April 24, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- For the 31st consecutive year, the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB) recognized teams and individuals for academic achievement as Penn State student-athletes hosted "The Nittanys."
More than 40 Penn State student-athletes and several teams were recognized for their academic, athletic and community engagement achievements during the past year in an awards-style format that included a reception, walking the blue carpet, photos and video.
The celebration of comprehensive excellence was held Monday night on the main floor of the Bryce Jordan Center.
Sponsored by Penn State Student-Athlete Welfare & Development, the event featured the presentation of several long-standing awards from the Academic Achievement Awards Banquet that was coordinated by the Morgan Academic Center for nearly 30 years as well as some more recently established honors.
The Nittanys' theme was SAAB's 2017-18 theme, "Heart of a Lion," and the festivities were hosted by Chris Isenberg (men's lacrosse) and Megan McCloskey (women's track and field), who was the 2017-18 SAAB President.
Women's Tennis Earns Highest Team GPA Award
Lois Morgan presented the women's tennis team with the Milton K. Morgan, Jr. Highest Team GPA Award for all 31 sports. Coached by Chris Cagle, women's tennis won the honor for the second time this decade and third time overall (1999 and 2012).
A school record 26 teams earned a 3.0 grade-point average or higher during the 2017 fall semester and the combined average GPA was a record tying 3.14 among all of Penn State's teams last semester.
Presented for the first time, the Varsity "S" Club Most Improved Team GPA awards were presented to the women's basketball and men's track and field teams.
Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour addressed the student-athletes who gathered on a rare open date in the Penn State competition calendar.
"What a great evening of celebration," Barbour said. "It all starts with "why"? The Penn State collective "why" is you - our students and preparing our 800 students for a lifetime of impact. And in order to have an impact, we have to have an impact on you. I am so proud to have the opportunity to serve you. It's the manner in which these achievements are earned make me the most proud. Thank you for choosing Penn State and representing this great institution in a way we can all be proud of."
Penn State student-athletes own an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 90 percent, which ties the school record, including nine teams that have a 100 percent graduation rate. During the 2017 fall semester, Nittany Lion students again broke school records, as 520 earned at least a 3.0 grade-point average, with 253 earning Dean's List honors for having a 3.5 GPA. A total of 173 student-athletes graduated during the 2017 calendar year.
Page and Robinson Receive NLC's True Grit Awards
The Nittany Lion Club annually presents the True Grit Award to two student-athletes for overcoming adversities while continuing to succeed in the classroom and on the athletic field during their careers. Women' basketball's Teniya Page and men's hockey's James Robinson were recognized as the recipients for the injuries they have overcome during their careers.
The SAAB Awards (Student-Athletes Above and Beyond) were presented to the male and female student-athletes who have a positive attitude and live and breathe everything Penn State. The recipients were Megan McCloskey (women's track and field) and Charlie Shuman.
The Phoenix Award was presented for the third time to a student-athlete that had a challenging start academically, but is excelling in the classroom. The recipient was men's track and field's David Lucas, who won the 2018 NCAA Championship in the weight throw last month.
Schafer and Shuman Earn THON Awards
Two Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) Awards were presented. Charlie Shuman (football) was recognized for raising more than $12,000 for the Four Diamonds Fund in 2017-18. Megan Schafer (women's soccer) received SAAB's THON Spirit Award. Schafer and Shuman danced for the 46 hours in THON the past two winters.
The efforts of Schafer, Shuman and other student-athletes helped SAAB raise nearly $48,000 for THON this year.
The Nittany Lions' Ernest B. McCoy Award winners also were honored - Zain Retherford (wrestling) and Haleigh Washington (women's volleyball). The McCoy Award has been presented annually since 1971 to one senior female and one senior male student-athlete who have combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence.
Presented for the first time, the Behind the Scenes Heroes Award is given to recognize individuals for everything they do that goes unnoticed by most. The honorees were Dr. Jon Nese, ICA Faculty Partner with the women's gymnastics team, and Jim Weaver, Associate Director of the Morgan Academic Center.
The servant hearts of the Nittany Lions' also were recognized. Penn State student-athletes regularly interact with more than 40 different charitable organizations, participating in community engagement events, with all teams having a role in THON.
At the end of the event, all thesenior student-athletes took the stage to sing the Penn State Alma Mater.
The Nittany Lions rank No. 4 among all Division I schools with 200 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time, including Emily Ogle (women's soccer) and Haleigh Washington (women's volleyball) last fall.
Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings entering the final six weeks of the 2017-18 competition schedule. The Nittany Lions have won the NCAA Wrestling Championship, the men's basketball NIT crown and Big Ten Conference titles in women's soccer, women's volleyball and wrestling.
Also presented for the third time was the Nittany All-Academic Team, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average on each team. The recipients were:
Nittany All-Academic Team (Individual highest cumulative GPA on each team)
Baseball: Blake Hodgens
Men's Basketball: Deivis Zemgulis
Women's Basketball: Sarah McMurtry
Men's Cross Country: Jordan Makins*
Women's Cross Country: Tessa Barrett
Men's Fencing: Gavin Turner
Women's Fencing: Julia Higson*
Field Hockey: Lisa Winters
Football: Chris Welde
Men's Golf: Cole Miller
Women's Golf: Kamerine Taylor
Men's Gymnastics: Noah Roberson*
Women's Gymnastics: Jessica Jones
Men's Hockey: Chase Berger
Women's Hockey: Kelsey Crow
Men's Lacrosse: Kevin Hill
Women's Lacrosse: Madison Day*
Men's Soccer: Stephen Kenney
Women's Soccer: Emily Ogle
Softball: Gianna Arrizurieta
Men's Swimming & Diving: Nathaniel Bledsoe
Women's Swimming & Diving: McKayla Mawn*
Men's Tennis: Constant De La Bassetiere
Women's Tennis: Hannah Kratky
Men's Track & Field: Jon Yohman
Women's Track & Field: Elyse Skerpon
Men's Volleyball: Cal Mende
Women's Volleyball: Bryanna Weiskircher
Wrestling: Devon Van Cura*
*Repeat recipient from 2017