STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; January 17, 2004- The No. 5 Penn State (3-0) men's gymnastics team upset No. 3 Illinois, 219.150-212.775, Saturday night in Rec Hall in front of a crowd of 1176 people. Kevin Tan (Fremont, Calif.) won the all-around with a score of 54.900 after capturing the still rings, high bar and parallel bars.

The first rotation of the floor exercise and pommel horse set the tone of what would be a very close competition. The Fighting Illini took the early lead taking all three of the top finishes in the floor exercise.

Penn State surged back on the pommel horse taking first and third places. Sophomore Luis Vargas (Rio Piedros, Puerto Rico) finished in first place with a score of 9.725. Also placing for the Nittany Lions was Tan, finishing in third with a score of 9.375 Penn State took control of the competition in the third and fourth rotations where the Nittany Lions took all three top positions in the still rings event. Tan, the defending national champion in the still rings event scored a 9.800 and took first place. Sophomore Chad Buczek (Bridgewater, Mass.) had an impressive showing and placed second with a score of 9.675.

Penn State kept the momentum it gained in the third rotation and took two of the top three spots in the vault event. Buzcek after his second place finish in the still rings came out strong and took the top spot with a score of 9.400.

Tan performed well again in the final rotation on the high bar, helping to clinch the victory for the Nittany Lions. Penn State meets Michigan in Ann Arbor Friday, January 23, at 7 p.m. in its next meet.

Team Score 1. Penn State 219.150 2. Illinois 212.775 Floor 1. Justin Spring- Illinois 9.475 2. Adam Pummer- Illinois 9.100 3. Bob Rogers- Illinois 9.050 Pommel Horse 1. Luis Vargas- Penn State 9.725 2. Ben Newman- Illinois 9.650 3. Kevin Tan- Penn State 9.375 Still Rings 1. Kevin Tan- Penn State 9.800 2. Chad Buzcek- Penn State 9.675 3. Luis Vargas- Penn State 9.150 Vault 1. Chad Buzcek- Penn State 9.400 2. Zach Roeder- Penn State 9.250 3. Scott Wetterling- Illinois 9.200 Parallel Bars 1. Kevin Tan- Penn State 9.425 2. Luis Vargas- Penn State 9.250 3. Chad Buzcek- Penn State 9.000 High Bar 1. Kevin Tan- Penn State 9.250 2. Justin Spring- Illinois 9.150 3. Ludwig Kern- Penn State 9.100 All-Around 1. Kevin Tan- Penn State 54.900 2. Luis Vargas- Penn State 53.625 3. Adam Pummer- Illinois 50.250