ROSEMONT, Ill.- Penn State men’s lacrosse’s Hunter Aquino and Colby Baldwin garner Big Ten weekly awards as announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. Aquino is tabbed the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time this season and Colby Baldwin is named the Specialist of the Week, his first conference nod.
Freshman midfielder Aquino put forth a strong performance in Penn State’s road win at Yale on Saturday, March, 1. The Easton, Pa. native notched two goals and five assists to total seven points, a career best in assists and points for the rookie. Aquino leads the league in shot percentage, ranking third across the country with an effective 60%. He ranks fourth in the Big Ten in points per game (3.6), the youngest player among the top five in that category. He also ranks third in the conference in assists per game, dishing out passes at a 1.8 per game clip.
Sophomore Baldwin was active all over the field in the win at Yale on Saturday. He dominated the face-off x, winning 17-of-26 at a .654 rate and scooped up 10 ground balls. Baldwin also got involved on offense, dishing out one assist and finding the back of the net for a goal of his own. The White Plains, N.Y. native leads the Big Ten in face-off winning percentage (.638) and ranks third in ground balls per game (6.40).
The Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday, March 8 as they take on no. 3 Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.