March 19, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the second consecutive week, the No. 8 Penn State men's gymnastics team will measure itself against one of the nation's powerhouse programs when it visits defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma for a regular season-ending dual meet on Sat., March 21. The match-up between the winners of the last eight national titles is set for an 8 p.m. ET start at Howard McCasland Fieldhouse in Norman, Okla.
Last weekend, Penn State recorded its highest team score of the 2009 season but it was not enough to overtake No. 3 Cal and the Nittany Lions fell, 355.150-353.800, on Senior Night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions used a season-best score of 60.300 to win the floor exercise and posted a solid total of 57.350 to take the parallel bars. The Lions also set a season best mark in the pommel horse, scoring a 56.500, but were edged by Cal in the event (56.950). Penn State's team total of 353.800 was nearly five points higher than its previous season high set versus Michigan on Jan. 24.
Competing head-to-head against two of the nation's top all-arounders in Cal's Glen Ishino and Kyson Bunthuwong, Casey Sandy (Brampton, Ont.) shined in his final performance at Rec Hall on Senior Night, winning the all-around with a season high score of 90.300. The 2008 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year dominated the pommel horse, placing first in the event with a career-high score of 15.650, a mark .6 of a point higher than the second place finisher. Sandy also placed second in the vault (15.800), third in the parallel bars (tie, 14.500), fourth in the floor exercise (15.100) and rings (14.750), and seventh in the high bar (tie, 14.500). In recognition of his standout performance, Sandy was honored as Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the fifth time this season and earned CGA National Gymnast of the Week accolades for the third time in 2009.
Junior Allen Harris (Lancaster, Pa.) and sophomore Warren Yang (Nepean, Ont.) also made key contributions, with Harris winning his third consecutive floor exercise title (15.200) and Yang placing second in the floor exercise (15.200) and the high bar (14.750).
Oklahoma, boasting an undefeated record for the season, appears primed to capture its second consecutive national title and sixth of the decade. The Sooners possess the nation's top three score average, a 357.867, and are ranked in the top four in five of six events, including owning the No. 1 position in the vault (64.233) and parallel bars (59.083). Oklahoma is led by senior Chris Brooks and sophomore Steven Legendre, the NCAA's No. 2 and No. 3 ranked all-arounders, respectively. Brooks' top events are the high bar (tie No. 1, 15.083), vault (No. 2, 16.233), and floor exercise (tie No. 5, 15.350). Legendre, who won floor exercise and vault national titles as a freshman, is also ranked No. 1 in the vault (16.333) and No. 2 in the floor exercise (15.667) and parallel bars (15.100).
Penn State holds a 2-11 record in all-time regular season meetings with Oklahoma. A year ago, Oklahoma escaped Happy Valley with a narrow 357.850-356.650 win. Casey Sandy led Penn State with wins in the pommel horse, vault, high bar, and all-around. The Nittany Lions last defeated the Sooners in 2000, a narrow 230.350-230.10 victory, as a prelude to head coach Randy Jepson's first national title.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Oklahoma dual on the Internet with live scoring updates or with a live video webcast from the Sooners' McCasland Fieldhouse. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions will return to action in two weeks when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to defend their 2008 conference title at the Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships. The annual competition will take place from April 3-4 at Crisler Arena on the host campus of the University of Michigan. On Friday, the team and all-around champions will be crowned while Saturday's action will feature the individual event finals. Both nights of competition are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m and will be broadcast live by the Big Ten Network.