Feb. 15, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - One of the marquee match-ups on the Big Ten men's gymnastics 2012 regular season schedule will take place on Saturday evening when No. 2 Penn State hosts three-time defending conference champion No. 3 Illinois in a 7 p.m. dual meet at historic Rec Hall. The No. 10 Nittany Lion women's team will also be in action, facing Brockport.
The showdown of the traditional NCAA powerhouse programs will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network on a tape delay basis, with the airing of the competition set for Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.
Last Saturday, Penn State posted its highest dual meet score of the season despite resting several key competitors, securing a convincing road victory over Springfield College, 350.500-323.500. Junior Felix Aronovich (Kiryat Bialik, Israel) recorded four top three finishes overall, helping the Nittany Lions set team season highs in the parallel bars (57.900) and high bar (58.300) by capturing titles in the events. Junior Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) won the still rings with a score of 16.300, tying the Penn State program record that he set in week one of the 2012 season and again equaling the NCAA benchmark. Junior Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) (floor exercise), sophomore Preston Gall (Columbus, Ohio) (pommel horse), and freshman Tristan Duverglas (West Orange, N.J.) (vault) also claimed event titles.
For their standout performances, Aronovich was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the third time in his career and Duverglas earned his first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.
Thus far this season, solid and consistent contributions by veteran performers coupled with continued improvement by the team's younger competitors has established Penn State as a potential title contender. The Nittany Lions, as a team, are ranked in the top five in the nation in all six events, including their No. 1 rankings in the still rings and parallel bars and No. 2 rankings in the floor exercise and pommel horse. Penn State top team score, a 352.000, attained as victors of the 2012 West Point Open, is the third highest in the country this season, behind Oklahoma's 353.150 and Illinois' 352.300.
Individually, PSU has a total of 12 gymnasts ranked in the top 20, including at least three in every event. Rosenthal holds the Lions' highest ranking, positioned at No. 1 in the still rings, while a No. 2-ranking is held by junior Tony Beck (Catasauqua, Pa.) (pommel horse). Raque (floor exercise) and senior Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio) (still rings) are ranked third nationally.
Expected to be a contender for the national title in 2012, Illinois remains on course to challenge for the program's 10th. Last weekend, despite registering a season-low team score of 339.000, the Illini defeated Illinois-Chicago by 10 points. Illinois also has notched wins over No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 7 Michigan, and No. 10 Iowa and placed second at the highly-competitive Windy City Open.
Illini senior Paul Ruggeri, who missed much of last season with an injury, is back in form as one of the nation's top gymnasts. He is ranked No. 1 in the high bar, No. 2 in the vault, and No. 5 in the all-around. Illinois also features one of the nation's top freshmen in C.J. Maestas. He is ranked in the top 10 in four events. The Illini are also getting key contributions from seniors Tyler Mizoguchi, the 2011 NCAA parallel bars champion, and C.J. Padera, the 2010 Big Ten parallel bars title-winner, juniors Yoshi Mori and Austin Phillips, and sophomore Jordan Valdez.
Penn State holds a commanding 23-8 all-time record in regular season meets with Illinois. In 2011, the Nittany Lions halted a two-meet losing streak, claiming an upset win over the Illini in Champaign (352.100-351.000). Whenever Penn State and Illinois face off, it's a clash of the NCAA's two most storied programs, as they rank 1-2 all-time in team national championships (PSU, 12-9) and have an equal number of individual championships (51).
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Illinois 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 return to the road next weekend, visiting Columbus, Ohio for a dual meet with conference rival No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 25. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the home of the Buckeyes, St. John Arena. A year ago, the Nittany Lions downed OSU in Happy Valley, 353.500-342.500.