The 2001-2002 Sports Awards

Predicted to finish third in the Ivy League after a 12-17 record last season, the expectations were not high for the Penn men's basketball team.

Heading up a team that went 10-8-1 last season, Darren Ambrose's Penn women's soccer team was not expected to compete for the Ivy League title.

There were no expectations for Katy Cross, an unproven freshman coming into a young Penn women's soccer team.

And senior wrestler Yoshi Nakamura had all the expectations in the world on his shoulders.

But the men's basketball team, Ambrose, Cross and Nakamura exceeded all expectations this year.

And for doing so, the sports editors of The Daily Pennsylvanian's 117th and 118th boards have chosen to honor the Penn men's basketball team as Team of the Year, Darren Ambrose as Coach of the Year, Katy Cross as Female Athlete of the Year and Yoshi Nakamura as Male Athlete of the Year.

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Saddled with a 2-3 record on Feb. 8, after an 83-78 loss to Yale at Lee Amphitheater -- Penn's first losing record in the Ivies since 1991-1992 -- the Penn men's basketball team looked like it ws headed for another disappointing league season.

It would take nine straight victories to force a playoff for the Ivy title, a task that seemed impossible.

Not only did the Red and Blue (25-7 overall, 11-3 Ivy League) accomplish that, but they did it in style -- blowing out seven of nine of their final regular season opponents, including a 100-62 win over Dartmouth that got the Penn faithful at the Palestra free cheesesteaks.

With after each victory, the Quakers remained calm and focused on the next opponent. But when Penn demolished Yale in the Ivy League playoff final, 77-58, the Quakers finally got to celebrate -- in style, of course.

And so the DP is proud to honor the Ivy League and Big 5 Champion Penn men's basketball team as the Team of the Year.

Honorable Mention: Football, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling.

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The Penn women's soccer team was made up of 22 players, 18 of which were freshman and sophomores.

And last year the Quakers (13-2-3, 5-1-1 Ivy) had gone 2-5 in the Ancient Eight and was expected to be a cellar dwellar yet again.

But coach Darren Ambrose changed all of that. With two strong recruiting classes -- most notably freshmen Katy Cross and Rachelle Snyder and sophomores Heather Issing and Vanessa Scotto -- the Quakers shared the Ivy League title for the first time, defeated Harvard for the first time in the program's 10-year history and advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the second time ever.

For his extremely successful coaching job, the DP is proud to select Darren Ambrose as Coach of the Year.

And with another freshman class entering next year, who knows where the Quakers will be next season?

The sky's the limit.

Honorable Mention: Fran Dunphy, men's basketball; Matt Hogan, men's lacrosse; Kerry Major, volleyball; Roger Reina, wrestling.

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But where would a great team be without a star player?

Freshman Katy Cross came in as a hot prospect, but no one could have expected the line she produced.

Thirty-four points, 12 goals, 10 assists, first team All-League, first team All-Mid Atlantic, second team All-America, Ivy League Rookie of the Year, ranked as high as second during the season in assists in the nation.

And she's only a freshman.

Cross led the Quakers to a 13-2-3 record, a first-ever Ivy League title, a first-ever win over Harvard and a second-ever berth in the NCAA College Cup.

And although the Quakers fell to Villanova, 2-0, in the first round, their season was the most successful in the history of the program, and Cross was the main reason for that.

One can only imagine what this year's freshman phenom will do for an encore.

For these reasons, the DP is proud to choose Katy Cross as Female Athlete of the Year.

And if she keeps this up, it very well could be the first of four awards for the California native.

Honorable Mention: Jewel Clark, women's basketball; Rachelle Snyder, women's soccer; Alice Pirsu, women's tennis; Kelly Szczerba, volleyball.

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Yoshi Nakamura very well may be the best wrestler in Penn history.

Think about that for a second. The Penn wrestling team (10-4, 5-0 Ivy) has had gold medal winners, NCAA champions and countless great wrestlers.

And Nakamura is one of the best -- if not the best.

This season, he finished third at the NCAA Championships, earning him All-American status. He won the Eastern Championship. He was named Ivy League Wrestler of the Year. And he led the Quakers to an 11th-place finish in the nation and a seventh consecutive Ivy League title.

For these reasons and more, the DP is proud to select Yoshi Nakamura as Male Athlete of the Year. He was the top man on a team full of great wrestlers, an accomplishment that cannot be overlooked.

Honorable Mention: Ugonna Onyekwe, men's basketball; Andrew Toole, men's basketball; Kris Ryan, football; Rick Springman, wrestling; Josh Henson, wrestling.

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