State College, Pa., May 16, 2001 - Four Penn State baseball players were named to the 2001 All-Big Ten Baseball Teams which were announced by Big Ten officials today. Senior catcher Chris Netwall (Allentown, Pa.) earned first team status, senior pitcher Dan McCall (Boalsburg, Pa.) and sophomore Zack Smithlin (Fair Lawn, N.J.) were named to the second team while sophomore second baseman Mike DeRenzo (Murrysville, Pa.) earned third team all-conference honors.

Netwall, who earned second team All-Big Ten status in 2000, is recognized as one of the top defensive catchers in the Big Ten after throwing out 27-of-54 (50%) attempted base stealers during the regular season. Offensively, Netwall recorded a .305 batting average along with six home runs and 28 RBI. He also currently ranks among Penn State's career leaders in home runs with 34 (2nd), hits (212/3rd) and RBI (136/3rd).

McCall was recognized with second team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season after compiling a 6-1 record and a 4.00 ERA during the regular season. The left hander was the Lions' No. 1 starter during the conference season and fanned a total of 68 hitters over 78.2 innings while issuing 46 walks. McCall was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the period ending April 1 and currently ranks seventh overall on the Penn State career wins list with 19. He also is among the school's career leaders in strikeouts (207/6th), innings pitched (243.1/6th) starts (42/4th) and appearances (52/7th).

Smithlin earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career after a regular season which saw him hit .349 overall with 28 RBI and 39 runs scored. He also managed to swipe 15 bases in 16 attempts and was one of only two Nittany Lions to appear in each of the team's 55 regular season games. Smithlin posted the longest hitting streak of the season by a Nittany Lion and the fourth-longest in the Big Ten at 16 games.

DeRenzo was honored with third team status following a breakthrough sophomore campaign that saw him lead the squad and rank third among Big Ten leaders with a .395 batting average. DeRenzo also has the highest on-base percentage on the Penn State squad at .470. Defensively, DeRenzo has been nearly flawless in the field as he has committed only four errors this season in 198 chances at second base. The sophomore did not commit his first error of the season until April 22 at Ohio State, a span of 43 games.

Other conference honors included Minnesota's Jack Hannahan being named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Illinois' Andy Dickinson being named the conference's pitcher of the year. Ohio State designated hitter Doug Deeds was recognized as the conference's freshman of the year while Buckeye head coach Bob Todd was honored as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Penn State continues play at the 2001 Big Ten Tournament this week in Columbus, Ohio. All of the Nittany Lions' tournament games will be broadcast live by State College's 1450 AM WMAJ and via the internet at www.GoPSUsports.com.