WOMEN'S
TENNIS
Anghelescu named
Lions' head coach
Alexandra Anghelescu, a former
WTA professional and a member of
Penn State's coaching sta= last sea-
son, has been named the program's
new head coach. Anghelescu (pro-
nounced On-guhl-S-coo) succeeds
Chris Cagle, who announced in June
that he was stepping
down. She becomes
the 11th head coach
in the history of the
Lions' women's ten-
nis program.
"Alex will bring an
energy, excitement
and a focus to our
program, from which
she will lead us to
success on and o= the court," athletic
director Sandy Barbour said. "She has
demonstrated the ability to create high
achievement at every level of the game
of tennis – collegiately as a player, in
the professional ranks and as a colle-
giate assistant coach. I'm excited to see
the young women in our program thrive
under her guidance and leadership."
Anghelescu said her goal was to
"lead the women's tennis program to
the elite level it deserves as its new
head coach. … My vision for this pro-
gram cannot be achieved without the
continuous support and guidance
from everyone who was involved in
the hiring process. I know with their
support, the goals I have set for this
program will be ful;lled.
She added, "I am very excited and
motivated to take on this challenge, as
I believe Penn State is a place where
students can reach their academic and
athletic goals and aspirations."
Anghelescu helped lead the Nittany
Lions to 11 wins during the 2019
spring season, the team's most dual-
match victories since 2015. The Lions
reached a team ranking of No. 49,
their ;rst top-50 ranking since the
ANGHELESCU
N O T E B O O K
MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Penn
State revealed
the second portion of its incoming re-
cruiting class in August a>er four play-
ers signed during the early signing
period. The new players are forwards
Bobby Hampton and Connor MacEac-
hearn, defenseman Kenny Johnson and
goalie Will Holtforster.
Hampton must redshirt this season
before becoming eligible. He has seven
career points in 47 games with North-
eastern and will likely ;ll a defensive role
for the Nittany Lions, who will lose their
best defensive forward, Nikita Pavly-
chev, a>er this season.
MacEarchern is a huge, late add for the
Lions, who er he commit-
ted to Robert Morris. MacEachern lit up
the USHL this past season for 26 goals
and 30 assists in 62 games.
Johnson, the younger brother of Pitts-
burgh Penguins defenseman Jack John-
son, is a late surprise in Penn State's
class. At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, he's a
sizable defenseman with a powerful
shot who has shown himself to be capa-
ble of moving the puck. At 21, he'll also
likely bring a more polished game to the
Nittany Lions than your typical fresh-
man.
Holtforster, formerly of the Penn State
Ice Lions, will make the jump from the
club ranks to be PSU's third-string goal-
tender this year behind Peyton Jones and
Oskar Autio.
The four new additions will join the
four freshmen who signed early. That
group features forwards Kevin Wall,
Tyler Gratton and Connor McMenamin,
and defenseman Mason Snell. Wall is a
Carolina Hurricanes dra>ee.
The team's most notable addition,
though, is not a recruit, but a transfer.
Defenseman Clayton Phillips, a Pen-
guins pick who played two seasons at
Minnesota, listed Penn State as his uni-
versity while playing in a high-level
summer league but was not among the
newcomers listed. –DAVID ECKERT
WRESTLING Penn State's Bo Nickal was
named the 2019 Big Ten Jesse Owens
Male
Athlete of the Year. Nickal was se-
lected in July from a ;eld that featured
each of the 14 Big Ten members' male
athletes of the year. Iowa women's bas-
ketball player Megan Gustafson was
named the 2019 Big Ten Female Athlete
of the Year.
Nickal is the ;rst Penn State student to
be named Big Ten Male Athlete of the
Year since fellow wrestler David Taylor
was honored in 2014.
The Allen, Texas, native was the 2019
NCAA champion at 197 pounds and re-
ceived the Dan Hodge Trophy as the na-
tion's most outstanding college
wrestler.
MEN'S SOCCER Penn State players
Ethan Beckford and Jeremy Rafanello
have both opted to forgo their collegiate
eligibility to pursue professional playing
opportunities overseas. Beckford won
two letters as a Nittany Lion and earned
Big Ten All-Freshman honors in 2017,
while Rafanello was a 2018 Big Ten All-
Freshman selection.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING Penn
State alum Ally McHugh placed sixth in
the 400-meter individual medley with a
time of 4 minutes, 38.34 seconds at the
FINA World Championships in July in
the Nambu International Aquatics Cen-
ter in Gwangju, South Korea.
McHugh was the lone American to
reach the ;nal of the event. The ;rst
women's Penn Stater to swim at worlds
since Alyson Ackman swam for Canada
in the 4x200 relay in 2015, McHugh be-
came the program's ;rst to reach the
;nal.
MEN'S TRACK & FIELD Justin Ofotan
and his 4x100-meter relay teammates
set a U20 world record in July at the U20
Pan American Championships in San
Jose, Costa Rica. The Penn State sopho-
more and his Team USA teammates
turned in a 38.62-second time in the
;nal to set the record.
The previous world record of 38.66
seconds was set in 2004 by Team USA at
the IAAF World Junior Championships
in Grosseto, Italy.
■
