Ten Quakers earn winter Academic All-Ivy honors

The Ivy League announced the 80 men and women chosen for Academic All-Ivy honors for the 2011-12 winter season today, and 10 Penn athletes were honored.

To qualify for the award, the student-athletes had to be a starter or key reserve on an officially recognized varsity team with a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA. Each Ivy school nominated five men and five women from its winter teams.

Here are the Quakers who were selected: Zack Rosen is the most notable of the Quakers honored. The Wharton senior was a unanimous selection for Ivy League PLayer of the Year and a first-team All-Ivy selection.

Brendan McHugh, a senior in the College, will leave Penn as its most accomplished swimmer in history. He holds six individual school records and is a two-time Ivy League champion in the 100 breaststroke. He qualified for three events at this year's NCAA Championships, finishing 14th in the 100 and 200 breast races. He will continue his career at the Olympic Trials this summer.

College senior Jess Knapp led the women's basketball team to its highest win total since the 2004-05 season. Despite playing with two torn knee ligaments in the final 13 games of the season, Knapp finished seventh in the league in blocks and eighth in rebounding.

Erich Smith finished his wrestling career at Penn at the NCAA Championships. The College senior won his first match of the tournament, 6-4, ending his final season with a 20-18 record.

College senior Thomas Mattsson played No. 1 in each of his four seasons on the men's squash team. The captain was named a first-team All-Ivy this year for the first time in his career.

Amrit Bhinder, a junior in Wharton, finished 12th in women's epee at the NCAA Fencing Championships with 12 victories. She was honored as an All-American for the second year in a row.

College junior Rachael Goh was named to the All-Ivy team in women's squash for the second consecutive year. She finished this season with an 11-5 record playing in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.

Zane Grodman completed his fencing career at Penn with a 15th place finish in men's foil at the NCAA Championships. The College senior had 43 bout wins this season and helped lead the Red and Blue to a 16-0 start.

Gymnastics captain Kirsten Strausbaugh won the uneven bars and floor exercise at the ECAC Championships to help Penn win its first ECAC title since 2004. The College junior will compete in the all-around at the NCAA regional meet on April 7.

Catherine Okoukoni ended her indoor track and field career with the third-best high jump in Penn history at 12.45 meters, earning second-team All-Ivy honors at the 2012 Indoor Heptagonal Championships. The Engineering senior continues her career in the outdoor season.