STATE COLLEGE, Pa., June 7, 2001 -- Penn State's Allison Medellin (San Pablo, Calif.) and Karen Gulini (Easton, Pa.) have been selected to the 2001 Verizon Academic All-America Softball team. Medellin becomes the third Nittany Lion student-athlete to be named first team this year while Gulini was selected to the second team.

Their selections give Penn State nine Verizon Academic All-Americans thus far during the 2000-01 academic year, tying the record set in 1998-99. Penn State has had 53 Verizon Academic All-Americans over the last eight years, including 26 the past three years.

A four-year starter at second base, Medellin played through the 2001 Big Ten slate without committing an error (20 games) en route to second team All-Big Ten honors. A mechanical engineering major with a 3.64 grade point average, she is a two-time All-Academic Big Ten team member and was voted to the Verizon Academic All-District 2 team twice. She was second on the team in hits this season with 62 and third on the team in batting, with a .332 average. She also was the only Nittany Lion to start every game this season. Two seasons ago, Medellin was the toughest batter to strikeout in the nation.

Gulini earns Verizon Academic All-America honors for the second-straight year. A secondary education major with a 3.64 gpa, Gulini was a second team Academic All-America selection in 2000 when she batted .400, the second highest batting mark in school history. A three-time All-Academic Big Ten Conference pick, she was named third team All-Big Ten this season. She ended the season second on the team in batting (.333), while leading the team in hits (65), runs scored (38) and stolen bases (27). Gulini leaves Penn State second in career stolen bases with 97.

Medellin joins women's swimmer Katie Anderson and Mike DeRenzo of the baseball team as first team Verizon Academic All-Americans this year.

Voting for the Verizon Academic All-America Team is conducted by the 1,800 members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00.