STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 30, 2002- Penn State junior defenseman Matt Zappia (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) was picked ECAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week which was announced today by the league. This is the fifth time this season a Nittany Lion has garnered a weekly honor with Zappia becoming the second Lion to earn Defensive Player of the Week.

Zappia receives the honor after helping the Lions to two victories in the final week of the regular season. He was a major factor in the 13-8 upset win over No. 3 Virginia as the Penn State defense held the Cavaliers to their second-lowest goal-scoring game of the season. Zappia collected six groundballs against UVA and three in the 9-7 victory over Bucknell earlier in the week.

With the win over Virginia, the Nittany Lions ended the regular season with an 8-5 overall record. Penn State also finished fifth in the ECAC with a 1-4 record.