March 15, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The fourth-ranked Penn State men's gymnastics team will seek its third win over a Big Ten foe this season on Saturday when it hosts No. 6 Minnesota in a 7 p.m. dual meet at Rec Hall. The No. 12 Nittany Lion women's team will also be in action, facing Maryland.
Last weekend, Penn State overcame a lengthy road trip and rigorous judging to outscore Puerto Rico, 339.200-337.300, and claim a win over the Caribbean commonwealth's national team for the second consecutive year. The Nittany Lions won three events as a team, topping Puerto Rico in the floor exercise (56.900), pommel horse (56.700), and still rings (58.650). Freshman Craig Hernandez (Libertyville, Ill.) (pommel horse) and junior Felix Aronovich (Kiryat Bialik, Israel) (parallel bars) were individual title winners.
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Penn State will look to continue to build momentum versus the Golden Gophers as the postseason rapidly approaches. Penn State has not suffered defeat since it fell to Michigan in Ann Arbor on January 21 and is just one of four teams to score above the 350.000 plateau this season. Penn State is ranked in the top five in five of six events, including No. 2 in the pommel horse and still rings. Individually, 11 different Nittany Lions hold top 20 event rankings, led by junior Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.), who remains the nation's clear-cut No. 1 still rings competitor.
Minnesota, which possesses a three score average of 346.567 and a season high team total of 347.000, had a six-meet winning streak snapped last week when it placed second in a road tri-meet against Illinois and host Nebraska. As a team, the Golden Gophers' top event is the vault, ranking second nationally just ahead of Penn State, with a 58.431 average and a 60.300 season high score. Minnesota has 10 gymnasts ranked in the top 20, headlined by Russell Dabritz (No. 3 , parallel bars) and Zack Chase (No. 7, vault).
Penn State is 12-2 in its all-time series versus Minnesota. A year ago, the Nittany Lions defeated the Golden Gophers (351.600-344.600) in Minneapolis in a tri-meet that also featured Big Ten foe Iowa (333.800). Penn State last hosted Minnesota in Happy Valley in 2010, a 350.150-348.250 Nittany Lion victory.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Minnesota 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 remain at home next weekend, facing No. 10 Temple in the team's 2012 regular season finale. The Nittany Lions will host the Owls on Saturday, March 24 in Rec Hall, with competition scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. For seniors Colin Hill (Sterling, Mass.), Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio), Logan Wyman (Phoenix, Md.), and Warren Yang (Nepean, Ont.), it will be their final home appearance in a Nittany Lion uniform. They will be honored in a special Senior Night ceremony following the meet.