UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., June 10, 2003 - Penn State men's volleyball player Zeljko Koljesar (Kitchener, Ontario) was named a second team Verizon Academic All-America selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), marking Penn State's sixth Verizon Academic All-America honoree this year. The Nittany Lions now boast 104 total Academic All-America selections, including 65 awards in the last nine years.

To qualify for the Verizon Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in class, a starter or significant reserve on his team and have compiled a minimum 3.20 cumulative GPA. Koljesar was selected a first team Verizon Academic All-District II Men's At-Large team member on May 23, making him eligible for the national award.

Koljesar, who has a 3.65 GPA in computer science, finished his Penn State career ranked first in career service aces with 130 and fourth on the all-time career kills list with 1,457. A first team All-EIVA and academic All-EIVA selection this season, Koljesar posted double-digit kills in 12 matches and ended the year attacking at a .338 clip with an average of 2.77 kills per game.

The Men's At-Large category for Academic All-America honors contains the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. Two other men's volleyball players were named to the 45-member Verizon Academic All-America Men's At-Large teams. Hawaii's Costas Theocharidis and George Mason's Art Kulans both picked up first team honors.

For more information on the Verizon Academic All-America award winners, please visit the CoSIDA website at www.cosida.com .