10 Penn students earn Academic All-Ivy honors

The Ivy League recently named 10 University of Pennsylvania student-athletes as Academic All-Ivy students for the 2015 fall season.

Academic All-Ivy students must have a GPA of 3.0 or better and be in at least their second year at school. The Ivy League chooses 10 students, five men and five women, from each of the Ivy League schools.

Senior Thomas Awad is a cross-country runner who won his second Heptagonal Games this season and is a two time All-American. He is from East Norwich, New York, and a health and societies major.

From Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Ashley Montgomery is a part of the cross-country team and earned her way into the 2015 NCAA Women's Cross-Country Championships. She is a junior in the Wharton School of Business.

Alexis Genske, from Altadena, California, is a senior on the volleyball team and a second-team All-Ivy selection. She started every game for the season and led the team in kills and kills per set, earning her fourth and sixth respectively among Ivy League players in those stats. She is majoring in philosophy, politics and economics.

Elizabeth Hitti is the co-captain of the field hockey team and earned second-team All-Ivy and first-team National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Region. She led the nation in assists per game. From Ashland, Massachusetts, she is a mechanical engineering and applied mechanics major.

From Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Alexa Hoover is also a member of the field hockey team and a first-team All-Ivy, first-team NFHCA All Region and All Eastern College Athletic Conference first team. She led the league in both goals and points. A sophomore, she is enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences but has not chosen a major.

Senior Paige Lombard plays on the soccer team and was named first-team All-Ivy. A co-captain, she was part of a defensive unit that 11 goals all season, the third fewest in program history. She is from Belleair Bluffs, Florida, and is an anthropology major.

Senior Alec Neumann, from New Hope, Pennsylvania, tied the lead for goals for the soccer team. He has been an All-Ivy selection for all three of his collegiate seasons. He is a philosophy, politics and economics major.

The 2015 Collegiate Sprint Football League co-MVP, Mike McCurdy led the league in passing yards per game, total offense and passing touchdowns. A junior, he is a biological basis of behavior major from Bethesda, Maryland.

First-team All-Ivy for football, Tanner Thexton played on the offensive line, which allowed only 12 sacks during the season. A senior from Somerville, New Jersey, he is enrolled in the Wharton School of Business.

Lastly, Justin Watson is a sophomore from Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. He played for the football team and was a finalist for the Bushnell Cup. He was the Offensive Player of the Year in the Ivy League and a first-team All-Ivy selection. He led the Ivy League in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He is enrolled in the Wharton School of Business.