State College, Pa., June 28, 2000 - Penn State volleyball All-American Lauren Cacciamani (Paramus, N.J.) has been selected the Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year for 1999-2000, Big Ten Conference officials announced today.

The award is given annually to the most outstanding female athlete in the Big Ten. The honor is voted on by a Big Ten regional media panel which is selected by the conference's sports information directors.

Cacciamani, a co-captain on Penn State's women's volleyball squad, was instrumental in the Nittany Lions claiming their first-ever NCAA National Championship last season. The 6-2 senior led Penn State with an average of 4.73 kills per game and topped the Big Ten with a .396 hitting percentage and 1.58 blocks per game. She also led the Nittany Lions to NCAA Final Four appearances in 1997 and 1998.

For her career, Cacciamani hit .391 with 1,750 kills - third-best total in Penn State history. She closed out her career as the all-time top shot blocker in school annals with a total of 767.

Cacciamani's selection as the conference's female athlete of the year adds to a long list of accolades following her tremendous senior campaign which has previously seen her honored as the NCAA Championship's Most Outstanding Player for the second-consecutive season, Co-National Player of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and Big Ten Player of the Year.

A two-time GTE Academic All-American and four-time All-Big Ten honoree, Cacciamani also was chosen as the winner of the prestigious 1999 Honda Sports Award for women's volleyball which honors the sport's most outstanding player. She is a three-time All-American.

In her four years at Penn State, the Nittany Lions recorded a 136-7 overall record (.951) and a 77-3 (.963) Big Ten mark, including back-to-back undefeated conference seasons (20-0) in 1998 and 1999.

Cacciamani is the second Penn State student-athlete and first-ever volleyball player to win the conference honor. Former Penn State fencer Olga Kalinovskaya won the award in 1996.

An Art Education major, Cacciamani graduated in May with a 3.57 grade point average. She also was very active off the court as the leader of the Penn State chapter of Athletes in Action, the athletic ministry for Campus Crusade for Christ. She also volunteered her time at the Kutztown (Pa.) Fellowship of Christian Athletes Camp.

The Big Ten also announced that former Wisconsin football standout and Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne was selected as the winner of the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year. Penn State Male Athlete of the Year Courtney Brown (Alvin, S.C.) was a nominee for the award. A first-team All-America selection, Brown was the No. 1 overall selection in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Brown ended his Nittany Lion career as the school's all-time leader in tackles-for-loss (70) and in sacks (33).