April 29, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) was named the 2009 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Winner for Penn State this week. This is the first time Slagter has won the award for the Nittany Lions. Last year, senior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) garnered the award.
Slagter made a nice return to the spring lineup this year after missing the fall with an ankle injury. The Texas native had 73 wins for his career in singles, tied for 13th with former teammate James Dwyer. Slagter set a program record during the 2005-06 season when he notched 30 singles wins in a season, one that may never be broken.
Additionally, the senior captain climbed up in the record books again on April 17 when him and freshman teammate Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) upset Wisconsin's 19th-ranked doubles pairing of Moritz Bauman and Marek Michalicka. With the doubles win, Slagter moved into second place alone for most career doubles wins with 69. Slagter, who is majoring in business, is 10-12 this season, with most of his action coming in the No. 1 and 2 bouts. He has teamed up with Lee to go 14-12 in doubles.
Slagter has also been recognized by the Big Ten for his academics, as he received Academic All-Big Ten in the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Additionally, he received the Holmes Cathrall Coaches Award in 2007.
Penn State finished this season with a 14-13 record, the programs seventh consecutive winning season. The Nittany Lions reached the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in 2009, before losing to Illinois.