Feb. 8, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 3-ranked Penn State men's gymnastics team will add another leg to its early-season road stretch this weekend when it visits Springfield College for a 1 p.m. dual meet on Sunday, Feb. 12. The competition will be held at the home of the Pride, Blake Arena, in Springfield, Mass.
When last in action as a full squad, on January 27, the Nittany Lions captured the program's 14th-consecutive West Point Open title with the highest score in the nation for that week, a 352.000, and then swept the individual finals, winning all six events. Junior Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) secured the all-around with a career-high score of 85.500, senior Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio) won two titles (still rings, parallel bars), and freshman Craig Hernandez (Libertyville, Ill.) recorded the highest pommel horse score in the nation this season (15.650).
Last week, Raque, Pineda, and sophomore Wasef Burbar (Arlington Heights, Ill.) competed at the Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, with Raque and Pineda advancing to the finals.
Heading into its sixth week of competition, Penn State is ranked nationally in the top four in all four events, highlighted by its No. 1 ranking in the still rings. Individually, the Nittany Lions have a total of nine competitors positioned in the top 20 of the six events, headlined by Scott Rosenthal's No. 1 ranking in the still rings and No. 3 rankings for Pineda (still rings) and Hernandez (pommel horse).
Springfield, which possesses a 315.100 season average, is coming off a fifth-place showing at the West Point Open two weeks ago (322.200). The Pride advanced four competitors to the event finals, with senior Ty Evans earning the team's top finish, a third-place effort in the vault (14.950). Springfield opened the season on January 21 by placing third at the Navy Open. The Pride has no individuals ranked nationally in the top 20 but is positioned as a team in the top 15 in the floor exercise.
In 2011, Penn State faced Springfield College in dual meet competition for the first time since 1979, winning 352.300-316.300 in Rec Hall. Overall, the Nittany Lions hold a 30-3 record in its all-time series with the Pride, including week three's victory at the West Point Open.
Next weekend, the Nittany Lions return home to the familiar confines of Rec Hall for the first time since the 2012 season opener, hosting three-time defending Big Ten champion No. 2 Illinois. The conference dual meet, which will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network on a tape-delayed basis, is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday, Feb. 18. A year ago, Penn State upset the Illini in Champaign, 352.100-351.000.