Sept. 5, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Sept. 5, 2007- Sophomore Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) and senior quarterback Anthony Morelli (Pittsburgh, Pa.) have been named this week¹s Penn State Student-Athletes of the Week. Morelli is the first male student-athlete of the week for this year as the men¹s teams were idle from 'official' competition last week. .
Bridget Franek |
Franek, who earned her first win of the season last weekend at the Lock Haven Dolan Duals, was honored as the Big Ten Runner of the Week. Franek finished the 4,000-meter-race in 14:03.73, the next-fastest competitor came in nearly 20 seconds later. Her honor as Big Ten Runner of the Week is the second of her career. She earned her first honor last October.
Morelli had a strong performance in his first game of the season. He helped lead the then No. 17 Nittany Lions to a 59-0 routing of Florida International. Morelli set career numbers and shattered Assistant Coach Mike McQueary¹s school record for passing yards in the first half with 231. At the end of the day, Morelli was 23-of-38 in the air for 295 yards, threw three touchdown passes, and connected with eight different receivers.
Franek and the rest of the cross-country team will have two weekends off before traveling to the Bronx, N.Y. for the Iona Meet of Championships on Saturday, Sept. 22. Morelli and the now No. 14 Nittany Lions are back in action at Beaver Stadium this Saturday, Sept. 8, against rival Notre Dame. Kick-off is at 6 p.m. and the clash has been declared the first-ever All-Stadium White Out. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.