Three Lions awarded All-America honors
Penn State women's volleyball sophomore outside hitter Nicole Fawcett and freshman outside hitter Megan Hodge have earned AVCA First Team All-America honors while sophomore middle hitter Christa Harmotto picked up AVCA Second Team All-America accolades, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced yesterday.
In addition, Hodge was named the AVCA National Freshman of the Year, marking the second consecutive season that the accolade has gone to a Nittany Lion. Fawcett picked up the school's first-ever honor last season. It also marks the first time since the AVCA began honoring the Division I National Freshman of the Year in 2001 that one school has captured back-to-back awards.
The All-America honor is the second for Fawcett, who earned second team accolades last season. Harmotto was tabbed as an Honorable Mention selection a year ago after missing the end of the season with a knee injury.
Football team ranked seventh in graduation
The outstanding graduation performance by Penn State's student-athletes, 83 percent according to the recent NCAA graduation rate report, is further accentuated by the efforts of the Nittany Lion football team, which has the third-highest graduation rate (83 percent) among the nation's public institutions that play Division I-A football.
Compiled by Penn State from the "2006 NCAA Division I Graduation Rates Report," Coach Joe Paterno's team had the seventh-highest graduation rate overall among all of the nation's 119 Division I-A programs, including the best among Big Ten Conference institutions. Kent State (86 percent) and Nebraska (84 percent) were the only public institutions with a rate higher than Penn State's.
Northwestern (79 percent) and Iowa (72) were second and third, respectively, among Big Ten football teams. The national average is 55 percent.
The Nittany Lions' 83 percent federal graduation rate also is third-highest among the 64 schools playing in a 2006-07 bowl game.
Wrestling maintains No. 8 national ranking
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, maintained its No. 8 national ranking in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll as released by Intermat. Five Penn State individuals are also listed among the top 20 at their respective weights.
With four Big Ten teams in the top ten, six more dot the landscape in the rest of the rankings. Michigan is No. 11, Ohio State is No. 14, Illinois is No. 16, Indiana is No. 17, Wisconsin is No. 19 and Michigan State is No. 21.
Junior Mark McKnight and senior James Yonushonis are each ranked No. 3 at their weights. McKnight is a perfect 10-0 on the year and No. 3 at 125. Yonushonis is 10-1 and fell one spot to No. 3 at 174 after his upset loss to Hofstra's Alton Lucas last weekend. Junior Phil Davis fell from No. 1 to No. 5 at 197 after an upset loss to Hofstra's Chris Weidman on Sunday. Davis is 9-1.
Joining the trio of top-five wrestlers is sophomore Jake Strayer. Strayer is 10-1 at 133 and is No. 7. Senior Aaron Anspach, undefeated at 5-0 on the year, moved up a spot to No. 11 at HWT.
Women's soccer team ends season at No. 7
Penn State women's soccer finished the year ranked seventh in the final NSCAA/adidas National Rankings, up one spot from a previous poll. Since making their first appearance in the National Soccer Coaches' Association (NSCAA) poll in 1995, the Nittany Lions have continuously ranked in the nation's Top 25. This year marks the ninth consecutive top 10 final ranking for the team. Last year, the Lions earned their first No. 1 ranking, which they held for three weeks, and went on to receive their highest ever final ranking, finishing second behind eventual NCAA champion Portland.
This year's Nittany Lion squad was led by first team All-American Ali Krieger and third team All-American Sheree Gray. The team finished their 13th season 18-5-3 after making their 12th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and making it all the way to the quarterfinals for the eighth time in nine years.
