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Rask Named Finalist for Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year |
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PHILADELPHIA - Senior captain and linebacker Erik Rask was named one of two finalists for the 2011 Asa S. Bushnell Cup Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Award on Tuesday. The league office also named Harvard defensive lineman Josue Ortiz as a finalist. For the first time, the Ivy League is recognizing Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, honoring each as a recipient of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup from their respective sides of play. Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews and Dartmouth running back Nick Schweiger are the offensive finalists. Rask capped an illustrious career in the Red and Blue with one of the best defensive seasons for any Penn player in the two-decade tenure of head coach Al Bagnoli. Rask, who played in all 30 games for Penn in the last three seasons, was honorable mention All-Ivy as a sophomore and was a first-team selection in each of his final two seasons. This year, he became Penn's first unanimous first-team honoree since 2006. After leading the team in tackles with 65 as a junior, Rask finished with 83 stops in 2011 - the most at Penn since 2006 when Joe Anastasio had 102. Rask, who finished with 190 career tackles, also had 11.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 2011. The Newport Beach, Calif., native scored his first collegiate touchdown in his final game when he tipped a pass high into the air, corralled it, broke a tackle and and ran 30 yards for the score. Rask and the 2011 Penn seniors finished their careers with a 28-12 record overall, including a 23-5 mark against the Ivy League. They won two Ivy League titles, were just the third team to ever put together back-to-back undefeated Ivy seasons, and won 18 consecutive Ivy League games - the second-longest streak in league history. Rask's teammate, junior quarterback Billy Ragone, was a finalist for the Asa S. Bushnell Cup last season. The last Penn player to win the Ivy MVP award was Rask's former teammate Jake Lewko, who was also a linebacker and team captain. Lewko split the honor in 2009 with Brown's Buddy Farnham. Presented annually since 1970, the Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is presented by the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials and is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the player who displays outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team, and accomplishments on the field. Asa S. Bushnell Cup All-Time Recipient List |
Courtesy: University of Pennsylvania
