State College, Pa. - January 11, 2006 - Three Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse players have been named to the 2006 Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Pre-Season All-America team. Senior Greg Gurenlian (Springfield, Pa.), senior Nate Whitaker (Great Falls, Va.) and junior Pat Heim (Wayne, Pa.) were all listed by the publication.

Gurenlian was named a third-team pre-season All-American as one the face-off specialist. A captain on this year's team, Gurenlian had a .636 face-off percentage last year, winning 194 of 305 attempts. He notched 12 points on five goals and seven assists as well. He also led Penn State with 111 ground balls.

Whitaker was named to the Honorable Mention squad on attack. The senior captain was Penn State's leading scorer in 2005 with 44 points off 31 goals and 13 assists. Whitaker collected 17 ground balls as well.

Heim, a junior, was also on the Honorable Mention squad as midfielder. Heim scored 33 points during his sophomore campaign, scoring 22 goals and dishing off 11 assists. He also nabbed 24 ground balls.

Penn State, under the guidance of head coach Glenn Thiel, opens up the 2006 season with three exhibition games. Penn State hosts Robert Morris and Johns Hopkins on Saturday, Feb. 4, and Lehigh on Saturday, Feb. 11. Both events begin at 1 p.m. in Holuba Hall.