Staff Writer
Kellie Pennington of the women’s swimming and diving and Jimmy Pezzino of the men’s gymnastic’s team performed well over the weekend and have earned the Springfield Student Newspaper Players of the Week award for 02/17/12 through 02/22/12.
Athletes of the Week for 02/17/12–02/22/12
Kellie Pennington
Kellie Pennington, a sophomore on the women’s swimming and diving team racked up the awards this past weekend at MIT at the NEWMAC Swimming and Diving Championships. Pennington won three events and led the Pride to a second-place finish. The Monson, Mass. native won the 100 free, 100 fly, and 50 free, which all set school records. Pennington also was a part of several relay teams. She was a part of the 200 free relay, which finished first. Pennington also was a part of three second-place finishes (400 free, 200 medley, and 800 free). For the second straight season Springfield placed second in NEWMAC. The Pride finished with a record of 6-7.
Junior gymnast, Jimmy Pezzino had a stellar meet last Saturday against Temple and Illinois-Chicago. The junior All-American finished second in the vault with a a score of 14.700. In the floor exercise he also scored a 14.700 and once again earned a second place finish. However, Pezzino’s efforts could not help Springfield win the tri-meet as they dropped both meets to Temple and UIC. The Buffalo, N.Y. native has had another strong campaign for head coach Steve Posner. The men’s gymnastics team is currently 4-9 on the season. The Pride return to action on Mar. 4 to take on Army for the second time this season. The two teams met earlier in the season back on Jan. 27 as part of the West Point Open. Springfield placed fifth out of seven teams in the weekend event. March is a busy month for SC with the New England Championships (Mar. 17) as well USAG Championships (Mar. 30)
Q.What will two more home meets do for your team before hosting the New England Invitational Championships?
A. I think that having two more home meets before New Englands is great because New Englands is a bigger meet for us and to have those extra meets to practice at home is awesome.
Q. What is it about coach Posner that compels you and your teammates to excel and exceed expectations
A. I think that what makes coach Posner a great coach is the fact that he knows how to push you as an athlete. He wants everyone to reach their highest potential and he does a good job with pushing us to the max.
Q. What made you come to SC to study computer graphics?
A. What made me come to SC to study computer graphics was the fact that SC had the major that I was looking for, and of course gymnastics. Plus I knew some of the guys on the team before coming here so they had a little influence on my decision.
Ricky Mazella may be reached at nlovett@springfieldcollege.edu