Alaana Panu Named Ivy League Softball Player of the Week

HANOVER, N.H. — Alaana Panu of Dartmouth softball has been named the Ivy League Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Monday. The sophomore was vital in the Big Green's success in their first Ivy League series of the season against Penn, fueling Dartmouth to a three-game sweep.

Panu made her presence felt in the first game of the series, recording a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning. Her heroics lifted Dartmouth to a 6-3 victory over the Quakers to open the team's home schedule.

👀 the walk-off grand slam off the bat of Alaana Panu! #SCTop10 | @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/j1JMAIdU48
— DartmouthSoftball (@DartmouthSball) March 24, 2023

A day later, Panu came up large for the Big Green once again in the bottom of the seventh. Down by a run, she recorded a two-RBI single to propel her squad to a 5-4 win. Her heroics helped Dartmouth open the Ivy League season with a 3-0 record.

"Alaana has been working so hard and trusting in the process all season," head coach Jen Williams said. "It's great to see her start to hit her stride as we head into Ivies. Our whole team came up big at the plate when they needed to, and we're excited to see what Alaana and her teammates bring to the table next weekend against Columbia."

A native of Los Gatos, California, Panu led the Big Green with a batting average of .545 throughout the weekend. She recorded seven RBIs and two stolen bases on two attempts. Panu is tied for the league-lead in RBIs in conference play, despite playing three less Ivy League games than Madi Mays and Trina Hoang of Harvard as of March 27.

The Big Green travel to New York City for an Ivy League series against Columbia this weekend. Dartmouth opens the weekend on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12:30 p.m., followed by the series finale the following day at 12:30 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and Stretch Internet internationally.

Schedules