STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 21, 2001 - Penn State men's gymnast senior Ted Johnson (Portland, Ore./Beaverton) was named the Big Ten's Athlete of the Week for the final week of regular season action. It is the first time in his career he has received the honor.

Johnson receives the honor after an outstanding performance on Sunday against Michigan State. Competing in the final regular-season meet of his career, he took top honors on the parallel bars and vault, posting season-high scores of 8.700 and 9.200 respectively, to help the Nittany Lions to their first Big Ten win of the season. Johnson also recorded a win on the floor exercise with 9.050. This is the first time in his career that Johnson has taken top honors in three events in one meet.

The Nittany Lions will begin postseason play this weekend when they host the Big Ten Championships on Friday and Saturday night, March 23 and 24, at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.

--LIONS--