Spring Academic All-Ivy League honorees include Penn's 10 best

Scholar-athlete. At the Division I level it's one of the most difficult balances to maintain. Last week, the Ivy League named the ten Penn athletes who played integral roles on their spring sports team, but also finished the year with outstanding cumulative grade point averages. "The reason why these people succeed is because they were good kids to begin with, with good grades coming in. That's [Dean of Admissions] Lee Stetson and his folks doing a good job of admitting well-rounded student-athletes," Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Affairs Robert Koonce said. Koonce deals with academic support for students -- whether it be through tutoring, academic advising or just monitoring wellness. When the academic department is able to accomplish its goal -- ensuring that freshmen get off to "a good start" -- some of those athletes may blossom into the type of athletes who were named to this spring's Academic All-Ivy list. "It's a really good group of kids," Koonce said. "Most of the [honored] students, for the last two years, have been very solid. For a lot of these students, it was the beginning of their sophomore year when they really put together a string of consecutive good semesters." One sophomore who has already begun putting together those strings of academically strong semesters is Dan Nord, the only Penn sophomore awarded the honor. Nord has a 3.80 GPA in Computer Science, and also claimed his second Heptagonal Championships triple jump crown. One of Nord's teammates, Dan Short, a junior pole vaulter also was named to the spring Academic All-Ivy team. He was named Second Team All-Ivy after taking the runner-up position at this year's Heptagonals with a vault of 16 feet six and three-quarters inches. Short owns a 3.21 GPA in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. The women's lacrosse team also can boast two such scholar-athletes, senior tri-captains Jill Brown and Amy Tarr. Brown led the team's defense. She intercepted two passes and led the team with 14 ground balls. Her play earned her a spot on the Philadelphia College Women's Lacrosse Association (PCWLA) National Tournament team. She also received Honorable Mention All-Ivy League for her play this past season. In the classroom, Brown earned a 3.53 GPA in Biological Basis of Behavior. Tarr, who will also play in the PCWLA National Tournament, scored 15 points on 11 goals and four assists. Her accuracy around the goal was one of her strongest suits -- she scored on exactly 50 percent of her shots. She graduated with a 3.36 cumulative GPA in English. Another English major who excelled on the athletic field and with the books was senior Angie Jimenez from the women's track and field team. She registered a 3.58 GPA and was among the top Penn track and field athletes of all time with her three Heptagonals championships in the heptathalon. Women's tennis captain Lara Afanassiev managed to maintain her 3.40 GPA in Finance despite a few transitions. She transferred into the Wharton School of Business then had to adapt to a coaching change. The junior teamed with sophomore Karen Ridley to claim second team All-Ivy in doubles competition. From the men's tennis team, senior Brad Goldberg, a Strategic Management major from Cincinnati, Ohio, with a 3.36 GPA, was the most successful player. He posted a 7-2 record in Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association play. Senior Jeremy Milken, the baseball team's runs batted in -- with 27 -- as well as doubles leader was also awarded. He graduated this spring with a degree in Finance while sporting a 3.57 GPA. This year he played in all 40 games, starting 38 of them. On the softball team, record breaker Vicki Moore proved to be the most impressive scholar-athlete. The senior co-captain became the first Penn player to accumulate 100 career hits. She was named a unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection. She graduated with a 3.13 GPA in International Relations. Jon Cusson, a senior from Baltimore, Md., was also a team leader and a scholar-athlete. He led the Penn team with 54 points for the season and was named an Honorable Mention All-Ivy selection for his work. He received a 3.26 GPA in his major, History. These ten Penn athletes were not alone -- there were plenty of other spring sports teams who had excellent students on their teams. "I don't want these 10 to overshadow the other 100 to 200 kids who have above a 3.00," Koonce said. He pointed out that Penn's coaches also deserve some credit for being flexible with their players. "It's an extreme advantage...and that's why kids come here," he said. "This is the only place I've been to where everything appears to be in line as far as academics with athletics."