Freshman Strayer wins Big Ten weekly award

Penn State Nittany Lion freshman Jake Strayer has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Sunday, Jan. 9.

Strayer becomes Penn State wrestling coach Troy Sunderland's second wrestler to claim a conference W.O.W. award this year.

Sophomore All-American Phil Davis was honored on Nov. 16.

Strayer continued the hot start to his rookie campaign by posting a 17-5 major decision over Lehigh's John Stout to help the Nittany Lions throttle No. 11 Lehigh 24-12 in Bethlehem.

Two days later, Strayer posted a 6-1 win over No. 10 Mike Mormile of Cornell to help the Lions crush No. 10 Cornell 27-7 in Rec Hall.

After last night's win at Lock Haven, Strayer is 14-1 overall.

The South Fork, Pa., native is now ranked No. 10 in the country.

He is one of three Nittany Lion freshmen who appeared in Penn State's starting line-up for the Lock Haven dual Wednesday night (a 33-7 win in Lock Haven).

The Lions are 8-2 on the season.

Lions' Sandy recognized with conference honor

Freshman Casey Sandy earned Big Ten Men's Gymnast of the Week honors for his standout performance in Penn State's season-opening win over Army on Jan. 7.

Sandy helped the No. 5-ranked Nittany Lions gain a 206.650-199.150 victory in West Point, N.Y., their 40th against the Black Knights in a series that dates back to 1932.

Competing in his first collegiate meet, Sandy won the all-around outright by posting a score of 52.650 and tied classmate Shaun Antonio for first place in the parallel bars (9.000).

The former Canadian National Team member also claimed second in the pommel horse (9.000), tied for second in the vault (9.150) and the high bar (8.450), and earned a third place finish in the floor exercise.

Penn State is back in action today when it begins the home portion of its 2006 schedule with a dual meet versus Temple.

Competition is set to begin at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.

Men's tennis program hires new asst. coach

The Nittany Lion men's tennis team will see a new face on their coaching staff this spring as Atlanta native Dan Holman joins head coach Bill Potoczny in instructing the Lions.

Holman comes to Penn State just a year following his January 2005 graduation from the USA Tennis High Performance Coaching Program in Key Biscayne, Fla. He is also certified with the United States Professional Tennis Association and the Professional Tennis Registry. He has been teaching tennis for over five years, and for the last two and a half years, has served as the Director of Advanced Juniors at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, N.C.

"Dan has a great deal of experience working with high level players, which compliments his outstanding background as a competitor and our athletes will benefit from the passion and commitment he will bring to the team," said Potoczny who replaced longtime coach Jan Bortner in the fall as head coach. "I know Dan is excited about the opportunity to work in a college team setting. He will make the transition very quickly."