It's been an interesting year for Penn sports. On the one hand, no Quakers team tasted Ivy League glory until the men's basketball team in March. Then the spring season came around, with men's lacrosse, men's tennis and women's lacrosse all giving Red and Blue fans something to be excited about.
We've said hello (to Zeke Jones) and goodbye (to Fran Dunphy and Tom Kovic), and now it's time for The Daily Pennsylvanian to tell you who this year's top performers were.
Leading Penn's female athletes was senior field hockey player Lea Salese. Her team may have struggled to a sub-.500 record just a year removed from an Ancient Eight title, but Salese put up a career season to go out with a bang. The Livingston, N.J., native earned second-team All-American status, higher than any other Ivy Leaguer. She also earned her third All-Philadelphia honors for her eight goals and three assists.
On the men's side, junior wrestler Matt Valenti made quite the statement in his first year back after shoulder surgery. At the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, he defeated Purdue's Chris Fleeger in the championship bout to win the 133-pound title on national television.
Joining Valenti on the men's side are junior basketball player Ibrahim Jaaber, the Ivy League Player of the Year; sophomore Jason Pinsky, who led the tennis team to its first Ivy title since 1971; sophomore fencer Ron Berkowsky, who was named first-team All-American for the second straight year; senior D.J. Andrzejewski, captain of a Quakers lacrosse team that took down No. 2 Cornell earlier this year; and Rookie of the Year Michael Klein, who was a regular starter all season for the soccer team.
Making up the women's team were: senior gymnast Emily Petkun, an NCAA qualifier and the ECAC's All-Scholar-Athlete of the Year; sophomore Christina Khosravi, who helped the softball team tie its best-ever win total; senior soccer player Robin Watson, a three-time first-team All-Ivy pick; and Rookie of the Year Alisha Turner, who finished the squash season ranked 14th in the nation.
