April 14, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio - On the strength of a record-breaking team performance in the still rings and standout individual efforts by sophomore Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) and junior Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio), Penn State tied with Illinois for second place in a qualifying session of the 2011 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships on Thursday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. With the top three teams advancing from the session, the Nittany Lions will vie for the program's NCAA-record 13th national championship on Friday evening.
Oklahoma placed first in the session, totaling a 363.500, followed by Penn State and three-time defending Big Ten champion Illinois in second. The Nittany Lions and the Illini posted identical team scores of 356.000. Minnesota finished in fourth (346.850) with Illinois-Chicago (340.000) and Air Force (339.700), taking fifth and sixth, respectively.
Penn State got off to slow start with subpar team scores in the floor exercise (59.150) and the pommel horse (55.250), but the tide took a dramatic turn when the Nittany Lions rotated to their top event, the still rings. Ranked No. 2 in the nation in the event heading into the championships, Penn State was sensational at a critical time, shattering the program record by scoring a 62.300. The Lions dominated the event with Penn State gymnasts taking four of the top six spots.
"We are really solid on rings and I knew we would do a good job, but I didn't know how solid we would be," said Penn State head coach Randy Jepson. "That was the best we have been all year. Our rings score competed with some vault scores, which is outstanding."
Pineda led PSU, earning a career high score of 15.900 to place first overall in the rings, topping his previous best by .3 of a point. Sophomore Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) was just off Pineda's pace, scoring a 15.850, to finish in second.
Raque couldn't have chosen a better time to have the best meet of his young career, coming through in the clutch for Penn State when it needed a boost. The sophomore either tied or set career highs in all three of the events in which he competed, tying for fourth in the vault (16.050) and placed fifth in the floor exercise (15.200) and still rings (15.350). Raque's scores in the vault and floor exercise were tops on the team.
"Parker was great," said Jepson. "He was in the zone. He has been struggling a little bit in the vault, but he came through with a big vault when we needed it after we had a couple of misses. Miguel was great too. He was on fire. I am very comfortable with his stuff and he showed it today."
Pineda was also key to Penn State setting a season high in the parallel bars (58.650). He equaled his career best with a score of 14.700, tying teammate Wasef Burbar (Arlington Heights, Ill.) for 12th place.
The Nittany Lions also took two of the top three places in the high bar, led by Burbar, who finished in first with a score of 14.800. Redshirt junior Warren Yang (Nepean, Ont.) placed third (14.600).
The 2011 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships will continue on Friday, April 15 at Ohio State's St. John Arena at 7 p.m. with the team and all-around finals. Performers that place in the top 10 in each event during the team finals competition advance to the individual event finals, set for Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m.