Jan. 17, 2009
Individual Event Finals Results
WEST POINT, N.Y. - After earning second place finishes in the pommel horse at the West Point Open in 2006 and 2007, senior Casey Sandy (Brampton, Ont.) secured the title that has eluded him in his final attempt, winning the pommel horse crown with a season-high score of 15.000 in the individual event finals of the 2009 West Point Open on Saturday evening.
For Sandy, the pommel horse title is his second at the West Point Open after winning the high bar in 2007.
The defending NCAA All-Around Champion and Big Ten Gymnast of the Year also placed second in the high bar (14.050) and fourth in the parallel bars (14.100).
After winning the still rings and the all-around in the team finals on Friday night, freshman Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio) finished in second in the rings (14.450) and seventh in the pommel horse (12.900).
Junior Noam Shaham (Kfar Saba, Israel) finished tops among gymnasts competing in three events, placing third in the floor exercise (14.450), fourth in the high bar (14.050), and fifth in the still rings (14.200).
Juniors Allen Harris (Lancaster, Pa.) (floor exercise, vault, parallel bars) and Matt Greenfield (Villanova, Pa.) (vault, high bar) and freshman Matt Albrecht (Guelph, Ont.) (floor exercise, vault, parallel bars) also competed in the individual event finals.
The Nittany Lions return home next weekend to begin defense of their 2008 Big Ten Championship when they host rival No. 6 Michigan on Sat., Jan. 24 at Rec Hall. Penn State has dropped two straight and three of its last five regular season duals with the Wolverines, including their last meeting at Rec Hall, a narrow 216.750-215.800 loss in 2007. The meet, which will also feature the No. 11 Penn State women's gymnastics squad facing Michigan State, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.