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to open the season. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times and scored an honorable mention All- Conference nod following the regular sea- son, as well as a spot on the league's All- Freshman team. And that wasn't all. Frantti had come to Penn State from Spring Grove, Ill., as part of a seven-player freshman class considered to be the nation's best, and her success at stepping into the scoring void created by the departure of three All-Americans fol- lowing the 2013 season helped illus- trate just how well Rose and his staff had recruited. Here's how deep the Nittany Lions' 2014 recruiting class turned out to be: Even though Frantti lost Big Ten Fresh- man of the Year honors to Penn State classmate Haleigh Washington, she was named the Division I National Freshman of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and Vol- leyball Monthly. Suffice it to say, the future looks exceed- ingly bright. Frantti had been one of the nation's most highly regarded prospects coming out of Richmond Burton High, where she led her team to a state championship as a senior and won the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year award. She had been smitten with Penn State even before her high school career started to take o:, having emailed Rose when she was in junior high to express her interest in someday joining the Nittany Lions. As it turned out, the timing couldn't have been any better. During her high school and AAU careers, she developed into just the kind of scoring threat that Rose knew he was going to need in 2014 a;er the graduation of Deja McClendon, Ariel Scott and Katie Slay. She enrolled at Penn State in January a;er graduating early from Richmond Burton, and as evi- denced by her strong start, Frantti was ready to seize her opportunity when the Nittany Lions called on her to join the starting lineup. She started every match and led the team in kills 15 times. Now that she's got a season of college experience to draw upon, she's poised to help Penn State continue its champi- onship run. Looking ahead, nothing would please her more than to bring home a few more trophies during the next three seasons. As she told GoPSUSports.com, "I couldn't be prouder to represent Penn State and their work ethic and what they stand for." ■ KAREN CHANG FENCING A Hong Kong native, Chang turned in Penn State's top performance in the women's competition at nationals, defeating teammate Teodora Kakhiani in the saber semifinals before falling in the final to Francesca Russo of Notre Dame. ELIZABETH CHIKOTAS CROSS COUNTRY Chikotas was Penn State's top finisher in four of its six meets last fall. A Hellertown, Pa., native, she was 15th at the Big Ten meet and was named the league's Freshman of the Year. LINDSEY SPANN BASKETBALL Coming off a knee injury that forced her to take a medical redshirt as a true freshman, the point guard from Laurel, Md., started 17 of 29 games for the Lady Lions and led the team in scoring with an average of 13.2 points per game. BELLA SUTTON ICE HOCKEY One of two Nittany Lions to claim College Hockey America All-Rookie honors (goalie Hannah Ehresmann was the other), Sutton tallied seven goals to lead all Penn State defensemen and finished fifth on the team with 15 points. HALEIGH WASHINGTON VOLLEYBALL The standout middle blocker from Col- orado Springs, Colo., finished with the Big Ten's best hitting percentage (.463) and won All-Conference honors following a dazzling debut season. She also was named the league's Freshman of the Year. – M.H. H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N A VIEW TO A KILL Frantti started every game for the Nittany Li- ons as a true freshman and led the team in kills 15 times. After the sea- son, the AVCA named her Division I Freshman of the Year. Photo by Craig Houtz

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