Wolverines Knock Off No. 1 Penn State

Saturday, January 21

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

340.300

338.450

Penn State

1/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics

Jan. 21, 2012

• Complete Results | Photo Gallery | Highlights

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Score: #6 Michigan 340.300, #1 Penn State 338.450
Records: U-M (4-2, 1-0 Big Ten), Penn State (1-1, 0-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 775
Next U-M Meet: Saturday, Jan. 28 -- at Illinois, vs. Oklahoma (Champaign, Ill.), 5 p.m. CST

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team knocked off top-ranked Penn State, 340.300-338.450, on Saturday (Jan. 21) at Cliff Keen Arena.

U-M claimed three event titles and the all-around -- senior Syque Caesar (Port Saint Lucie, Fla./Lincoln Park Academy) in the parallel bars, sophomore Dylan James (Valencia, Calif./William S. Hart) in the pommel horse, and freshman Adrian de los Angeles (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) in the vault and his first career all-around title (83.700).

Michigan began the night on floor, where freshman Stacey Ervin (Troy, Mich./Truman) paced the Maize and Blue with a third-place 14.90. Caesar and de los Angeles followed by registering scores of 14.8 to aid in giving Michigan a 58.70 in the opening event of the night.

In the second rotation, U-M took to the pommel horse, improving on its Windy City score of last week by 2.1 points, scoring a 54.00. James led the way with the first event title of his career, a career-high 14.00 on the apparatus, while de los Angeles hit a 13.55 to place second in the event.

U-M then moved to rings, where sophomore Matt Freeman (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) led Michigan with a career-best 14.75 and placed third, while junior Rohan Sebastian (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness Catholic) used a Nakayama cross and Yamawaki piked tuck to notch a career-best 14.45.

The Wolverines dominated the vault competition, taking the top four spots and earning a team score of 58.45. Rookie de los Angeles led the way with a 14.90, while Caesar hit a 14.70 for second place. Sebastian collected third with a 14.40 and freshman Paul Rizkalla (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) scored a 14.40 to register a fourth-place finish in his collegiate debut.

U-M compiled a 57.60 on parallel bars as Caesar earned the fourth parallel bar title of his career with a 15.40; de los Angeles took second (14.40) as the Wolverines tacked onto their lead with a 57.60 on the event. Michigan led by 3.20 points (285.00-282.30) heading into the sixth and final rotation.

Penn State closed the gap in the final rotation with a 56.15 on parallel bars, but Michigan collected a 54.80 on high bar, the Achilles heel of the Windy City Invite, to hold on for the win. Caesar led the Wolverines on high bar with a 14.70, which was good enough for second. Freshman Taylor Harrower (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), the second Wolverine on the night to make his collegiate debut, scored a third-place 13.95 in front of the home crowd.

The Wolverines return to action on Saturday (Jan. 28) at 5 p.m. CST, traveling to Champaign, Ill., for a tri-meet involving Illinois and Oklahoma at Huff Hall.

Team Standings	FX	PH	SR	VT	PB	HB	Final
Michigan	58.70	54.00	56.75	58.45	57.60	54.80	340.30
Penn State	59.20	53.00	59.65	55.90	56.15	54.55	338.45

Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores

ALL-AROUNDAdrian de los Angeles     83.70  (1) FLOOR EXERCISEHub Humphrey              13.80Jordan Gaarenstroom       14.20Dylan James               13.50Adrian de los Angeles     14.80Syque Caesar              14.80Stacey Ervin              14.90 (3) POMMEL HORSEMatt Freeman              13.15Mark Panhorst             13.10A.J. Schottstaedt         12.80Adrian de los Angeles     13.55 (2)Michael Myler             12.70Dylan James               14.20 (1) STILL RINGS Paul Rizkalla             13.65Matt Freeman              14.75 (3)Jordan Gaarenstroom       12.95Alex Bubnov               13.90Adrian de los Angeles     13.20Rohan Sebastian           14.45 VAULTPaul Rizkalla             14.40Syque Caesar              14.70 (2)Alex Bubnov               14.20Rohan Sebastian           14.45 (3)Adrian de los Angeles     14.90 (1)Stacey Ervin              13.45 PARALLEL BARSMichael Myler             13.65Mark Panhorst             13.80Nick Hunter               13.45Stacey Ervin              14.00Adrian de los Angeles     14.40 (2)Syque Caesar              15.40 (1) HIGH BARRohan Sebastian           12.55Taylor Harrower           13.95 (3)Nick Hunter               13.30Stacey Ervin              11.45Adrian de los Angeles     12.85Syque Caesar              14.70 (2)

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Kurt Golder
On the meet ... "It's great beating Penn State at home without our top all-arounder in Sam Mikulak. I put the challenge into the head of our team early in the week, asking the team can we beat Penn State at home without Sam. We've never lost to Penn State in our house, and this meet was a tall order for us being a very young team, and they stepped up big time tonight."

On rebounding from the Windy City Invite ... "The Windy City was a disappointment for us, and after we saw the big score that Penn State put up and got the No. 1 ranking in the country, I was concerned. However, you just need to hit your routines and that is what we did tonight, and really improved out hit percentage category on the season."

On Penn State ... "They are a real good team. I've been watching them for a long time, and they have a lot of juniors this year that we have seen before. I have a heck of a lot of respect for Randy (Jepson) and his team."

N O T E S

• Michigan competed without the 2011 NCAA all-around champion Sam Mikulak, who is training with the United States National team in Colorado Springs, Colo.

• Assistant coach Geoff Corrigan is also in Colorado Spring accompanying Sam Mikulak.

• The last time Michigan defeated the No. 1 team in the country was on Jan. 23, 2004, knocking off then No. 1 Penn State in Keen Arena.

• The meet marked the first time since 2005 that U-M has faced off against the top team in the nation in a dual meet.

• Paul Rizkalla made his collegiate debut on two events, as he led off on rings and vault. Taylor Harrower's lone event on the night was on high bar.

• The home event was the first of two home dual meets for the Wolverines.

• Stacey Ervin was the recipient of the program's Newt Loken Award for his efforts on the night.

• One judge was used on the floor exercise for each team.

Contact: Scott Kemps (734) 763-4423