STATE COLLEGE, Pa., February 26, 2003 - Penn State junior All-American Kevin Tan (Fremont, Calif.) was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week which was announced today by the conference office. He is the third different Nittany Lion to garner the award this year.

Tan won three of his four events to lead top-ranked Penn State over No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday, 220.000-216.875, as PSU recorded its highest team score in three years. Tan claimed titles on pommel horse (9.300), parallel bars (9.450) and rings (9.675), setting career-highs on horse and bars while remaining undefeated this season on rings. He is the defending Big Ten champion and two-time All-American on rings and currently ranks second in the nation on the apparatus. A 2002 all-conference selection, he is also an All-American on parallel bars where is ranked third in the country. The NCAA runner-up on rings last year, Tan's earns Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors for the second time in his career. He was also selected on March 20, 2000.

Teammates Kevin Donohue (Saddle River, N.J.) and Jose Palacios (Gijon, Spain) have also been recognized by the conference this season, earning the weekly honor on Jan. 22 and Jan. 29, respectively.

Ranked No. 1 for the sixth-straight week, Penn State travels to Illinois for a tri-meet on Saturday, Mar. 1. The Hawkeyes of Iowa will also be competing.

--LIONS--