April 17, 2010
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Penn State senior Noam Shaham (Kfar Saba, Israel) recorded top 10 finishes in the still rings and high bar on Friday night during the team portion of the 2010 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships, held at host Army's Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. With his showings, he will advance to Saturday's individual finals in each event.
"Noam hit 10-for-10 on his routines over the last two days and he really couldn't have done much better on those routines," said Penn State head coach Randy Jepson. "He told me he would have a birthday present for me today and he delivered. I am so proud of him to finish out the way he did and move on to tomorrow. He has struggled with and fought through injuries; this is a credit to him. It is well-deserved."
Shaham finished sixth in the high bar with a score of 14.700 and tied for seventh in the still rings with a score of 14.900. He also placed 12th (tie) in the parallel bars (14.600), 18th (tie) in the floor exercise (15.000), and 26th (tie) in the vault (15.550). Shaham bested his scores from Thursday night's national qualifier in four of five events.
Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year Felix Aronovich (Kiryat Bialik, Israel) capped off a standout first collegiate season by placing 15th (tie) in the parallel bars (14.500), 20th in the pommel horse (14.150), and 26th in the still rings (14.500).
Seniors Nick Virbitsky (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Matt Greenfield (Villanova, Pa.) wrapped up their Nittany Lion careers on Friday night. Virbitsky competed in two events, finishing in 15th place in the floor exercise (15.150) and 26th place (tie) in the vault (15.550) while Greenfield performed in the high bar, placing in a tie for 15th (14.450).
Performing in their first ever national championships, freshmen Matt Chelberg (Athens, Ohio) and Nick Grant (Butler, Pa.) placed 22nd (tie) and 30th (tie) in the still rings and floor exercise, respectively.
Competition on the final day of the 2010 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Sat., April 17.
The team and all-around finals of the 2010 National Collegiate Championships will air on ESPN2 on Fri., April 23 at 1:30 p.m.
Floor Exercise
15. Nick Virbitsky: 15.150
18T. Noam Shaham: 15.000
30T. Nick Grant: 14.650
Pommel Horse
20. Felix Aronovich: 14.150
Still Rings
7T. Noam Shaham: 14.900
22T. Matt Chelberg: 14.550
26. Felix Aronovich: 14.500
Vault
26T. Noam Shaham: 15.550
26T. Nick Virbitsky: 15.550
Parallel Bars
12T. Noam Shaham: 14.600
15T. Felix Aronovich: 14.500
High Bar
6. Noam Shaham: 14.700
15T. Matt Greenfield: 14.450