Abena Atuobi (3/1/2021) - Athlete Awards

Abena Atuobi

Award:
Pitt Student-Athletes of the Week
Week:
3/1/2021
Sport:
Track & Field
Bio:
View Full Bio

PITTSBURGH – Observing an abundance of impressive performances last week, Pitt Athletics has selected a record seven Office Depot/Supra Student-Athletes of the Week.

On the women’s side, the Panthers honored All-ACC Second Team performers Abena Atuobi and Eddita Pessima of indoor track and field in addition to Morgan Batesole of softball.

For the men, Pitt celebrated ACC Wrestling champions Nino Bonaccorsi and Jake Wentzel, NCAA Swimming qualifier Blaise Vera and ACC Heptathlon champion Felix Wolter.

WOMEN

Atuobi saved her best performance for the biggest meet of the indoor season as she was able to score points for the Panthers in the shot put on Saturday. Atuobi posted a huge PR throw of 51’0.25” (15.55m) to earn sixth place in the shot put and score three points for her team, the first time in her Pitt career she earned points at the indoor championships. She was awarded Second Team All-ACC honors for her throw that proved to be the third best in program history in the event.
For the second straight season, Pessima earned All-ACC accolades in the 60m hurdles as she was able to post a fifth place finish in 8.30 seconds. Pessima scored four points for the Panthers as she concluded her second straight indoor championship meet scoring points for Pitt. The junior currently holds the school record in the 60m hurdles (8.23 seconds), a mark she nearly matched in her prelim run on Thursday (8.24 seconds). She also ran the second leg of the Panthers’ 4x400m relay squad who posted a fourth-place finish and five team points on Saturday to close out the meet. The quartet posted a season-best time of 3:45.49 as they just missed out on earning a spot on the podium and All-ACC honors.
Batesole had a career weekend in Macon, Ga., at the Black & Orange Challenge, going 7-for-14 with two doubles, two homeruns, six RBI, two runs and recorded a 1.071 slugging percentage as the Panthers left the tournament with a 3-1 record. The Walnut Creek, Calif., native currently leads the team in batting average (.387), slugging percentage (.677), hits (12), runs (7) and on-base percentage (.444).

MEN

Vera etched his name in the Pitt history book, becoming just the second Panther since joining the conference in 2013-14 to earn three medals at the ACC Championships, joining legendary diver Dominic Giordano. Vera earned silver in both the 50 free and 100 free in Greensboro, N.C., this past weekend. His 50 free time clocked in at 19.03, surpassing his own school record in the event. Vera also broke his own school record in the 100 fly, clocking a time of 45.29 and finishing fourth. The Clinton, Miss., native also swam in the 200 medley relay that broke the school record and met the NCAA qualifying threshold with a time of 1:24.20.
Bonaccorsi won his first ACC title with a dominating performance in the 197-pound division. He displayed relentless attacking in his two wins: an 8-2 semifinal triumph over NC State's Nick Reenan and a convincing 10-4 final coronation against Virginia's Jay Aiello.
Wentzel defended his ACC individual championship in the 165-pound weight class thanks to a pair of wins without conceding any points. He defeated North Carolina's Kennedy Monday 1-0 and used his outstanding top game to pick up a 4-0 decision over Virginia's Jake Keating in the championship match at 165.
Wolter scored a new program record 5,632 points while becoming the first Pitt heptathlete to earn a spot on the podium at the ACC Indoor Championships. He also was named First Team All-ACC for his efforts while earning the Panthers 10 team points. In total, Wolter won three of the seven events in the heptathlon while no other competitor earned more than one victory. The transfer posted five personal best performances and currently ranks 13th in the NCAA in the heptathlon with a score of 5,632.

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Date	Athlete	Sport
5/2/2022	Paulina DiFatta	Women's Lacrosse
5/2/2022	Matt Gilbertson	Baseball
4/25/2022	Carlie Leach	Women's Lacrosse
4/25/2022	Noah Walker	Track & Field
4/18/2022	Yvonne Whaley	Softball
4/18/2022	Billy Corcoran	Baseball
4/12/2022	Paige Petty	Women's Lacrosse
4/12/2022	Ron Washington, Jr.	Baseball