CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 8 Penn State suffered a pair of Big Ten losses Saturday, finishing third in a tri-meet with No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Illinois at Huff Hall. The Illini won the event with a score of 406.900, while the Wolverines scored 404.100 and took second.
Penn State dropped to 10-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten. Illinois improved to 8-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the league, while Michigan moved to 11-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
Brennan Pantazis led the Nittany Lions with a third-place finish on vault and a fourth-place showing on parallel bars. The senior scored a personal-best 14.7 on vault and now owns the top three scores for the Lions in the event this season. His 13.9 on parallel bars was a season best.
Sam Zakutney had a pair of top-five finishes for Penn State, tying for second on high bar with a 13.800 and taking fifth on parallel bars with a score of 13.8.
Other notable performances for the Lions included Isaac Hammett and Parker Clayton in third and fourth, respectively, on rings, Favian Valdez in fourth on high bar and Jack Baldwin in fifth on pommel horse.
Penn State finished 2-4 in league meets last season and then went on to win the Big Ten Championships.
The Lions go on the road for the third-straight week when they travel to take on William & Mary in a non-conference meet on Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m.
