A trio of Penn athletes were honored this past week with Ivy League awards.
Football’s Sam Philippi, men’s soccer’s Dami Omitaomu and field hockey’s Alexa Hoover were all recognized for spectacular performances that propelled their respective teams to victories .
Philippi dove to intercept a pass in the end zone with under two minutes remaining, preserving the seven-point lead in Saturday’s homecoming win against Brown. The sophomore safety also had a key pass breakup on fourth down earlier in the quarter. The California native was the standout player in a defensive effort that held off the Bears' ferocious comeback effort amid a tense finish.
These two big plays, in addition to a solid overall performance that also featured four tackles, were enough to earn Philippi Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. It is the first weekly award of his career.
It was Omitaomu’s two goals that sprung the Quakers to victory over Brown this past Saturday and earned the freshman Ivy League Rookie of the Week. The striker from Knoxville, Tenn., netted once in the 49th minute to put the Red and Blue in the lead, but after a late Bears equalizer, he was called upon again in OT to tuck away the winner. The two goals move his tally for the season to three, tied for third on the team.
This is the second straight award for Omitaomu, who was the Soccer Six Rookie of the Week last week.
Hoover, who was named Ivy League Co-Player of the Week, led Penn to two wins with a combined six goals. Impressively, the six tallies came on just twelve shots.
It was the junior attacker’s goal-scoring spark that inspired the Quakers to a come-from-behind 6-4 triumph over crosstown rivals Villanova on Tuesday. The Collegeville, Pa., native added to her goal count with two important scores in a tight 3-2 win over Brown on Saturday. Hoover’s 15 goals on the season are enough to tie her for best in the Ivy League with Princeton's Cat Caro. This is the second time this season that Hoover has earned the award; the first came the week of Sept. 15.
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