Sept. 26, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State senior forward Leticia Fragapane was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and junior midfielder Curlyne Wynn was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday. The duo led the Buckeyes to a 3-0 record last week, including victories over Big Ten opponents Michigan (9) and Iowa (10), both of which were ranked among the Top 10 nationally.

Fragapane, from Mendoza, Argentina, led the Buckeyes with six goals in the three games. After opening the week with a goal at Ball State last Wednesday in a 6- 1 victory, she erupted for a career-best four goals in the Buckeyes' 6-1 win over Michigan Friday. She scored twice in the first half against the Wolverines, including the gamewinner, and completed the hat trick early in the second half before adding a fourth goal with 10 minutes remaining. Against Iowa Sunday, Fragapane opened the scoring with a first-half goal in OSU's 4-2 win.

Fragapane entered her senior season with just four career goals and 13 points. She is second for the Buckeyes with seven goals this year and is fourth with 16 points.

Wynn, a Trincity, Trinidad and Tobago, native, was the leader of the Buckeye defense that shut down all three opponents last week, holding two squads to one goal each and Iowa to two scores. Of those four goals, one came on a penalty stroke and the other three were scored on penalty corners. In the two Big Ten games, OSU held its opponents to just 13 total shots, including holding Iowa to four total and two on goal, as neither team was able to generate any sort of offensive attack. Wynn helped the Buckeye offense against Michigan, scoring a goal late in the first half.

This is the second Big Ten accolade for Wynn, who was first honored Sept. 13, 2004. A starter in all 10 games on the year, she has two goals and two assists for six points this season.

With the wins over Michigan and Iowa last week, Ohio State opened Big Ten play 2-0 for the first time since 2001. The team is 8-2 overall and is on a seven-game winning streak, the Buckeyes' longest since opening the 1999 campaign with seven consecutive wins. In the winning streak, OSU has held its opponents to 1.13 goals and 6.1 shots a game, as well as just 3.14 shots on goal an outing. During the same streak, OSU is scoring 4.52 goals a game and averaging 19.7 shots an outing.

The No. 14 Buckeyes return to action with a game against Ohio at 3 p.m. Wednesday at North Turf Field in Columbus. The squad then travels to Evanston, Ill., to take on Big Ten foe Northwestern at 2 p.m. EDT Saturday.