Dec. 6, 2012

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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern earned more than 90 Academic All-Big Ten awards during the fall sports season for the second-consecutive year, winning 97 honors in six sports to top the Big Ten in honorees per program, the conference office announced today (Dec. 6).

After setting school records for total fall sport honorees for five-consecutive years, Northwestern's 2012 total is its second-straight with at least 95 awards. NU's 2012 fall award total is 40 percent more than it earned in 2007 when the record-breaking began.

The Wildcats' 16.2 honorees per their six fall programs topped the Nittany Lions' 14.29 rate for its seven fall sports.

NU football topped its own program record with 34 total honorees, besting its previous high of 32 earned in 2010. This season is the Wildcats' third-straight with more than 30 Academic All-Big Ten award winners. Northwestern again led the entire Big Ten Conference in football awards, topping second-place Minnesota's 31 and third-place totals of 28 from Penn State and Nebraska.

Among Northwestern's Academic All-Big Ten winners were two football Capital One Academic All-Americans, Patrick Ward (Homer Glen, Ill./Providence Catholic) and Brian Arnfelt (Lake Elmo, Minn./Stillwater), and a volleyball Capital One Academic All-District award winner, senior Julie Chin (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North). The Capital One Academic awards program is voted on and administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Many Wildcats who excelled on the field also are among Northwestern's Academic All-Big Ten award winners. Chelsea Armstrong (Perth, Australia/Penrhos) and Tara Puffenberger (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) of field hockey both won Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-America honors this season while volleyball junior Stephanie Holthus (Burlington, Ill./Central) is an AVCA All-Region selection with a strong chance at an All-America nod later this month. In men's soccer, Chris Ritter (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) was chosen as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and football's Jeff Budzien (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) was named the Big Ten Bakken-Anderson Kicker of the Year. All told, five of NU's All-Big Ten football players also made the Academic All-Big Ten rolls.

To earn Academic All-Big Ten recognition, an athlete must be in at least his/her second year at the institution, letter in his/her sport and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Three Wildcats: Arnfelt, Armstrong and Quentin Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) were specially recognized for having perfect 4.0 GPAs. All three currently are enrolled in graduate school.

Instituted beginning in 2008-09, the conference office also will hand out the Distinguished Scholar Award at the end of the academic year. Student-athletes eligible for the Distinguished Scholar Award must be letter winners in at least their second year in residence at their institution. Qualifying student-athletes must have earned a GPA of 3.7 or higher for the current academic year, excluding summer school. The 3.7 GPA benchmark was designed to include the top 10 percent of all eligible student-athletes.

The Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award was established by conference Faculty Representatives as an addition to the conference's Academic All-Big Ten program. This year's recipients will be honored prior to the fall of 2013 based on their GPAs from the 2011-12 academic year.

Following are Northwestern's 2012 fall season Academic All-Big Ten award winners:

Field Hockey (12)
Chelsea Armstrong, Gr. • Sports Administration • Perth, Australia
Mary Susan Bro, So. • Undeclared • Lake Bluff, Ill.
Maddy Carpenter, So. • Undeclared • Wilbraham, Mass.
Shannon Disbrow, Sr. • Economics • Potomac, Md.
Catherine Franklin, Jr. • Communication Studies • Houston, Texas
Maria Kovalchuk, Jr. • Classics • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Nikki Parsley, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Milford, Del.
Kaylee Pohlmeyer, Gr. • Integrated Marketing Communications • Severna Park, Md.
Tara Puffenberger, Jr. • Sociology • Dallas, Pa.
Julia Retzky, Jr. • Psychology • Lake Forest, Ill.
Kelsey Thompson, Jr. • Psychology • Ann Arbor, Mich.
Kristin Wirtz, Jr. • Secondary Teaching • Oak Park, Ill.

Football (34)
Brian Arnfelt, Gr. • Sports Administration • Lake Elmo, Minn.
Hayden Baker, Jr. • Anthropology • Trout Valley, Ill.
Cermak Bland, So. • Undeclared • West Linn, Ore.
Jeff Budzien, Sr. • Economics • Hartland, Wis.
Ibraheim Campbell, Jr. • Economics • Philadelphia, Pa.
Joe Cannon, Jr. • Communication Studies • Oconomowoc, Wis.
P.J. Carollo, So. • Undeclared • Lake Bluff, Ill.
Max Chapman, So. • Undeclared • Ponte Vedra, Fla.
Bo Cisek, Sr. • Communication Studies • Chicago, Ill.
Kain Colter, Jr. • Psychology • Denver, Colo.
Neal Deiters, Gr. • Psychology • Elmhurst, Ill.
Doug Diedrick, So. • Undeclared • Woodridge, Ill.
Collin Ellis, Jr. • Sociology • St. Gabriel, La.
Mike Eshun, Jr. • Economics • Madison, Wis.
Davion Fleming, Sr. • Philosophy • Upland, Calif.
Tim Hanrahan, Jr. • Chemical Engineering • Frankfort, Ill.
Pat Hickey, Sr. • Economics • Chicago, Ill.
Tony Jones, Jr. • Psychology • Flint, Mich.
Paul Jorgensen, Jr. • Economics • DeWitt, Mich.
Geoff Mogus, So. • Undeclared • Loraine, Ohio
Zack Oliver, So. • Communication Studies • Baton Rouge, La.
Arthur Omilian, So. • Industrial Engineering • Atlanta, Ga.
Alex Pietrzak, So. • Undeclared • Burr Ridge, Ill.
Tim Riley, Sr. • Economics • Oswego, Ill.
Tyler Scott, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Warren, Ohio
Will Studlien, Sr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Sunbury, Ohio
Mark Szott, So. • Communication Studies • Naperville, Ill.
Mike Trumpy, Sr. • Communication Studies • Wheaton, Ill.
Nick VanHoose, So. • Undeclared • Urbana, Ohio
Timmy Vernon, Sr. • History • Fort Washington, Pa.
Brandon Vitabile, Jr. • Economics • Edison, N.J.
Patrick Ward, Sr. • Mechanical Engineering • Homer Glen, Ill.
Brandon Williams, Sr. • Mechanical Engineering • Nappanee, Ind.
Quentin Williams, Gr. • Sports Administration • Pittsburgh, Pa.

