Feb. 28, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Led by the Canadian duo of senior Casey Sandy (Brampton, Ont.) and sophomore Warren Yang (Nepean, Ont.), the No. 8-ranked Penn State men's gymnastics won its third consecutive regular season dual meet versus Ohio State, downing the Buckeyes in a tightly-contested Big Ten battle, 347.600-346.500, on Saturday afternoon in Rec Hall.
Less than 48 hours after winning the all-around at the Elite Canada 2009 and qualifying for the Canadian National Team and following a cross-continent red-eye flight from British Columbia to University Park, Casey Sandy was stellar in limited action. Competing in just three events, he won all three, placing first in the pommel horse (14.800), parallel bars (15.050), and high bar (14.500). The seven-time All-American was particularly dominant in the pommel horse, scoring .7 of a point higher than the second place finisher. Sandy's parallel bars score was also a season high and team best. For the season, the reigning Big Ten Gymnast of the Year has posted 29 top three finishes, a remarkable 25 of which have been title wins.
Warren Yang lent support to Sandy's efforts by contributing the best performances of his young career. Competing in four events, he established season highs in all four. The sophomore also claimed his first title, winning the floor exercise with a team season best score of 15.400. Yang also placed third in the high bar (14.050), fifth in the vault (15.550), and seventh (tie) in the parallel bars (14.000). For his efforts, Yang was presented with the Gene Wettstone Award, an honor bestowed upon the most outstanding gymnast at each home meet.
As a team, Penn State overcame a season-low score on the vault (61.800) by posting the Lions' top score of 2009 in the parallel bars (58.100). Overall, PSU took four of six events. Ohio State scored above its season average in the floor exercise (58.900), pommel horse (54.600), and vault (62.600) but faltered late, struggling in rotations five and six on the high bar and parallel bars.
Freshman Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio) also played a major role in the victory. He tied for second in the rings with score of 14.950, placed fourth in the pommel horse (13.550), and earned personal season best marks in the vault (15.250) and the parallel bars (14.250).
Other standout performances were turned in by junior Allen Harris (Lancaster, Pa.), a third-place finisher in the vault (15.700), and senior Shaun Antonio (Rio Rancho, N.M., who took second in the parallel bars (14.750).
The Nittany Lions will be in action twice next weekend with a rare road dual meet doubleheader on the schedule. On, Fri., March 6, Penn State will face No. 10 Temple at 7 p.m. at the Owls' McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia. From there, the Lions will travel south to Williamsburg, Va. for a 2 p.m. match-up with No. 14 William & Mary on Sun., March 8. Penn State has more wins against Temple than any other opponent in program history (72) and owns a perfect 14-0 record in its all-time series with William & Mary.