Feb. 22, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State senior men's gymnast Casey Sandy (Brampton, Ont.) continues to garner attention and accolades for his brilliant career and stellar 2009 season, earning his latest praise from one of the foremost and popular publications in the world, Sports Illustrated. The seven-time All-American will be featured is SI's Faces in the Crowd, a section that highlights standout performances by amateur athletes, in the Feb. 23 edition.
Sandy is the second Nittany Lion in the last three years to be recognized in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd, after Matt Cohen made an appearance in 2007 in his senior season during his run to the Nissen-Emery Award. Sandy is considered to be a leading candidate for that prestigious honor in 2009.
The reigning Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Sandy gained acclaim from Sports Illustrated for capturing a single meet career five individual events titles and the all-around versus Minnesota on Jan. 31. For his efforts, he was honored as the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for a conference record eighth time in his career. Sandy has since added a ninth league award, extending his record.
After fashioning one of the greatest seasons in the storied history of Penn State men's gymnastics in 2008, Sandy is on the verge of equaling or surpassing it in 2009. He has won four or more titles in every dual meet this season, claiming a total of 22 for the season. Sandy is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in the all-around, pommel horse, and high bar, No. 3 in the floor exercise and vault, and No. 4 in the parallel bars.
Sandy and the Nittany Lions will host their first home meet in more than a month when Big Ten preseason favorite Ohio State visits Rec Hall for a key conference dual meet on Sat., Feb. 28. First rotation is set to begin at 2 p.m. In 2008, Penn State used a season-high score of 360.550 to defeat the Buckeyes at St. John Arena in Columbus.