April 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - Sixty Nittany Lions student-athletes, representing seven winter sports, have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Penn State's 60 honorees brings the Lions' all-time total to 3,262 during the last 16 years. The total ranks first among all Big Ten institutions. Ohio State ranks second with 3,156. Including the 72 fall sports honorees, the Nittany Lions have 132 Academic All-Big Ten selections for the 2009-10 academic year.
Penn State's Big Ten Academic All-Conference award winners excelled both academically and athletically. Both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams turned in seventh place finishes at the Big Ten Championships. Sophomore Brian Alden (Rose Valley, Pa.) advanced to the NCAA Championships in three events to represent the Nittany Lion swimmers. The women's basketball team advanced to the postseason for the first time in five years making an appearance in the WNIT. The Penn State men's and women's gymnastics teams finished out successful regular seasons with the women finishing second at the Big Ten Championships, while the men took third. Senior women's gymnast Brandi Personett (Katy, Texas) was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second straight year and also earned First Team All-Big Ten honors for the fourth time. Sophomore teammate Natalie Ettl (Waukesha, Wis.) was also named the All-Big Ten second team. The wrestling team also sent six grapplers to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Junior heavyweight Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) was one of the six and finished the season with a 22-11 overall record after advancing to the fourth round of consolations.
The Big Ten recognized 539 winter sports athletes. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners in their second academic year at their institution. They must all carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
Listed below are Penn State's 2010 Winter Academic All-Big Ten honorees by sport.
Wrestling
James English, So., Undeclared
Nicholas Fischer, So., Undeclared
Brendan Herlihy, Sr., Architecture
Adam Lynch, Sr., Kinesiology
Clay Steadman, Jr., Finance
Cameron Wade, Jr., Finance
Quentin Wright, So., Business
Women's Gymnastics
Alexandra Brockway, Sr., Communication Arts & Sciences
Natalie Ettl, So., Health & Human Development
Danielle Hover, Jr., Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management
Melissa Klein, Jr., Arts & Architecture
Daryl Konsevick, So., Health & Human Development
Heather McElwee, Jr., Recreation, Park & Tourism Management
Brandi Personett, Sr., Nursing
Rosalie Smith, Sr., Bio-behavioral Health
Allie Southard, Sr., Finance
Men's Gymnastics
Matthew Albrecht, So., Health & Human Development
Matthew Greenfield, Sr., Psychology
Allen Harris, Sr., Kinesiology
Philip Harris, So., Health & Human Development
Miguel Pineda, So., Science
Noam Shaham, Sr., Engineering Science
Logan Wyman, Jr., Classics & Ancient Mediterranean Studies
Warren Yang, Jr., Marketing
Women's Basketball
Nicole Arcidiacono, Sr., Marketing
Meredith Monroe, Sr., Finance
Meggan Quinn, Sr., Crime, Law & Justice
Julia Trogele, Jr., Management
Janessa Wolff, Jr., Elementary & Kindergarten Education
Men's Basketball
Adam Highberger, Sr., Science
Steven Kirkpatrick, Jr., Finance
Andrew Ott, Sr., Marketing
Women's Swimming & Diving
Margaret Alderman, So., Business
Lindsey DeForrest, Sr., Bio-behavioral Health
Diana Greco, Jr., Communication Arts & Sciences
Alexa Hetzel, So., Health & Human Development
Erin Luley, Sr., Animal Bioscience
Megan Marco, Jr., Advertising & Public Relations
Kristen McKnight, So., Education
Kailey Morris, Sr., Marketing
Michelle Myers, Sr. Wood Products
Katherine Pulos, So., Education
Kristen Rodman, So., Communications
Daphne Skelos, Sr., Bio-behavioral Health
Lauren Smart, Jr., Elementary Education
Lyndsey Smith, Sr., Art History
Rebecca Snyder, So., Education
Erin Thomas, So., Earth and Mineral Sciences
Emily Wolfarth, So., Communications
Ilana Zeises, Jr., Bioengineering
Men's Swimming & Diving
Brian Alden, So., Business
John Austin, Jr., Civil Engineering
James Capparell, Jr., Marketing
Jonathan Cochrane, Sr., Accounting
Max Ettore, Sr., International Politics
Daniel Fimbianti, Sr., Mechanical Engineering
Basil Kaaki, Sr., Science
Michael Kaiserian, Sr., Mechanical Engineering
Scott Marino, So., Business
John Zierenberg, Jr., Bio-behavioral Health