April 3, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) joins football player John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.) as this year's recipients for the Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Award. The annual award recognizes one senior male and female student-athlete who have successful athletic participation with academic excellence. The award is named after former dean of the College of Physical Education and Penn State athletic director from 1952-1970.
During her time at Penn State, Januskova has taken the women's tennis program to new heights. The senior leader has thrived on and off the court winning numerous athletic and academic awards. As a freshman Januskova was named ITA Atlantic Region Rookie Player of the Year where she ranked as high as No. 66 in the nation in singles.
Januskova was named All-Big Ten first team in both her sophomore and junior seasons. She began her sophomore year ranked in the preseason rankings, the first Nittany Lion to do so since 1989. She received Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors during the week of September 28, 2011 and January 10, 2012 last season the first to win the award for the women's tennis program since 2007. Majoring in marketing, Januskova received ITA and Big Ten All-Academic honors last year.
Already this season Januskova has compiled 23 singles victories giving her 88 in her career, eight shy of tying Olga Novikova for most career singles victories in team history. She holds the top spot as well as second in the record books for most singles wins in a season with her 30 wins last season and 27 the year prior. She needs three more this season to put her in a tie for third with Novikova with 26.
Following her impressive fall where she won the ITA Atlantic Regional Singles Championship, Januskova jumped to No. 27 in the singles poll to begin the spring. The ranking was the highest in Nittany Lion history. She has also been named Penn State Student Athlete of the Week twice already this season.
Januskova has also impressed in doubles play during her tenure with the Nittany Lions. During her sophomore season she ranked as high as No. 68 in the doubles poll and competed with three different partners over the course of the season. Last season along with Chelsea Utting, she peaked at No. 84 in the doubles poll. They entered the fall holding the No. 42 spot in the preseason poll, their highest ranking to date. Januskova ranks 13th all time in program history with 47 doubles victories. Her individual success has led to success for the entire team with the Nittany Lions starting the season 10-0 and ranking as high as No. 30 in the team rankings.