Women's Cross Country (17)
Julia Buford, Jr. • Civil Engineering • Chicago, Ill.
Maddie Elkins, So. • Political Science and Economics (double major) • Stamford, Conn.
Sophie Ewald, Sr. • Environmental Sciences • Berlin, Germany
Elizabeth Fierro, So. • Undeclared • Northport, N.Y.
Lexie Goldsmith, Jr. • Mechanical Engineering • Orland Park, Ill.
Ashley Greenwell, Sr. • Industrial Engineering • St. Louis, Mo.
Angie Henry, Sr. • Political Science • Hopkins, Minn.
Audrey Huth, Sr. • Philosophy • Shelby, Mich.
Libby Kocha, Jr. • Applied Mathematics • Burlington, Wis.
Janelle Li-A-Ping, Sr. • Journalism • New York, N.Y.
Allegra Mayer, Sr. • Environmental Sciences • Palo Alto, Calif.
Kayleen McMonigal, Sr. • Integrated Science Program (ISP) • Tacoma, Wash.
Lauren Neuschel, Sr. • Journalism • Wilmette, Ill.
Nicole Oliver, Jr. • Biomedical Engineering • Pottstown, Pa.
Ann Powers, Jr. • Sociology • New York, N.Y.
Moira Ryan, Sr. • History • Washington, D.C.
Charlotte ter Haar, Jr. • Biomedical Engineering • Davis, Calif.

Men's Soccer (14)
Jarrett Baughman, Sr. • Communication Studies • Bloomington, Ind.
Peter Beasley, So. • Undeclared • Naperville, Ill.
Nikko Boxall, So. • Undeclared • Auckland, N.Z.
Nick Gendron, Sr. • Communications Studies • Ramsey, N.J.
Peter Horner, So. • Undeclared • Brookfield, Wis.
Scott Lakin, Jr. • Economics • Deerfield, Ill.
Layth Masri, Jr. • History • Louisville, Ky.
Tyler Miller, So. • Communication Studies • Woodbury, N.J.
Chris Ritter, Sr. • Communication Studies • Winnetka, Ill.
Jeff Rogers, Jr. • Communication Studies • Birmingham, Mich.
Kyle Schickel, Sr. • Communication Studies • Louisville, Ky.
Tommy Tombridge, Sr. • Communication Studies • Springfield, Mo.
Michael Walbridge, Sr. • Economics • Fort Wayne, Ind.
Grant Wilson, So. • Undeclared • Kansas City, Mo.

Women's Soccer (16)
Kate Allen, Jr. • Communication Studies • Whitehouse, Ohio
Jackie Alyinovich, So. • Undeclared • Burr Ridge, Ill.
KK Barr, So. • Undeclared • St. Charles, Ill.
Briana Borsellino, So. • Communication Studies • Oak Brook, Ill.
Anna Cassell, So. • Undeclared • Salt Lake City, Utah
Meredith Finsand, Sr. • Communication Studies • Edina, Minn.
Sam Hatfield, Jr. • Mechanical Engineering • Crossfield, Alberta
Nicole Jewell, Jr. • Industrial Engineering • Raleigh, N.C.
Natalie Lagunas, Jr. • English • Canyon Country, Calif.
Katie Landgrebe, So. • Journalism • Madeira, Ohio
Bo Podkopacz, Jr. • Learning and Organizational Change • Plymouth, Minn.
Jessica Rubin, Sr. • Human Development and Psychological Services • Naperville, Ill.
Sami Schrakamp, So. • Communication Studies • Danville, Calif.
Niki Sebo, So. • Secondary Teaching • Downers Grove, Ill.
Julie Sierks, Jr. • Industrial Engineering • Edina, Minn.
Bri Westlund, Sr. • Human Development and Psychological Services • Cottage Grove, Minn.

Women's Volleyball (4)
Julie Chin, Sr. • Economics • Naperville, Ill.
Katie Dutchman, Jr. • Biological Sciences • Del Mar, Calif.
Stephanie Holthus, Jr. • Secondary Teaching • Burlington, Ill.
Madalyn Shalter, Gr. • Higher Education Administration and Policy • Ottawa, Ohio

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