Fifteen women in eveningwear stood on the stage under spotlights, holding tightly to each other's hands as the first name was called. And the second, and the third, until the winner was announced.

Sara Fragassi (senior-elementary education) was crowned the new Miss Penn State Saturday night in Eisenhower Auditorium.

Fragassi competed with fourteen other women for the title in a competition that included interview, talent, swimwear and eveningwear events.

The pageant was broken down into 40 percent interview, 30 percent talent, 15 percent fitness in swimwear and 15 percent poise in evening wear.

"I was just pleased to finish in the top five," said Allison Reh (senior-pre-medicine), who placed fourth runner-up. "The talent in this year's competition was amazing, and any one of these girls could have won."

The talent portion of the competition covered a wide range, with contestants tap dancing, singing, playing musical instruments and even performing traditional African dances.

Between events, groups such as Pressure, Penn State's own "boy-band" performed for the audience. Pressure went on to serenade the contestants during the eveningwear portion of the competition.

The evening culminated around jokes of a possible recount as the auditors tallied the judge's scores. Miss Penn State 2000, Misty Dawn Clymer, spoke to the crowd, thanking them for a wonderful year and performing a song.

In addition to the crowning, the contestants themselves voted on two awards that were given out just before the crowning.

"I was just pleased to win," said Makini Young whose fellow contestants had voted her "Miss Congeniality." "I haven't actually seen the movie, but they were all joking with me, telling me that now I definitely have to go."

Contestants in the Miss Penn State Scholarship Pageant can be from any Penn State campus, as long as they are full-time students. Tryouts for the pageant are held in November, and consist only of the interview and talents portions of the competition.

Miss Penn State receives a $1200 scholarship from the State College Evening Rotary Club and a book scholarship from the Student Bookstore, 330 E. College Ave. She then acts as a role model for the community and participates in various events statewide.

Miss Penn State will then compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant on June 2 in Allentown. The winner of that pageant will go on to compete in the Miss America pageant.

A Master of Ceremonies at Saturday's competition reminded the audience that if Fragassi were to go on to win the Miss America pageant, Penn State would receive an additional $25 thousand in scholarship money for future pageants.

Last year's Miss Penn State, Misty Dawn Clymer, was the second runner up in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant, and plans to vie to become Miss North Carolina this year.

Reh emphasized that it was truly a scholarship pageant. "Some people say, 'Oh, you're in a beauty pageant,' but it's not that at all. It's money toward higher education.

"It's not always the prettiest girl who wins these things — it's the most talented, the most intelligent," Reh said.