.
– Seventy-two Penn State student-athletes earned Fall Academic All-Big Ten honors. During the 2013-14 academic year, Penn State had 285 academic all-conference honorees, its second-highest total all-time;
– 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.
– Penn State’s 186 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time ranks No. 3 among Division I institutions.
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Penn State’s Winter 2014-15 Academic All-Big Ten honorees:
Men’s Basketball
Name Year Major Hometown
Kevin Montminy Sr. Accounting Centre Hall, Pa.
Women’s Basketball
Name Year Major Hometown
Jenny DeGraaf So. Education Springboro, Ohio
Molly Dincher Sr. Kinesiology Cogan Station, Pa.
Kaliyah Mitchell So. Education Stone Mountain, Ga.
Sierra Moore Jr. Journalism Hanover, Pa
Lindsey Spann So. Communications Laurel, Md.
Tori Waldner Sr. Kinesiology Alpharetta, Ga.
Peyton Whitted So. Communications Suwanee, Ga.
Men’s Gymnastics
Name Year Major Hometown
Joseph Boyle So. Science Colts Neck, N.J.
Franz Card So. Engineering Nashua, N.H.
Dominic DiFulvio So. Engineering Marietta, N.Y.
Craig Hernandez Sr. Chemistry Libertyville, Ill.
Christian McSwain So. Biobehavorial Health Jamestown, N.C.
Women’s Gymnastics
Name Year Major Hometown
Nicole Medvitz So. Business Administration Paramus, N.J.
Christina Postiglione So. Liberal Arts Selden, N.Y.
Alex Witt Sr. Kinesiology Odessa, Fla.
Men’s Ice Hockey
Name Year Major Hometown
Kenny Brooks Jr. Supply Chain & Information Systems Las Vegas, Nev.
Ricky DeRosa So. Division of Undergraduate Studies Aston, Pa.
Jacob Friedman Sr. Finance West Bloomfield, Mich.
Max Gardiner Sr. Economics Deephaven, Minn.
David Glen Jr. Economics Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
David Goodwin So. Economics Des Peres, Mo. Luke Juha Jr. Finance Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Curtis Loik Jr. Finance N. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Eamon McAdam So. Earth and Mineral Sciences Perkasie, Pa.
Tommy Olczyk Sr. Accounting Long Grove, Ill.
Dylan Richard So. Health & Human Development Adrossan, Alberta, Canada
Zach Saar So. Division of Undergraduate Studies Richland, Mich.
Eric Scheid Sr. Communication Arts & Sciences Coon Rapids, Minn.
Matthew Skoff Jr. Supply Chain & Information Systems McKees Rocks, Pa.
Peter Sweetland Sr. Security & Risk Analysis Yardley, Pa.
David Thompson So. Division of Undergraduate Studies Glen Mills, Pa.
Connor Varley Jr. Corporate Innovation & Entrepreneurship Lansdale, Pa.
Mike Williamson So. Health & Human Development Leduc, Alberta, Canada
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Name Year Major Hometown
Nick Ankosko Sr. Agribusiness Management East Brunswich, N.J.
Jonathan Ekstrom Sr. Chemical Engineering Silver Spring, Md.
Matt Grillo Jr. Journalism Kirkland, Quebec, Canada
Harrison Grimm Jr. Industrial Engineering Fairview, Pa.
Kyle Madley Sr. Psychology Madison, N.J.
Tim Maurer Jr. Biology Hershey, Pa.
Nate Savoy Sr. Mechanical Engineering Sinking Spring, Pa.
T.J. Schenkel Sr. Energy Engineering Richboro, Pa.
Andrew Schuehler So. Division of Undergraduate Studies Collingswood, N.J.
Jeff Young Sr. Kinesiology Hershey, Pa.
Women’s Swimming & Diving
Name Year Major Hometown
Alyson Ackman Jr. Kinesiology Montreal, Quebec
Jenna Bickel Jr. Childhood & Early Adolescent Education Slingerlands, N.Y.
Taylor Cameron So. Health & Human Development Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Mackenzie Cornell So. International Politics Germantown, Md.
Anna Farnsworth So. Health Policy & Administration State College, Pa.
Carolyn Fittin Sr. Special Education Sea Girt, N.J.
Casey Francis So. Health & Human Development Pomapno Beach, Fla.
Meredith Harbison Sr. Accounting Butler, Pa.
Mackenzie Hornibrook So. Division of Undergraduate Studies West Chester, Pa.
Katelyn Miller Sr. Psychology Hershey, Pa.
Allie Pennetti Jr. Rehabilitation & Human Services Wexford, Pa.
Melissa Rodriguez So. Agribusiness Management Chihuahua, Mexico
Katie Saloky So. Biobehavorial Health Bloomsburg, Pa.
Sierra Scoggin Jr. Risk Management Reston, Va.
Haley Sinatro Jr. Biology West Hartford, Conn.
Megan Siverling Sr. Nutritional Sciences Chester Springs, Pa.
Katelyn Sowinski So. Biobehavorial Health Leonardtown, Md.
Chelsea VanderWeele Jr. Marketing Silver Spring, Md.
Megan Wujciak So. Health & Human Development West Caldwell, N.J.
Wrestling
Name Year Major Hometown
Matt Brown Sr. Criminology West Valley City, Utah
Jordan Conaway Sr. Rehabilitation & Human Services Abbottstown, Pa.
Luke Frey Sr. Biobehavorial Health Mountoursville, Pa.
Jon Gingrich Sr. Landscape Contracting Wingate, Pa.
Garett Hammond So. Communications Chambersburg, Pa.
Matt McCutcheon So. Health & Human Development Apollo, Pa.
Kade Moss So. Division of Undergraduate Studies South Jordan, Utah
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