Blue White Illustrated

ACADEMICS PSU student-athletes break classroom records Penn State student-athletes posted record marks in several categories dur- ing the 2019 fall semester. Nittany Lion students tied the program record with a 3.17 grade-point average in the fall, while breaking the department mark with a 3.16 cumulative GPA fol- lowing the fall semester. In addition, a department-record 28 of 31 programs earned a 3.0 semester GPA. The Nittany Lions also set stan- dards with 535 students with a 3.0 se- mester GPA and 280 Dean's List honorees (3.5 semester GPA) in the fall. "Each and every semester, I am more and more impressed with our students. They continue to raise the bar with the priority they put on academic excel- lence and their consistent perform- ances," athletic director Sandy Barbour said. "The work our students do in the classroom and in competition is un- paralleled, and I couldn't be prouder of everything our teams have achieved in the fall semester." The 28 teams with a 3.0 or better GPA surpassed the mark of 26 teams, which occurred the previous four se- mesters. A total of 64 percent of the 831 enrolled student-athletes during the fall earned a 3.0 GPA or higher. The women's golf team recorded the high- est team GPA among Penn State's 31 programs last fall, followed by the women's soccer and 4eld hockey squads. Men's tennis had the highest GPA among the men's programs. Starting with the 2014 fall semester, Penn State student-athletes have achieved the 11 highest semesters all- time for the number of students earn- ing at least a 3.0 GPA. The number of student-athletes posting at least a 3.0 GPA during the fall semester has in- creased 14.3 percent during the past six years from 468 in 2013 to 535 in 2019. ■ MEN'S BASKETBALL 21-10, 11-9 OCTOBER 27 W DELAWARE (Exh.)........................................75-49 NOVEMBER 5 W MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE.......................84-46 9 W WAGNER.................................................... 91-64 14 W at Georgetown............................................81-66 19 W BUCKNELL................................................. 98-70 23 W YALE.......................................................... 58-56 27-29 NIT Season Tip-off at Brooklyn, N.Y. 27 L Mississippi......................................... 74-72 29 W Syracuse............................................ 85-64 DECEMBER 4 W WAKE FOREST (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)........76-54 7 L at Ohio State............................................106-74 10 W MARYLAND................................................ 76-69 14 W ALABAMA................................................... 73-71 20 W CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE....................87-58 29 W CORNELL................................................... 90-59 JANUARY 4 W Iowa at Philadelphia (The Palestra)...............89-86 7 L at Rutgers..................................................72-61 11 L WISCONSIN................................................58-49 15 L at Minnesota..............................................75-69 18 W OHIO STATE................................................90-76 22 W at Michigan................................................ 72-63 29 W INDIANA.....................................................64-49 FEBRUARY 1 W at Nebraska............................................... 76-64 4 W at Michigan State....................................... 75-70 8 W MINNESOTA............................................... 83-77 11 W at Purdue...................................................88-76 15 W NORTHWESTERN........................................ 77-61 18 L ILLINOIS.................................................... 62-56 23 L at Indiana.................................................. 68-60 26 W RUTGERS...................................................65-64 29 L at Iowa...................................................... 77-68 MARCH 3 L MICHIGAN STATE........................................ 79-71 7 L at Northwestern......................................... 80-69 11-15 Big Ten tournament at Indianapolis 12 Second round Indiana/Nebraska WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 7-23, 1-17 NOVEMBER 1 W KUTZTOWN (Exh.)....................................... 64-44 5 W at Towson.................................................. 73-67 10 L RIDER........................................................78-70 13 W FORDHAM.................................................. 72-59 17 L LA SALLE................................................... 69-67 21 W CLEMSON.................................................. 68-55 SCORECARD T H E M A I N E V E N T MEN'S LACROSSE MARYLAND @ PENN STATE 7 P . M . | M A R C H 2 9 | P A N Z E R S T A D I U M | B T N One of the biggest victories of Penn State's breakthrough 2019 season was a 13-10 thriller over Maryland in the teams' Big Ten opener. The visiting Nittany Lions had gone into the game ranked No. 1 in the country, while the Terrapins were third, but those rankings didn't re5ect the series history. The Lions had only won two of their previous 42 matches against the Terps, with their most recent win coming in 1920. Undaunted, Penn State built an 8-1 4rst-quarter lead and held on for the victory, as Jack Kelly and Mac O'Keefe combined for 4ve goals and three assists. Now, the Nit- tany Lions will be trying to put together their 4rst winning streak in the history of the series. They'll get to play host this year, as the two teams are set to face o6 in Panzer Stadium. And they'll once again look to unleash O'Keefe. As of this writing, the sen- ior attackman was third in the country with an average of 5.33 goals per game. As a team, the Nittany Lions were averaging an impressive 18 goals per game. But Mary- land, too, was averaging 18 points. Expect another thriller. –M.H.

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