Feb. 23, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 2 Penn State men's gymnastics team will take on its second consecutive Big Ten opponent and third overall this season when it travels to Columbus, Ohio to clash with No. 7 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at historic St. John Arena. The meet, which will also feature the No. 10 Nittany Lion women's gymnastics squad facing its 11th-ranked Buckeye counterpart, is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Last weekend, Penn State upheld its No. 2 national ranking, edging No. 3 Illinois, 347.800-346.500, at Rec Hall in a marquee match-up of Big Ten powers. The Nittany Lions outscored the Illini in four events as a team, winning the floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, and vault, while junior Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) (still rings) and freshman Craig Hernandez (Libertyville, Ill.) (pommel horse) captured individual titles. Junior Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) also contributed strong performances, earning three top three finishes.
The conference dual meet, which was broadcast by the Big Ten Network on a tape delay basis, will air on Saturday at 3 p.m.
After five weeks of competition, Penn State continues to have a strong presence in the national rankings. As a team, the Nittany Lions are positioned in the top four in the NCAA in all six events, including No. 1 rankings in the pommel horse and still rings and a No. 2 ranking in the floor exercise. Penn State top team score, a 352.000, attained as title-winners of the 2012 West Point Open, remains the third highest in the country this season, behind Oklahoma's 353.150 and Illinois' 352.300.
Individually, PSU has a total of 13 gymnasts ranked in the top 20, including at least three in every event. Rosenthal holds the Lions' highest ranking, situated at No. 1 in the still rings, while a No. 2-ranking is held by Hernandez (pommel horse). Raque (floor exercise), senior Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio) (still rings), and Tony Beck (Catasauqua, Pa.) (pommel horse) are ranked third nationally.
Ohio State, which was selected to place fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll, owns a 342.150 three score average and boasts a season-high score of 347.750, attained in a home loss to No. 1 Oklahoma on January 21. The Buckeyes are coming off a second place finish (334.200) in a home tri-meet with No. 8 Michigan (345.700) and club program SUNY Brockport (275.700).
Ohio State is positioned in the top 10 in five of the six events, including fourth place in the floor exercise, sixth in vault, seventh in high bar and pommel horse, and ninth in the still rings. Individually, five Buckeyes are nationally ranked in the top 20. Positioned at No. 4 in the pommel horse, senior co-captain and two-time All-American Ty Echard is OSU's highest ranked competitor. Other ranked Buckeye performers are freshman Danny Steiner (No. 7, floor exercise), freshman Larry Mayer (No. 8, vault), sophomore Misha Koudinov (No. 10, floor exercise), and junior co-captain Blaize Monks (No. 12, high bar).
Penn State possesses a narrow 27-24 advantage in its all-time series with conference rival Ohio State. However, the Nittany Lions have won five straight dual meets versus the Buckeyes, including last season's 353.500-342.500 victory in Rec Hall. In Penn State's last visit to Columbus, in 2010, Penn State downed OSU, 353.600-347.100.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Ohio State dual on the Internet with live scoring updates. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
After a week off, the Nittany Lions will return to action on Friday, March 9 when, for the second consecutive year, it competes not only outside the NCAA but also the U.S. border, visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico for a dual meet with the Puerto Rico National Team. In 2011, in its first international competition since 2005, Penn State won three events as a team and three Nittany Lions captured at least a share of an individual event title in a 342.500-340.550 victory.