Seniors Brandon Short, David Macklin and Chafie Fields were scheduled to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 22, while senior Aaron Harris was slated to play in the Hula Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii, the same day. These games provide opportunities for college seniors to show their talents to professional scouts as well as national television audiences. . . Placekicker Travis Forney and offensive guard Jordan Caruso were named GTE Academic All-Americans for their combination of play on the gridiron and performance in the classroom. . . .Consensus All-Americans Arrington, Short and Courtney Brown were honored at the State College Quarterback Club banquet on Dec. 5. At that time Brown also received the Hall Foundation Award as State's outstanding senior, John Blick got the Richard Maginnis Memorial Award as the outstanding offensive lineman, Forney and punter Pat Pidgeon shared the John Bruno Memorial Award as outstanding special teams players, Andrew Stewart received the Nittany Lion Club Academic Achievement Award, and Maurice Daniels got the Ridge Riley Award for "sportsmanship, scholarship, leadership and friendship." . . . This was Penn State's sixth win in its last seven bowl games. The Lions lead all Big Ten teams in bowl wins, appearances and winning percentage. . . . The Big Ten is now 4-1 against the Big 12 in the Alamo Bowl, which matches the fourth or fifth pick from the Big Ten with the third or fourth pick from the Big 12. The Alamo and Citrus Bowls were the only two non-BCS games matching two schools in the final BCS Top 15 rankings this year. . . . Penn State takes a 2-1 series lead over Texas A&M. The Aggies beat the Lions, 27-14 in Beaver Stadium in 1979, but State spoiled A&M's inaugural of the new Kyle Field in 1980 with a 25-9 triumph. Texas A&M's only previous visit to the Alamo Bowl resulted in a 22-20 victory over Michigan in 1995. . . . One long-time Penn State fan—Myrtle Fenton—was especially pleased with the Lions' win on Dec. 28, because it came while she celebrated her 90th birthday with her family in Philadelphia. She considered it her best gift, and her Penn State alumni sons—Bill and Harry—felt it was worth giving up a trip to San Antonio to watch the game with her on TV. . . . While the bowl fever that gripped Penn State fans at the end of October faded rapidly 24as Lion losses mounted in November, those who made the trip to San Antonio found it to be a most delightful location to spend a holiday vacation. The Riverwalk, Mexican market, Sunset Station, Hemisphere Park and the Alamo itself are all conveniently located within walking distance of each other in downtown San Antonio. And the Alamodome was a most comfortable venue in which to watch a game, located just a 10-minute walk along a paved path that led under the freeway from the Marriott Rivercenter, headquarters for most Penn Staters. . . . Penn State is now 4-0 in games after three consecutive losses under Paterno. . . . State's only loss in 30 non-conference games since starting Big Ten play in 1993 was to Florida in the 1998 Citrus Bowl. . . . Paterno paid tribute to the Texas A&M fans, who cheered their team to the end and refrained from any jeering of the Lions. A&M is indeed unique with its traditions—the spirited "yells" that only Aggies can translate from the semaphore-style signals given by their all-male cheerleading corps, the marching drills of their military-style band, and even the gigantic bonfire that turned so tragic this year with the death of 12 and injury to 27 more. The Aggies were trying to win for one of their assistant coaches also—quarterback coach Ray Dorr, who was diagnosed in the spring with Lou Gehrig's disease. Coach Slocum said he told his disappointed players in an emotional locker room after the game that "Coach Dorr is a living example of dealing with a bad thing in a positive way" and that was the most valuable lesson they could learn from this season.

OTHER SPORTS
In only its sixth year as a varsity sport Penn State's women's soccer squad advanced to the NCAA Final Four, before losing, 2-0, on Dec. 3 to North Carolina, a team that won its 15th national title in 18 years, but a team that the Lions had upset, 3-2, in Chapel Hill on Sept. 12.

Coach Pat Farmer's team advanced to the Final Four for the first time after stopping Hartford, 2-0, at Jeffrey Field Nov. 27 in the Regional finals.

State's sophomore goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk, and freshman forward Christie Welsh earned first-team All-America honors, after leading the Lions to a 21-4-1 record and their second straight Big Ten championship. Oleksiuk has already set the school record for shutouts (18.45) and wins (41). Welsh tied for the national scoring title and set Penn State season records for goals (27), assists (13), points (67) and game-winning goals (9). She set game records for goals (4), points (8) and assists (3). Farmer was named Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year.

The men's soccer team set a school record for wins, completing its season with a 19-4-1 record and advancing as far as the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, three of the Lions' four losses came to defending national champion Indiana. The Hoosiers ended Penn State's season with a 3-0 conquest on Dec. 5 on their way to another national title.

