Feb. 24, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State senior men's gymnast Casey Sandy (Brampton, Ont.) will vie for a spot on the Canadian National Team when he competes in the Elite Canada 2009 on Feb. 25-26. The two-day event will be held at the Guildford Recreation Centre in Surrey, British Columbia. Session I is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET on Wed., Feb. 25 with Session II planned for a 9 p.m. ET start on Thurs., Feb. 26.
Sandy will compete in Group I with four other gymnasts and will start on the pommel horse, one of his best events.
A past member of the Canadian National Team, Sandy placed third in the individual all-around at the Elite Canada 2004 and fourth in the all-around at the Elite Canada 2005. Competing for Canada, he was also a finalist in the all-around at the 2007 World Championships.
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 captured four or more titles in every dual meet this season, claiming a total of 22 for the season and won Big Ten Gymnast of the Week three times. 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.
Following the competition, Sandy will return to University Park and be available as the Nittany Lions host their first home meet in more than a month versus Big Ten preseason favorite Ohio State 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.