STATE COLLEGE, Pa., June 5, 2001 - Penn State baseball players Mike DeRenzo (Murrysville, Pa.) and Chris Netwall (Allentown, Pa.) have been named to the 2001 Verizon Academic All-America University Division Baseball Team. Sophomore second baseman DeRenzo was named to the first team, while senior Netwall was honored with third-team status.

DeRenzo is the second Penn State student-athlete this year to be named First-Team Academic All-America, along with women's swimmer Katie Anderson (Somerset, N.J.) who was honored earlier this year. Penn State joins Notre Dame, St. Joseph's (Pa.), Nebraska, East Carolina and Gonzaga as the universities with the most student-athletes named to the baseball squad.

Penn State has had 50 Verizon Academic All-Americans over the last seven years, including seven thus far during the 2000-01 acedemic year. DeRenzo's and Netwall's selection to the Academic All-American squad mark the third and fourth Nittany Lion baseball players to be so honored since the 1997 season.

DeRenzo, a computer engineering major with a 3.68 grade point average, was recognized with third-team All-Big Ten status after a breakthrough sophomore campaign which saw him lead Penn State and rank fourth in the Big Ten with a .387 batting average. The sophomore was named as the team's most improved player and was also recognized with the squad's award for top academic performance. DeRenzo also has the highest on-base percentage on the Penn State squad at .461. Defensively, DeRenzo was nearly flawless in the field as he has committed only four errors this season in 217 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.

Netwall, who earned first team All-Big Ten status in 2001, is recognized as one of the top defensive catchers in the Big Ten after throwing out 29-of-59 (49%) attempted base stealers during the regular season. Offensively, Netwall recorded a .302 batting average along with six home runs and 29 RBI. He also ranks among Penn State's career leaders in home runs with 34 (2nd), hits (214/3rd) and RBI (137/3rd). Netwall was recognized as the Nittany Lions' most valuable player during the 2001 season and is a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, which is annually presented to the nation's top collegiate catcher. In addition, Netwall maintains a 3.27 GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering.

Voting for the Verizon Academic All-America Team is conducted by the 1,800 members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00.