Coach Barry Gorman's squad had advanced to the Elite Eight by defeating St. John's, 2-1, on a goal by two-time All-Big Ten midfielder Derek Potteiger in the third overtime on Nov. 28.

Junior forward Ricardo Villar, who led the Lions with 35 points on 13 goals and nine assists, including seven game-winning goals, became the first Nittany Lion to earn first team All-America honors since Lou Karbiener in 1982. Gorman was named Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year.

In field hockey State's Tracey Larson was named Player of the Year and first team All-America after leading the Lady Lions to a No. 7 national ranking and a 17-5 record that included Coach Char Morett's 250th victory.

The women's basketball team was ranked No. 6 in the country with a 10-2 record that included victories over nationally ranked Auburn, ACC foe Clemson and Pennsylvania rivals Pitt, St. Joe's and LaSalle.

Coach Rene Portland's charges, a pre-season pick to win the Big Ten title, beat Iowa, 80-63, and Northwestern, 114-49, in their first two conference contests. The Lady Lions' 65 points in the first half and 114 total against the Wildcats were records for the Bryce Jordan Center. Their losses have been to top-ranked UConn and No. 10 Duke.

Balance has been the key for Penn State, with center Andrea Garner averaging 13.9 points and 9.6 rebounds, forward Maren Walseth 14 points and six rebounds, forward Lisa Shepherd 11.9 points and 4.8 boards, point guard Helen Darling 10.5 points and 5.8 caroms, and guard Chrissy Falcone 9.2 points and 2.7 rebounds. The Lady Lions have also gotten excellent play from sophomores Rashanna Barnes and Katrena Carr and freshman Ashley Luke off the bench.

The men's basketball team had an 8-3 slate heading into its Big Ten schedule. Coach Jerry Dunn's aggregation posted wins over Lehigh, Loyola, Boston College, Clemson, Penn, George Mason, Bucknell and Manhattan, while falling to Villanova, Temple and Arizona State (in the finals of the Fiesta Bowl Holiday Classic). Power forward Jarrett Stephens carried the scoring and rebounding load with seven double-doubles, averaging more than 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. The guard brotherhood of junior Joe and freshman Jon Crispin also carried a heavy share of the scoring load.

The Lions maintained their perfect record in non-conference games in the Bryce Jordan Center, where they have captured all 24 to extend their home non-conference winning streak to 45.

In December action the wrestling team lost to Edinboro, 19-14, and Penn, 22-16, then defeated Navy, 20-13, before three Lion grapplers won crowns at the Wilkes Open during the holidays. Scott Moore won the title at 133, Jason Betz won at 141, and Mark Becks took the 174 crown.

Jeremy Hunter, ranked No. 1 at 125, had a perfect 13-0 record including eight falls, which moved him into third place on Penn State's all-time list with 29 pins.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The third time was a charm for the Penn State women's volleyball team, which smashed Stanford in three games to capture the 1999 National Championship on Dec. 18, after losing to Stanford and Long Beach State in the championship games the previous two years.

The Nittany Lions, who posted 27 sweeps while compiling a sterling 36-1 season record, were pushed to five games for only the third time this fall by the University of the Pacific, before winning the semi-final matchup, 14-16, 15-5, 15-6, 7-15, 15-12, on Dec. 16.

Two nights later, before another huge crowd in the same Stan Sheriff Arena in Honolulu, Coach Russ Rose's squad slammed Stanford, 15-2, 15-10, 15-7 to make Penn State the first school east of the Mississippi to ever win a national title in women's volleyball. The Lions are only the fourth non-California team to win the championship since 1981, and it took them four trips to the Final Four to do so. They lost in the championship game to Long Beach State in 1993 and 1998 and to Stanford in 1997, before finally earning the title for Coach Rose, who built the Lions into a national power over the past 20 years, while dominating Eastern and later Big Ten volleyball.

All-Americans Lauren Cacciamani and Bonnie Bremner and co-captain Carrie Schonveld, all seniors, led the Lions throughout the season, as they won their fourth straight Big Ten title, ran their conference winning streak to 49 and their home court victory skein to an NCAA-record 80.

Cacciamani shared National Player of the Year honors with Kerri Walsh of Stanford and was named the Most Valuable Player in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Bremner and Schonveld joined her on the All-Tournament Team to make it a sweep for the seniors, who compiled a 136-7 record in their four years of wearing the Blue and White.

Cacciamani and Bremner were selected also to the GTE Academic All-America team for the second straight year, and Bremner was named Academic All-American of the Year for the second consecutive time.