April 16, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - With a record-setting number of total awards, an all-time high number of Penn State student-athletes were honored Monday night at the 21st Annual Academic Achievement Awards Banquet in the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Nittany Lion women's cross country team was presented with the team award for highest grade-point average during the 2006-07 academic year to highlight an outstanding year for Penn State student-athletes. The women's cross country team, led by ninth-year head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan, has earned the highest team GPA four times since 1988, with the last time coming in 1992.

Team members from the 2006-07 season to receive individual academic recognition for a GPA of 3.50 or higher for the fall of 2006, and spring of 2007 were seniors Sonja Hinish (Williamsburg, Pa.; architectural engineering), Nikki Bohnsack (Rockford, Mich.; Kinesiology), and Fiana York (Havertown, Pa.; Secondary Education), juniors Claire Berryman (Morgantown, W.Va.; Nutrition), Kathryn Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh, Pa.; Statistics), Stephanie Genis (Sharon, Pa.; Advertising and Public Relations), Lindsey Guenter (Sinking Spring, Pa.; Elementary Education), Anna Kobb (Woodward, Pa.; Bioengineering), Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.; Journalism), Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario; Special Education), Molly Ritter (Arendtsville, Pa.; Kinesiology), and Janelle Young (Lemoyne, Pa.; Kinesiology). Also receiving awards were current sophomores Jessica Babcock (Irvine, Calif.; Education), Abigail Brier (Scranton, Pa.; Science), Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio; Kinesiology), Kristen Kildea (Wallingford, Pa.; Nutrition), and Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas; Science).

Of the group of honorees, Berryman, Fitzgerald, Hinish, Kobb, Noecker, Ritter, and Young were also members of the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2006-07.

The members of Penn State's 29 varsity programs combined to earn an overall 3.13 grade point average in 2006-07, a slight improvement from 2005-06.

Sponsored by the Milton and Lois Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes and the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB), a record total of 333 awards were presented to 262 student-athletes for their academic accomplishments in 2005-06. All 262 honorees, also a record, earned a 3.00 grade point average or higher during the 2005-06 academic year.

The previous high for total awards was 322 in 2003-04 and the previous mark for the number of student-athletes honored was 237, also in 2003-04.

Presentations also were made to 78 seniors who had a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA through the Spring 2007 semester. That total is second-highest to the 88 seniors that were honored from 2003-04.