UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 18, 2006 ?? A school record 78 Penn State student-athletes, representing seven fall sports, have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. The Nittany Lions?? 78 fall recipients are the most among conference institutions for the seventh time in the last nine years.
Penn State??s previous high for academic all-conference selections in the fall season was 73 in 2002. The Nittany Lions have 2,631 overall honorees during the past 12 ? years to lead all Big Ten institutions in academic all-conference
The academic all-conference honorees achieved excellence inside and outside of the classroom. In women??s soccer, forward Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) was named a member of the ESPN The Magazine Third Team Academic All-America squad, while Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Va.) collected conference Co-Defensive Player of Year accolades, helping the Nittany Lions to their ninth consecutive Big Ten regular-season title and the Big Ten Tournament championship. In men??s soccer, Conrad Taylor (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned All-Big Ten first team honors and was an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American for the second consecutive year, being joined by Ryan Badaracco (Wexford, Pa.). Teammate Michael Tilatti (Thornhill, Ont.) maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA.
On the gridiron, Paul Posluszny (Aliquippa, Pa.) was selected the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year while also winning the Bednarik Award for the second consecutive year as the nation??s top defensive player. Nittany Lion football student-athlete Tim Shaw (Livonia, Mich.) garnered first team Academic All-America honors and teammate Nolan McCready (Wyomissing, Pa.) was a second team honoree.
Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) and Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) were first team All-Big Ten choices as they led the women??s volleyball team to their fourth straight outright conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, earning a superlative 32-3 record.
For the third time in the past five years, Penn State??s student-athletes posted the highest graduation rate among all Division I-A public institutions, according to the 2006 NCAA Graduation Rate Report. The 83 percent federal rate is tied for Penn State's best performance in the 16-year history of the NCAA report, along with the entering classes of 1997-98 and 1989-90.
According to the NCAA data, for student-athletes entering the University in 1999-2000, Penn State??s graduation rate (83 percent) was sixth-highest overall among the nation??s 119 Division I-A institutions. The national average was 64 percent.
The Big Ten recognized 623 fall student-athletes. To be eligible for the Academic All-Big Ten team, student-athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a career grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.
Men??s Cross Country
John Mahoney....So....Education....Richboro, Pa.
Daniel Mazzocco....Sr....Kinesiology....Pittsburgh, Pa.
Patrick Murphy....Sr....Architectural Engineering....Binghamton, N.Y.
Christopher Nirschel....Gr....Labor and Industrial Relations....Pittsburgh, Pa.
Dennis O??Connor....Jr....Chemical Engineering....Philadelphia, Pa.
Dennis Pollow....So....Health and Human Development....Ransomville, N.Y.
Edward Quinn....Jr....Advertising and Public Relations....Rush, N.Y.
Michael Syrnick....Jr....Advertising and Public Relations....Philadelphia, Pa.
Women??s Cross Country
Claire Berryman....So....Nutrition....Morgantown, W.Va.
Kathryn Fitzgerald....So....Liberal Arts....Pittsburgh, Pa.
Sonja Hinish....Jr....Architectural Engineering....Williamsburg, Pa.
Anna Kobb....So....Engineering....Woodward, Pa.
Meghan Noecker....So....Communications....Reading, Pa.
Molly Ritter....So....Health & Human Development....Arendtsville, Pa.
Shannon VanDyke....Sr....Animal Bioscience....Acton, Mass.
Janelle Young....So....Health & Human Development....Lemoyne, Pa.
Field Hockey
Jennifer Beaumont....Jr....Advertising & Public Relations....Chalfont, Pa.
Christine Dudek....So....Agriculture....Harleysville, Pa.
Lauren Ertzberger....So....Liberal Arts....Wexford, Pa.
Erica Hoffsmith....Sr....Kinesiology....Anneville, Pa.
Annelise Legel....Sr....Kinesiology....Morgantown, Pa.
Jen Long....So....Division of Undergraduate Studies....Doylestown, Pa.
Britney Long....Jr....Kinesiology....Lancaster, Pa.
Carey Maser....Sr....Elementary & Kindergarten Education....Medford, N.J.
