Men's lacrosse adds new assistant coach

The Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse team, under the guidance of veteran head coach Glenn Thiel, has filled out its coaching staff for the upcoming season with the hiring of former Johns Hopkins standout Kevin Conry as coaching assistant.

Conry enters his first season at Penn State after serving as an assistant at Siena for two years. A 2004 graduate of John Hopkins University, he was the captain of the man-down unit, playing in three final fours and one national championship game during his collegiate career.

In 2003, the mandown unit ranked second in the nation. In his final three seasons, the Blue Jays were a dominant 39-5. He was a four year letterman at JHU and helped his team to the final four from 2001 through 2005, earning a spot in the national title game in 2003.

Conry is finishing up his Masters in Education from SUNY-Albany in December of 2007.

Men's championships tickets on sale now

Tickets for the 2007 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, to be hosted by Penn State University, are now available to the public for purchase. The nation's top collegiate gymnasts will converge on Happy Valley to vie for individual and team glory from Thurs., April 12 through Sat., April 14 in historic Rec Hall.

Tickets are $28.00 for all-session adult passes and $16.00 for youth, senior citizen and student all-session passes. Single day passes for the Thurs., April 12 session are $8.00 (adult) and $5.00 (student/youth/senior citizen) while single day passes for the Fri., April 13 and Sat., April 14 sessions are $12.00 (adult) and $6.00 (student/youth/senior citizen).

Groups of 10 or more of any age will be eligible for a single session discount of $3.00. All tickets orders will carry a $2.00 handling fee.

Tickets can be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office or by calling 1-814-865-5555 or 1-800-833-5533. Also, ticket applications can be found online at www.GoPSUsports.com and will be available at Rec Hall during all five regular season men's gymnastics home meets.

The NCAA Championships will begin on Thurs., April 12, with two qualifying sessions, scheduled for 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. The team finals and all-around competition will be held on Fri., April 13, at 7 p.m. and Saturday's individual event finals will get underway at 7 p.m. as well.

Coaches' wives will aid with Toys for Tots

Fans attending the State College Quarterback Club's sold out Penn State Senior Football Banquet are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the banquet for the Toys For Tots program.

Sue Paterno and the wives of the Penn State football coaches will be collecting and wrapping the toys immediately following the Sunday, Dec. 10 banquet at the Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center. Collection bins will be located at the entrances to the main ballroom.

Doors will open at 1:00 p.m. and the banquet will begin at 1:45 p.m.

The 24 senior members of Penn State's Big Ten Championship team will be honored at the banquet.

Three players named All-Mideast Region

The four-time defending Big Ten Champion Penn State women's volleyball team (31-2) collected three First Team All-Mideast Region honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced yesterday. Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Fawcett, sophomore middle hitter Christa Harmottoand freshman outside hitter Megan Hodge were three of 12 players named to the all-region squad.

All are now eligible for AVCA All-America honors, announced in conjunctionn with the NCAA Championship in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 14 & 16.

In addition, Hodge was named the AVCA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year, joining current teammates Fawcett and senior Cassy Salyer as the only three Nittany Lions to earn the award. The three First Team All-Region selections bring Penn State's total number of honorees to 51 in the program's history.