W. Tennis, M. Lax rookies head first-team all-Ivy honorees

With the return of so many outstanding athletes, spring sports such as tennis, softball, and lacrosse expect to improve. Penn athletes earned first-team accolades when spring All-Ivy League honors were bestowed recently. Leading the contingent of 21 Penn athletes who were honored were two freshmen -- women's tennis player Anastasia Pozdniakova and men's lacrosse attacker Pete Janney, who were named the Ivy League Rookies of the Year in their respective sports. Janney is the first Penn lacrosse player to receive that award. He scored 27 goals this year --the third highest number of points on the team. Pozdniakova compiled a promising 4-3 record this spring as a freshman playing in the number one spot, and plans on improving over the summer with workouts here on Penn's campus or near her home in Collingswood, N.J. "For me it's a big award," Pozdniakova said. "I was moderately satisfied with my performance this year, but this award has given me a better attitude about my playing." Those two are not the lone award recipients with a chance to lead their teams to greater success in the future. There seems to be a youth movement among the award winners -- just three seniors received first-team status. They were joined by four freshmen, six sophomores and eight juniors. Among the seniors, two played prominent roles in the recently completed track championships. Greg Davis was named first team in the 100-meter dash, the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 meter relay. Angie Jimenez received the same honor in her specialty -- the heptathlon. The final senior to receive first team Ivy League honors was Vicki Moore, who played several positions for the softball team and recently became the first Penn player to record 100 hits in a career. Moore's other softball teammates who were also named first team Ivy League included sophomore shortstop Sherryl Fodera and sophomore designated hitter Arlyn Katzen. Fodera won the Ivy League batting title this year with her .425 average. The track and field team also had several others join Davis and Jimenez as award winners. Sophomore shot putter Luana Botelho and sophomore javelin thrower Christina Schelin were the other women track and field athletes named. Juniors Kael Coleman, Paolo Frescura and Mike Stiffler, sophomores Robin Martin and Dan Nord and freshman Shawn Fernandes were all named to the first team in Ivy League track and field. Martin already holds the school record in the 800-meter run. Meanwhile, junior Adam Bradshaw, sophomore Brian Owens and freshman Rob Goldfaden were all honored for their contributions to the golf team's second-place Ivy League finish. From the baseball team, juniors Armen Simonian and Mark Nagata received accolades for their play this spring. Nagata claimed the Blair Batting Trophy for the highest batting average in the Ivy League with a .481. In addition to Janney, another reason for the improved record of the Penn men's lacrosse team this year was the play of junior attacker John Ward. Ward led the Ivy League in goals scored with 36, and he is currently in a tie for the Penn record for most career goals scored. These statistics don't lie. Youthful talent like that listed above ensures that records will continue to fall and winning percentages will rise at the hands of Penn's first-team all-Ivy Leaguers.