UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 20, 2007 ¨C Penn State tri-captain Renee Cipro (Ellicott City, Md.) has been honored as the American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. The senior earned the award for leading a Nittany Lion defensive unit that shut down No. 8 Princeton¡¯s high-powered offense in an 8-7 come-from-behind win last Saturday afternoon.

Cipro has also gained national recognition for her standout efforts versus Princeton, as she has been named to the womenslacrosse.com National Player of the Week Honor Roll.

The two-time First Team All-ALC selection was instrumental in limiting the Tigers to half of their average of 14 goals per game and their top two scorers, who had combined for 23 goals through three games, to just two total. In the second half, Cipro and the Nittany Lion defense held Princeton scoreless for over 20 minutes, allowing the Penn State attack to mount a comeback that featured six straight goals.

Cipro is the first Penn State player to receive the honor this season and the first since Lori Havrilla garnered the honor in May of 2006.

In February, Cipro was recognized on the prestigious Tewaaraton Award Foundation¡¯s Women¡¯s Preseason Watch List for the second consecutive year. The Tewaaraton Trophy is known as the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States.

After completing their longest road stretch of the 2007 season, the Nittany Lions return home for games against Temple (1-3) and No. 18 Vanderbilt (4-3) this week. Tonight, the Owls will visit Holuba Hall for a 6:30 p.m. game. Penn State holds a 14-12-0 advantage in the all-time series with Temple, including last year¡¯s 9-6 victory in Philadelphia. Later this week, on Sun., March 25, the Lions will kick off American Lacrosse Conference play when they take on Vanderbilt. A year ago, Penn State edged the Commodores, 9-8, in Nashville in its season opener.