Jan. 18, 2011
| Webcast
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 5 Penn State men's gymnastics will open Big Ten action for the 2011 season on Sat., Jan. 22 when it hosts defending national champion and No. 6-ranked Michigan in a 7 p.m. dual meet at Rec Hall. The competition will also feature the Nittany Lion women's gymnastics squad taking on New Hampshire.
Penn State, which was selected to place fourth in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll, is coming off a first place finish at the 2011 West Point Open. The Nittany Lions won five events as a team and all six events individually in capturing their 13th consecutive title at the annual competition hosted by Army. Highlighting its team finals showing was PSU's score of 60.400 on the still rings, the program's highest since posting a 62.000 at the National Collegiate Championships in 2008. That effort helped the Nittany Lions secure the No. 1 national ranking in the still rings.
The maximum of 18 Penn State competitors advanced to the individual events finals on day two of the West Point Open where three different Lions, senior Matt Albrecht (Guelph, Ont.) (high bar) and sophomores Mackenzie Dow (Cranford, N.J.) (parallel bars) and Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) (still rings) won titles.
Michigan, voted as the favorite to claim the Big Ten championship in the preseason coaches' poll, began the 2011 season last weekend in Chicago by placing second in the prestigious Windy Cindy Invitational with a score of 346.100. Seniors Chris Cameron and Thomas Kelley led the Wolverines with two top-five finishes each.
The 2010 NCAA champions, Michigan is primed to once again be a top challenger for the national title in 2011. The Wolverines' roster features 2010 NCAA all-around champion Chris Cameron, 2009 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and four-time All-American Thomas Kelley, 2010 NCAA high bar runner-up Ian Makowske, and 2011 Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch Syque Caesar and Devan Cote.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Michigan dual on the Internet with live scoring updates or with a live video webcast from Rec Hall. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions venture away from home for the second time this season next weekend, traveling in state to Philadelphia for a tri-meet with host No. 11 Temple and No. 14 Army on Sun., Jan. 30. Competition is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the home of the Owls, McGonigle Hall. Penn State defeated Army, 343.300-319.100, on Jan. 8 to open the 2011 season and bested both the Black Knights and the Owls at last weekend's West Point Open. The Nittany Lions have more wins against Temple than other team in program history (74) and have not lost to Army since 1962.