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Big Ten Conference Announces Field Hockey Postseason Honors
Nov. 1, 2012
All-Big Ten Teams and Individual Award Winners The Big Ten Conference announced its 2012 field hockey All-Big Ten teams and individual award winners on Thursday, with Northwestern and Penn State collecting individual honors. The Nittany Lions’ took home three individual awards, as Kelsey Amy was named Offensive Player of the Year, Brittany Grzywacz took home Defensive Player of the Year honors and Charlene Morett was named Coach of the Year. The Wildcats’ Lisa McCarthy was tabbed Freshman of the Year. Amy earned Offensive Player of the Year accolades after guiding Penn State to its first Big Ten Championship since 2008 and sixth overall. The senior forward ranked first in conference play in points (20), shots (38) and tied for first in goals (eight). In 18 games this season, Amy has tallied 51 points on 21 goals and nine assists. She is the sixth Nittany Lion to win Offensive Player of the Year honors and the first since 2008. Grzywacz reeled in Defensive Player of the Year honors after recording five defensive saves this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten and fifth in the nation. The senior led a Nittany Lion defense that allowed a conference-best 11 goals in Big Ten play. Seven Nittany Lions have combined to win nine Defensive Player of the Year honors, and she is the first since Jen Long took home consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2007 and 2008. McCarthy earned top billing among freshmen after finishing the 2012 campaign with 24 points on three goals and 18 assists, which led the conference this season. She becomes the first Wildcat to earn Freshman of the Year honors. Morett led Penn State to its sixth Big Ten Championship, compiling a 15-3 overall record and a 5-1 mark in conference play en route to her fifth Coach of the Year honor. She helped the Nittany Lions to a final regular-season ranking of No. 4, and guided Penn State to a No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Amy and Grzywacz earned spots on the All-Big Ten first team and were joined by Indiana’s Morgan Fleetwood, Iowa’s Jessica Barnett and Kathleen McGraw, Michigan’s Rachael Mack, Michigan State’s Abby Barker, Northwestern’s Chelsea Armstrong, Nikki Parsley and Tara Puffenberger, Ohio State’s Paula Pastor-Pitarque and Penn State’s Laura Gebhart. The Big Ten also recognized seven Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The complete list of All-Big Ten honorees and Sportmanship Award recipients can be found below. 2012 All-Big Ten Teams First Team* Second Team* Offensive Player of the Year: Kelsey Amy, PSU Sportsmanship Award Honorees Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
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