STATE COLLEGE, Pa., November 6, 2001 - The No. 14 Nittany Lions will not be making an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time in 20 years. The streak, which is the second-longest in NCAA Division I, ended when the NCAA field hockey committee made its at-large selections and bracket announcements Tuesday night.

Penn State ended the 2001 season with a 12-7 overall record. Of the seven losses, six were by one goal and four were to teams ranked higher than the Lions at the time of the meeting. The young squad began the season 4-6, but went on an eight-game win streak before dropping its first-round Big Ten Tournament game to Iowa, 3-2, in overtime.

Prior to this season, the Nittany Lions participated in all but one year of the NCAA Tournament since its inception in 1980. That season, Penn State won its second AIAW National Championship. During those 19 years, the Lions made eight NCAA semifinal appearances and are 13-24 all-time in the tournament.