Jennifer Miller....So....Division of Undergraduate Studies....North Caldwell, N.J.
Allison Scola....So....Business Administration....Hummelstown, Pa.
Mallory Weisen....Jr....Kinesiology....Middleburg, Pa.
Kiersten Wood....Jr....Human Development & Family Studies....Lititz, Pa.
Football
Gerald Cadogan....Jr....Rehabilitation Services....Portsmouth, Ohio
Joseph Cianciolo....Gr....Business Administration....Charleston, S.C.
Paul Cianciolo....Jr....Finance....Charleston, S.C.
Jason Ganter....Sr....Economics....State College, Pa.
Josh Hull....So....Earth & Mineral Sciences....Millheim, Pa.
Kevin Kelly....So....Kinesiology....Langhorne, Pa.
Justin King....So....Liberal Arts....Pittsburgh, Pa.
Andrew Kubic....Gr....Civil Engineering....Honolulu, Hawaii
Lee Kuzemchak....Sr....Rehabilitation Services....Clymer, Pa.
Sean Lee....So....Business Administration....Pittsburgh, Pa.
Nolan McCready....Sr....Political Science....Wyomissing, Pa.
Jordan Norwood....So....Journalism....State College, Pa.
Paul Posluszny....Sr....Finance....Aliquippa, Pa.
Mark Rubin....Jr....Finance....Amherst, N.Y.
Tyrell Sales....Jr....Marketing....Butler, Pa.
Tim Shaw....Gr....Telecommunications....Livonia, Mich.
Kevin Suhey....So....Mechanical Engineering....State College, Pa.
Patrick Weber....Sr....Kinesiology....Arnold, Pa.
Men??s Soccer
Ryan Badaracco....Jr....Finance....Wexford, Pa.
Michael Janov....So....Engineering....Vienna, Austria
Stanley Kaweesi-Katongole....Jr....Political Science....Columbia, Md.
Andrew Machi....So....Health & Human Development....Upper St. Clair, Pa.
Geordie MacNeill....Jr....Finance....Richmond Hill, Ontario
Conrad Taylor....Jr....Kinesiology....Colorado Springs, Colo.
Michael Tilatti....So....Engineering....Thornhill, Ontario
Markku Viitanen....Sr....Management....Pirkkala, Finland
Jason Yeisley....So....Division of Undergraduate Studies....Allentown, Pa.
Women??s Soccer
Kaleen Adami....Jr....Crime, Law, & Justice....Bensalem, Pa.
Aubrey Aden-Buie....Jr....Psychology....Allentown. Pa.
Zoe Bouchelle....Jr....Economics....Cockeysville, Md.
Allison Daus....So....Communications....Plano, Texas
Jessica Davis....So....Communications....Fairfax, Va.
Sarah Dwyer....Sr....Economics....Califon, N.J.
Alexandra Krieger....Sr....Advertising & Public Relations....Dumfries, Va.
Holly Lincoln....Sr....Kinesiology....Scarborough, Ontario
Alexandra Long....So....Division of Undergraduate Studies....Northport, N.Y.
Katherine Milstead....So....Business Administration....Clarksburg, N.J.
Ashley Myers....So....Division of Undergraduate Studies....Bel Air, Md.
Jean Rettig....Sr....Psychology....Hummelstown, Pa.
Heather Tomko....Sr....Advertising & Public Relations....Manchester, Md.
Women??s Volleyball
Kristen Brown....Sr....Kinesiology....Wooster, Ohio
Kara Callahan....Jr....Elementary & Kindergarten Education....Bloomington, Ill.
Nicole Fawcett....So....Education....Zanesfield, Ohio
Joan Guman....So....Health & Human Development....Allentown, Pa.
Christa Harmotto....So....Education....Aliquippa, Pa.
Roberta Holehouse....So....Health & Human Development....Joppa, Md.
Laura Holloway....So....Division of Undergraduate Studies....Barrington, Ill.
Ann Naylor....Jr....Hotel, Restaurant, & Institutional Management....Los Angeles, Calif.
Cassy Salyer....Sr....Journalism....Aurora, Colo.
Melissa Walbridge....Jr....Integrative Arts....Yardley, Pa.