Jan. 17, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's gymnastics team will face its first road challenge of the 2012 season on Saturday when it travels to Ann Arbor for a Big Ten showdown with No. 6 Michigan. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at UM's Cliff Keen Arena.
After posting the nation's highest score (349.800) in a season opening win over Army, Penn State has taken over as the nation's No. 1-ranked team. Highlighting the victory was the record-breaking still rings performance of junior Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.). The 2011 All-American shattered the Penn State program record and tied the NCAA mark, scoring a 16.300. For capturing his 10th still rings title in the last 11 regular season meets, Rosenthal was recognized as Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the second time in his career.
Despite competing without junior Felix Aronovich (Kiryat Bialik, Israel), who was still en route from London after qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, and All-American Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio), Penn State downed Army in convincing fashion, claiming all six events, both as a team and individually. In addition to Rosenthal, juniors Mackenzie Dow (Cranford, N.J.) (vault, parallel bars), Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) (floor exercise) and Tony Beck (Catasauqua, Pa.) (pommel horse) and sophomore Wasef Burbar (Arlington Heights, Ill.) (high bar) won events.
Michigan opened the 2012 campaign last weekend by placing third at the Windy City Open with a score of 338.700. The Wolverines won three events as a team (floor exercise, still rings, parallel bars) and two individually. Sophomore Sam Mikulak, the 2011 NCAA all-around champion and Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, won the floor exercise (15.600) and finished second in the parallel bars (14.900) and third in the still rings (14.800) en route to a second place showing in the all-around (85.000). Senior Syque Caesar captured Michigan's other title, winning the parallel bars with a score of 15.500. Freshman Adrian de los Angeles, the 2011 USA Championships all-around title winner and a 2012 Big Ten Gymnast to Watch, took sixth in the all-around in his first collegiate meet.
Penn State owns an 18-16 all-time regular season dual meet record versus Michigan but the Nittany Lions have not won in Ann Arbor since 2006. A year ago, Penn State knocked off then-defending national champion Michigan, 350.400-346.900, in Rec Hall, getting team wins in four events and individual titles in three.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Michigan dual on the Internet with live scoring updates. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State will be back in action next weekend when it competes at the 21st annual West Point Open on January 20-21. Hosted by the United States Military Academy on its southern New York campus, the Nittany Lions have dominated the annual competition, winning 13 consecutive team titles. In 2011, Penn State posted a score of 347.000 to top the West Point Open field and three Nittany Lions captured individual event titles.
The team competition is scheduled for Friday with the individual event finals to be held on Saturday. Both competitions are set for 7 p.m. at the home of the Army Black Knights, Christl Arena.