UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State student-athletes Paul DeNaples of men's ice hockey and Rachel Spilker of women's lacrosse were among the 28 honorees named Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2022-23 academic year, as announced by the league office Tuesday morning. The pair were chosen from a group of 350 students honored throughout the academic year who had displayed positive sportsmanship.
One member of each varsity sports team on every campus was chosen by his or her institution as a Sportsmanship Award honoree, and two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were then selected from each institution. All of the Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Paul DeNaples
DeNaples, Penn State's top defenseman the past two seasons, earns the Big Ten's Outstanding Sportsmanship Award for the first time after concluding his illustrious career as the Nittany Lion Iron Man having played 172-consecutive games without missing one during his five-year stint in Hockey Valley.
As just the second two-year captain in program history, DeNaples was a driving force in restoring the culture of the program over the past two seasons. DeNaples took just 22 penalties in his Nittany Lion career and was consistently praised by his coaches for leading his best when times were hard.
This past season, DeNaples tied his career high with three goals while adding seven assists for 10 points, along with blocking 49 shots and securing a plus-8 rating.
DeNaples concludes his Nittany Lion career first all-time in plus/minus at plus-58, second in blocked shots with 269, tied for sixth in goals by a defenseman with 10 and ninth all-time in both points and assists by a defenseman with 44 and 34, respectively.
Rachel Spilker
A two-time team captain, Spilker receives the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award after two consecutive years as women's lacrosse's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. Spilker concludes her fourth season as a Nittany Lion in 2023 having played in 50 games, starting in 45 for the defense. Throughout her career, she has scooped 52 ground balls and forced 45 turnovers.
As one of the key components to head coach Missy Doherty's' backline, Spilker will return for her fifth year in 2024 to pursue a Master of Business Administration.
Doherty describes Spilker as "the quarterback of the defense" and frequently emphasizes her outstanding leadership which is illustrated through her two-year reign as a team captain.
Graduation Success Rates
Penn State student-athletes continue to register record-breaking graduation rates and perform well above their peers nationwide. The Nittany Lions posted a record-tying 92% NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and 10 programs earned perfect 100% ratings. This is the sixth consecutive year the Nittany Lions have posted a record or record-tying performance in the classroom, according to data reported by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Penn State is one of only five schools that have won at least 10 NCAA Championships since 2013 and earned at least a 90 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the 2022 NCAA report (Stanford, Florida, USC, Virginia).
Penn State Among the Nation's Most Comprehensive and Successful Athletic Programs
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Patrick Kraft Penn State has one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men's, 15 women's). The Nittany Lions' 31 programs are tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution.
have a GSR of 90% or higher.
