Penn breaks All-Ivy record; Mitchell Player of Year
With 12 first-team All-Ivy selections, the Penn football team broke a record that had stood for 29 years -- when Yale garnered 10 first-team awards after the 1974 season.
Among the record 12 honorees was senior quarterback Mike Mitchell, who also was a unanimous selection for the Asa A. Bushnell award for Ivy League Player of the Year. This marks the seventh time in program history that a Quakers' player has won the Bushnell Cup.
The last Penn Ivy Player of the Year was Mitchell's predecessor, Gavin Hoffman, in 2000.
The Orlando, Fla., native threw for a Penn-record 26 touchdowns this season and led the Ancient Eight with a 150.2 quarterback rating. Mitchell -- the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week -- averaged 274.4 yards passing per game, second in the Ivies.
Penn received four more unanimous first-team selections in junior wide receiver Dan Castles, senior offensive lineman Chris Clark, senior defensive lineman Ryan Strahlendorff and senior linebacker Steve Lhotak.
The remaining first-team honorees were senior offensive lineman Matt Dukes, senior offensive lineman Ben Noll, sophomore running back Sam Mathews, senior kicker Peter Veldman, junior linebacker Ric San Doval, junior cornerback Duvol Thompson and senior cornerback Rudy Brown.
-- Ryan Howard 19 on Sprint football team named All-CSFL
The Penn sprint football team had 19 players earn All-Collegiate Sprint Football League honors as the team went 3-3 overall and finished in third place in the league.
Senior John Pinto was honored as a first-team selection for the fourth consecutive year -- a feat never before accomplished by a Penn sprint football player.
Seniors Jimmer Donapel and Chris Malachowski and junior Pat Monaghan were also named to the first-team.
Ten other sprint football players were named to the second-team and five others received honorable mention honors.
-- R.H. Cornell axes football coach after 1-9 season
After posting a winless record in the Ivy League, Cornell University fired head football coach Tim Pendergast yesterday.
The Big Red fell, 59-7, to the Quakers Saturday at Franklin Field to finish the season 1-9 overall. Cornell's lone win of the season came in week one, a 21-19 defeat of Bucknell.
In three seasons at the helm in Ithaca, N.Y., Pendergast notched a 7-22 (5-16 Ivy League) record.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to attain the progress that is needed. A coaching change at this time is in the best interest of Cornell University and its football program," Cornell Athletic Director Andy Noel said in a press release yesterday.
Cornell expects to begin searching for a replacement immediately.
-- Jeff Shafer
