1996 DP Sports Awards

In a wrestling coach, a champion swimmer and a women's squash phenom, we discovered the best Penn athletes are not always found in the glamour sports. Jeff Brown, the senior co-captain of the men's swimming team is the DP's Male Athlete of the Year. Last season, Brown won all but one of the races he entered in the dual and championship meet season. In addition, he was the Eastern Champion in both the 200 butterfly, and the 500 freestyle. Brown qualified for the NCAAs in the 200 butterfly, and the 200 and 500 freestyle. In the 500 freestyle, Brown placed an impressive 22nd. The senior captain is also a two-time academic All-Ivy selection. For overcoming the sometimes troubled swimming program in fantastic fashion, Brown richly deserves this honor. Sophomore Jessica DiMauro, who is arguably the best female college squash player in the country, is the DP's Female Athlete of the Year. As a freshman, DiMauro was crowned as the Women's Intercollegiate Squash Champion. A first-team All-American selection, DiMauro won 21 of her 22 matches last year leading Penn to a No. 3 national ranking. The only match she lost year was to Harvard's Ivy Pochoda, which was on the Crimson's narrow courts. But she got a measure of revenge for this lone setback in the finals of the WISRA, when she defeated Pochoda to win the championship. It seems likely that DiMauro may receive this award again in the years to come. The DP's Coach of the Year is Roger Reina, who has led Quakers wrestling to national prominence in his ten years as head coach.. Last season may have been his finest as Penn, under his guidance, racked up a 13-2 regular-season record en route to Ivy League and EIWA championships. The Quakers ended the season with a No. 23 ranking by Amateur Wrestling News and was ranked No. 8 in the NWCA's All-Academic team rankings. Six of Reina's wrestlers last year were ranked nationally, and his Penn program has had 13 NCAA qualifiers over the past three years. For his outstanding achievement, Reina was voted as President-Elect of the the National Wrestling Coaches Associations and the NWCA "Coach of the Year." His program continues to get better and better as he continues to write the textbook on effective leadership. The DP salutes this year's winners as a model of excellence in Penn athletics.