April 15, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Penn State finished in sixth place at the team finals of the 2011 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships, which were held on Friday evening at Ohio State's St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Nittany Lions recorded a team score of 355.700.
"We were just not as sharp as we hoped to be today," said Penn State head coach Randy Jepson. "We had some very strong individual performances, but we had some holes as a team and that set us back. But this is a young team and they learned a lot. They saw the fight. They have been in the meet now and know what it takes. Hopefully, that will fuel them in the future."
Stanford captured the 2011 title, its second in the past three years, totaling 363.450. Oklahoma placed second (361.600) while Illinois finished in third (360.150). California (fourth, 358.700) and defending national champion Michigan (fifth, 356.200) rounded out the Super Six field.
Highlighting Penn State's finals showing was its performance in the still rings. The Nittany Lions posted the highest score in the field, a 61.700, outdistancing Stanford, the No. 1 team in the nation in the event heading into the postseason, by a full point. Penn State also tied for fourth in the high bar (58.200), fifth in the pommel horse (56.400), and sixth in the floor exercise (59.350), vault (62.150), and parallel bars (57.900).
Sophomore Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) followed up his standout performance at Thursday's national qualifier with another exceptional effort at tonight's team finals. He led Penn State in the floor exercise and the vault, earning the team's top scores in each event. Overall, Raque tied for eighth in the floor exercise (15.350) and rings (15.300) and shared ninth place in the vault (16.000).
"Parker was outstanding," said Jepson. "I expected that he could be this kind of gymnast but seeing it realized is a different story. He has done the work and put the heart into it and he reaped the benefits by making the finals."
Headlining Penn State in the still rings again was junior Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio). He placed third overall with a score of 15.650. Sophomore Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) was just off Pineda's pace, scoring a 15.500, to finish in a tie for fourth place.
Freshman Wasef Burbar (Arlington Heights, Ill.) continued to show why he deserves consideration as one of the nation's top high bar performers, tying for third place with a score of 15.100.
Sophomore Tony Beck (Catasauqua, Pa.), competing for just the fourth time in 2011 in the pommel horse, led the Nittany Lions in the event. He placed 10th with a season high score of 14.500.
With performers that placed in the top 10 in each event tonight qualifying for the individual event finals, Penn State will have five competitors vying for national title in five events on Saturday evening. Included in that group is Parker Raque (floor exercise, still rings, vault), Miguel Pineda (still rings), Scott Rosenthal (still rings), Wasef Burbar (high bar), and Tony Beck (pommel horse). Competition on the final day of the 2011 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Ohio State's St. John Arena.
The team and all-around finals of the 2011 National Collegiate Championships will air on ESPN2 on Thurs., April 21 at 1:30 p.m. ET.