STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - June 16, 2005 - Two Penn State standouts, women's soccer All-American Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.) and men's gymnastics all-arounder Jerker Taudien (Eskilstuna, Sweden), were announced Thursday as Penn State's recipients of the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The pair of Lions garnered the award after both displayed consistent proficiency in scholarship and athletics. Earlier this spring, both were also presented with Penn State's Earnest B. McCoy Award, which is presented annually to one senior male and one senior female student-athlete who have combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence.

A member of the U.S. Under-21 roster, Lohman and was a runner-up for the 2003 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, awarded to the national collegiate soccer player of the year. Lohman, a midfielder, is the No. 6 scorer in program history and tallied 19 goals and six assists her senior year, when she was named Big Ten Player of the Year and came in second for national player of the year. Highly decorated both on the field and off, Lohman was the NSCAA's Scholar-Athlete of the Year the last two years she played and is one of only two student-athletes nationally to be selected a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American three times. Lohman also was a four-time first team All-Big Ten selection and a three-time NSCAA first team All-American.

A four-year letterwinner, Taudien was a member of Penn State's 2004 national championship squad. He has competed at the World Championships for his native country. Taudien was named the Swedish national champion on the pommel horse and parallel bars in 2000. He is a two-time College Gymnastics Association Academic All-American, and competed primarily on pommel horse for the Nittany Lions in 2005.