STATE COLLEGE, Pa., January 4, 2001 - The Penn State men's gymnastics team is ranked fourth in the GymInfo 2001 Preseason Coaches Poll. The defending national champions are slated to begin defending their title on January 13 when they compete at No. 11 Massachusetts.

The Big Ten features six teams in the national top 20 poll including the Nittany Lions. Big Ten champion Michigan is the top-ranked team in the nation, followed by Ohio State and Oklahoma. The Lions edged out the Wolverines in last year's NCAA Tournament meet by 0.125 to claim the national crown.

Following Penn State is No. 5 California, No. 6 Iowa, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Stanford and No. 10 Michigan State. The Lions will face four of 10 teams ranked in the top 10, and nine of the top 20. The team will compete against 13th-ranked Temple and No. 17 Army and will see No. 18 Navy and No. 20 Springfield at the West Point Open on January 19-20.

The Lions return 11 lettermen from last season's national championship team, including four all-Americans. Penn State will open the home slate on January 27 against Army.

 GymInfo 2001 Preseason Coaches Poll 1. Michigan 2. Ohio State 3. Oklahoma 4. PENN STATE 5. California 6. Iowa 7. Nebraska 8. Illinois 9. Stanford 10. Michigan State 11. Massachusetts 12. Minnesota 13. Temple 14. Illinois-Chicago 15. Air Force 16. William & Mary 17. Army 18. Navy 19. UC-Santa Barbara 20. Springfield Italics indicates 2001 opponent. --LIONS--