Blue White Illustrated

the event... Simone Lee volleyball | Was named Big Ten Player of the Year and won first-team All-America honors after averaging 3.89 kills per set. Ally McHugh swimming and diving | Placed sec- ond in the 1,650-meter freestyle at nationals, Penn State's high- est finish ever at the NCAA championship meet... Emily Ogle soccer | Finished with four goals and five assists in winning first- team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors... Moira Putsch field hockey | Earned first-team All-America notice and was the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year after tallying 21 goals and 15 assists. C O A C H O F T H E Y E A R CAEL SANDERSON W R E ST L I N G This distinction is as much about team success as anything. Sanderson was BWI's Coach of the Year in 2017 after his Nit- tany Lions won the Big Ten dual meet title and followed that up by claiming the national championship. So what did they do for an encore in 2018? They won the Big Ten dual meet title and followed it up by claiming the national championship. That makes Sanderson a pretty easy choice here. The Lions went 14-0 in the dual meet season, including a 9- 0 mark in Big Ten competition. They faltered at Big Tens, fin- ishing behind Ohio State, just like last year. But then, also like last year, they surged at NCAAs by putting five wrestlers into the finals. They didn't get five victories as they did in 2017. In- stead they got four, which was enough to propel them past the Buckeyes for the team title. Prior to Sanderson's arrival in 2009, the Nittany Lions had won one NCAA tournament crown in their history. Since his arrival, they've won seven. He has built a dynasty, and he's given no indication that he's feeling satisfied. HONORABLE MENTION Patrick Chambers men's basketball | Led the Nittany Lions to the second-winningest season in school history, a 26-13 campaign that included the team's second NIT championship... Erica Dambach women's soccer | Guided the Nittany Lions to the NCAA quarterfinals with a tournament run that included a 3-1 road upset of No. 7 West Virginia in the third round... James Franklin football | Spearheaded Penn State's first New Year's Six bowl victory in more than a decade, as the Lions defeated Washington in the Fiesta Bowl, 35-28, to finish 11-2... Charlene Morett-Curtiss field hockey | Led Penn State to a 17-5 record and the 32nd NCAA tournament berth in the pro- gram's history... Russ Rose women's volleyball | Coached the Nittany Lions to a 33-2 record, Big Ten championship and an appearance in the NCAA semifinals. M A L E F R E S H M A N O F T H E Y E A R WILL FRIES F O OT B A L L Penn State's fourth touchdown of the Fiesta Bowl was a career highlight for Saquon Barkley, who was barely touched on his 92-yard dash to the end zone. But it was also a highlight for Fries. One of the reasons why Barkley had so much room to ma- neuver was because the redshirt freshman tackle had over- whelmed Washington outside linebacker Tevis Bartlett. The Fiesta Bowl was a big game for Penn State's offensive line, as the Lions rushed for 203 yards against the Huskies' top- rated run defense. Fries played a key role in that effort. The 6- foot-6, 312-pound tackle was the youngest member of Penn State's starting five, as he had been for most of the season. He started nine games for the Nittany Lions at the position group where freshmen are least likely to see action and received hon- orable mention All-Freshman recognition from BTN.com fol- lowing the season. Penn State has amassed a lot of talent at offensive tackle in its past several recruiting classes, and Fries may have to fight to hold onto that starting spot. But with three more years of el- igibility remaining, the future appears very bright. HONORABLE MENTION Ethan Beckford soccer | Led the Nit- tany Lions with 11 points (five goals, one assist)... John Harrar basketball | Started Penn State's last eight games and con- cluded his freshman season by totaling seven points and 12 re- bounds vs. Utah in the NIT title game... Parker Hendershot baseball | Batted .283 with a home run and six doubles, becom- ing Penn State's first Big Ten All-Freshman honoree since 2016... Nick Lee wrestling | Went 32-7 with a team-high 135 takedowns and finished fifth at nationals to claim All-America honors at 141 pounds... Shaka Toney football | Finished second on the team in sacks with four, winning All-Freshman honors from BTN.com. F E M A L E F R E S H M A N O F T H E Y E A R LAUREN BRIDGENS G Y M N A ST I C S Bridgens came to Penn State in part because she felt right at home in University Park. "Nothing compares to that feeling when you walk on campus," she said. "Everyone is so spirited and full of energy, it would be hard not to fall in love with PSU." The Darnestown, Md., native made herself right at home with the Nittany Lions, too, recording the first perfect 10 on the un- even bars in Penn State history during a quad meet at BYU. She went on to claim first-team All-Big Ten honors and was a sec- ond-team All-American on the uneven bars. She qualified for the NCAA tournament in the all-around and finished 28th. During the course of her debut season, Bridgens won Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors five times. HONORABLE MENTION Natalie Heising ice hockey | Totaled 26 points on 17 goals and nine assists, becoming the first Penn State player to win Rookie of the Year honors from College Hockey America… Lucy Lowe lacrosse | Started 16 games in goal and went 8-9 with a .419 save percentage… Zara Moss fencing | Finished as the runner-up in women's saber at NCAAs, com- piling a 19-4 record during the competition… Katie Rankin ice hockey | Ranked second on the team in goals (seven) and third in assists (12)… Alisia Smith basketball | Played in all 32 games and started five at forward for the Lady Lions, averaging 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds. ■

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