Feb. 17, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 3 Penn State men's gymnastics team will face its sternest road test of the 2011 season thus far when the Nittany Lions travel to Champaign, Ill. to battle two-time defending Big Ten champion No. 2 Illinois in a dual meet on Sat., Feb. 19. The meeting of the conference's two highest nationally ranked teams is scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start at the Illini's Huff Hall.
Last Saturday, Penn State posted a season high team score for the fifth consecutive week and remained undefeated for the year, topping Springfield College, 352.300-316.300, in Rec Hall. The sophomore class led the way for the Nittany Lions, as Felix Aronovich (Kiryat Bialik, Israel) won at least a share of three titles (pommel horse, parallel bars, high bar), Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) recorded top three finishes in all four of the events in which he competed, and Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) captured his fifth rings title of the season.
A relatively healthy roster and continued improvement by its numerous young competitors has helped Penn State establish itself as a squad with which to reckoned to this point of the 2011 campaign. The Nittany Lions, as a team, are ranked in the top five in the nation in all six events, including their No. 1 ranking in the still rings and No. 2 ranking in the pommel horse. Individually, PSU has a total of 13 gymnasts ranked in the top 20, including at least one in every event. Rosenthal holds the Lions' highest ranking, positioned at No. 2 in the still rings, while a No. 3-ranking is held by Aronovich (pommel horse) and junior Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio) (still rings).
Illinois is coming off its first defeat of the season, a 344.050-340.400 loss to No. 6 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Illini competed without All-American Paul Ruggeri, who was recently sidelined for the season with an ankle injury, for the first time and also rested several competitors on various events following Winter Cup appearances the week prior.
Despite the loss of Ruggeri, Illinois remains a Big Ten and national title contender based on the overall talent and depth of its roster. Senior Daniel Ribeiro is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the pommel horse and is the heavy favorite to win a second NCAA crown in the event. He is also solid in the floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars. Two-time All-American Chad Wiest, a Butler, Pa. native, is highly ranked in the floor exercise (No. 2), vault (No. 6), parallel bars (No. 6). In addition, junior Anthony Sacramento is among the nation's top still rings performers and junior Tyler Mizoguchi is in position to challenge for the all-around title in 2011.
Penn State holds a commanding 22-8 all-time record in regular season meets with Illinois. However, the Nittany Lions have dropped two straight to the Illini, including last season's 354.600-345.950 setback at home in Rec Hall. Penn State's last trip to Champaign, in 2009, was a struggle, as the Lions posted their lowest score of the season in a 345.500-339.800 defeat. Whenever Penn State and Illinois meet, it's a clash of the NCAA's two most storied programs, as they rank 1-2 all-time in both team national championships (PSU, 12-9) and individual championships (PSU, 51-50).
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Illinois dual on the Internet with live scoring updates from Rec Hall. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley next weekend for their final home meet of the 2011 season, hosting No. 7 Ohio State on Sat., Feb. 26 in Rec Hall at 1 p.m. For senior Matt Albrecht (Guelph, Ont.) it will be his final home appearance in a Nittany Lion uniform. He will be honored in a special Senior Day ceremony following the meet. The conference clash will be aired by the Big Ten Network on a tape delay basis, with the airing of the competition set for Sat., March 5 at 3 p.m. The meet will also feature the No. 18 Nittany Lion women's gymnastics squad taking on the 14th-ranked Buckeyes.