| Dan Kaiserian |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 29, 2007 ?C Five Nittany Lions representing five different Penn State teams have been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District teams in recognition of their standout athletic and academic achievements in 2007. Renee Cipro (Ellicott City, Md.) (women??s lacrosse), Molly Crispell (Boalsburg, Pa.) (women??s swimming), Dan Kaiserian (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) (men??s swimming), and Stephanie Sullivan (Gaithersburg, Md.) (women??s gymnastics) were named to the first team while Matt Cohen (Agoura Hills, Calif.) (men??s gymnastics) earned second team honors.
Cipro, Crispell, Kaiserian, and Sullivan will now advance to the national ballot and have the opportunity to earn Academic All-America honors.
For senior Renee Cipro, the academic honor comes on the heels of being selected as First Team All-West/Midwest Region for the second consecutive season. Considered one of the finest defenders in the storied history of Penn State women's lacrosse, she became the first Nittany Lion to be named First Team All-American Lacrosse Conference three times with her 2007 honor. Earlier this year, Cipro was also recognized on the prestigious Tewaaraton Award Foundation's Women's Preseason Watch List for the second straight year. In the 2007 season, she was among the team leaders in ground balls (18), draw controls (23), and caused turnovers (11). For leading a Nittany Lion defensive unit that shut down No. 8 Princeton's high-powered offense in an 8-7 come-from-behind win on March 17, Cipro was named ALC Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
Molly Crispell has completed her third year at Penn State with a perfect 4.0 grade point average while majoring in bio-behavioral health. The junior from nearby Boalsburg, Pa. was one of three captains on the women's swimming team this year. A relay specialist, she made her second appearance at the NCAA championships this year as she once again qualified as part of a relay team, the 800 free, and also swam in the 200 free and 500 free. At this year's Big Ten Championships, Crispell scored in the 200 free and on the 200 and 800 free and 400 medley relay teams. She will once again serve as a captain of the women's team next year as a senior.
Dan Kaiserian was named the male recipient of the Ernst B. McCoy Memorial Award. The McCoy Award is presented annually to one senior male and one senior female student-athlete who have combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence. The award is named for Ernest B. McCoy, who was Penn State's Athletic Director and Dean of the College of Physical Education from 1952-70. A standout in the classroom, Kaiserian graduated from the Scheyer Honors College with a 3.7 grade point average in mechanical engineering. One of the top freestyle sprinters on this year's men's swimming team, Kaiserian swam the top times on the team this year in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. The Bryn Mawr, Pa. native finished 13th in the 50 free and 10th in the 100 free at the 2007 Big Ten Championships. Kaiserian was a three-time scorer in the 100 free and a two-time scorer in the 50 free in his career at Big Ten??s, He was one of the nine Penn State men's swimmers and divers that qualified for the NCAA championships this year as he made his first career appearance at NCAAs in March and swam in the 100 free and as part of the 200 and 400 free relay teams.
| Stephanie Sullivan |
Stephanie Sullivan graduated earlier this month with a 3.94 grade point average in Life Science and has been accepted into the Hershey Medical School. A second-team All-Big Ten selection, she was the balance beam anchor for three years and in 2007 ranked second on the team and 11th in the nation on the apparatus with an average of 9.829. One of five gymnasts up for Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Sullivan is also a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year and earned Penn State's McCoy Award, presented annually to one male and female senior student-athlete who have combined successful athletic participate with academic excellence. A two-year co-captain on the gymnastics squad, Sullivan earned eight first-place finishes on beam, including a career-high 9.925 at West Virginia. Out of the gym, Sullivan was the President of Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-med honors society, and was a four-time NACGC/W Scholar Athlete, graduating in the top 5% of her class. She was the co-founder of Penn State's first Public Health Fair and was a member of the Dean's List every semester. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Sullivan was also a member of the leadership honor societies Omicron Delta Kappa and Parmi Nous.
Matt Cohen captained the 2007 Nittany Lions to a national collegiate men??s gymnastics championship and further culminated his distinguished Penn State career by earning the Nissen-Emery Award, the highest honor presented in collegiate gymnastics. In addition to providing outstanding leadership to the team, Cohen had an excellent competitive senior season in 2007. Placing in the top three on eight occasions on the still rings, he ended the season as the No. 7-ranked performer in the event in the nation. As an all-around competitor, Cohen was consistently ranked in the top five throughout 2007. He won the all-around title at the West Point Open and Temple Invitational, an effort that earned him his first career Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor. Cohen, who graduated earlier this month with a degree in philosophy, is also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He plans to attend the Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas in the fall to work towards a master's degree with the eventual aim of becoming a pastor.