Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 15 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Shay Ciezki — Women's Basketball Ciezki showed her potential as a freshman last season, finishing second on the team with an 11.8-point scoring average. Now a sophomore, the 5-foot-7 guard from Buf- falo, N.Y., has picked up right where she left off. She was averaging 15.6 points per game through Penn State's first seven contests, ranking second on the team and 13th among all Big Ten players. Ciezki was unstoppable against Oklahoma State in the first round of the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Tournament, hitting 7 of 13 three-point attempts and finishing with a career-high 27 points in an 89-80 Penn State victory on Nov. 20. She followed two nights later with a team-high 18 points and 7 rebounds in a 71-70 loss to eighth-ranked USC. Aiden Fink — Men's Ice Hockey A freshman forward from Calgary, Alberta, Fink has had an immediate impact on Penn State's offense. Through the Nittany Lions' first 15 games, he was leading the team and was second among all Big Ten players with 21 points. His 9 goals and 12 assists were tops among PSU players and third in the conference. Facing 12th-ranked Michigan in the finale of a two-game series in Ann Arbor, Fink collected his first collegiate hat trick, lifting the Nit- tany Lions to a 5-3 victory on Nov. 18. Following the Lions' split with the Wolverines, in which he totaled 4 goals and 6 points, Fink was named the Big Ten's Second Star of the Week. Jess Mruzik — Women's Volleyball Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley scored one of her biggest transfer portal coups when she signed Mruzik, a senior outside hitter who had spent her first three sea- sons at Michigan. Mruzik had been a two-time first-team All-Big Ten performer while with the Wolverines, but she played in only one NCAA Tournament match during her time in Ann Arbor. This year, the Livonia, Mich., native has been one of the key performers on a Penn State team that went into the NCAA tourney ranked No. 14 nationally. At the conclu- sion of the regular season, Mruzik was averaging 4.42 kills per set, tops on the team and third best in the Big Ten. Following the season, she was again named a first-team All-Big Ten performer. Kris Shakes — Men's Soccer Shakes was named Defensive Player of the Tournament after helping Penn State reach the Big Ten championship game. The senior from Parkland, Fla., tied a season high with 6 saves in a 3-1 victory over Rutgers in the quarter- finals, and he totaled 2 saves and an assist in a 1-1 tie with Ohio State in the semifinals, a game in which PSU advanced on penalty kicks. In the title game against Indi- ana on Nov. 12, Shakes made 5 saves to keep Penn State in contention, but forward Samuel Sarver scored for the Hoosiers, bringing an end to PSU's tournament run — and its season — with a 1-0 loss. — Matt Herb PENN STATE'S TOP PERFORMERS Join at BlueWhiteIllustrated.com! NOTE: BlueWhiteIllustrated.com is the companion site to Blue White Illustrated magazine. It is a separate subscription and is NOT included with the magazine. JOIN TODAY JOIN TODAY BlueWhiteIllustrated.com BlueWhiteIllustrated.com The premier Penn State site, now on the On3 network, has a special offer for ALL Nittany Lion fans: 25% OFF with promo code WeAre2024 Offer valid for new subscribers only; regularly $109.99 a year FEATURING: ✦ NEXT-GENERATION PLAYER DATABASE ✦ RECRUITING SCOOP ✦ DAILY TEAM COVERAGE ✦ BREAKING NEWS & DAILY NEWSLETTERS ✦ STRONG COMMUNITY ✦ MONTHLY OPTION AVAILABLE ✦ NEW MOBILE APP! 25%