STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 29, 2001 - The Penn State men's gymnastics team is one of 12 teams who have qualified for the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The defending national champions are the eighth seed and will compete in the first session of qualifying on April 5 at 1 p.m. The entire championships will take place Thursday-Saturday, April 5-7.

The Lions, who are looking for their 11th national title, qualified with a national qualifying average score of 210.467. Ohio State (Big Ten), Oklahoma (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) and Massachusetts (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference) all earned automatic bids to the championships based on a first-place finish at the respective conference championships. The Sooners are the No. 1-ranked team in the nation heading into the championships and will be participating in the same session as the Lions. All seven of the Big Ten teams have earned an invitation to the championships.

Penn State is coming off of a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships on March 23 at Rec Hall. Last year, the Nittany Lions placed sixth in the competition and went on to win an NCAA-record 10th national title.

Two sessions of six teams compete on April 5 and the top three teams from each qualifying session move on to the team championships on April 6. The all-around finals will also take place on April 6. On April 7, individuals who qualify will compete in the event finals.

Tickets for the event may be purchased through the Ohio State Ticket Office, calling 1-800-GO-BUCKS or by going online at www.hangonsloopy.com.

QUALIFYING SESSION 1
Thursday, April 5, 1 p.m.
1. Oklahoma (216.342)
4. Illinois (213.558)
5. California (213.048)
8. Penn State (210.467)
10. Massachusetts (207.083)
11. Temple (205.483)

QUALIFYING SESSION 2
Thursday, April 5, 7 p.m.
2. Ohio State (214.825)
3. Michigan (213.892)
6. Michigan State (213.117)
7. Iowa (210.842)
9. Minnesota (209.383)
11. Stanford (204.708)

--LIONS--