UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 26, 2005 ¡ª While the Lions missed junior all-arounder Luis Vargas (Rio Pedros, P.R.) Saturday night, Vargas didn¡¯t miss a beat at the American Cup, finishing second on the parallel bars, sixth on the high bar and seventh on the pommel horse. Last year¡¯s men¡¯s NCAA all-around champion, Vargas only competed in three events, made the finals in all three and finished no less than seventh in any of them.

Vargas scored a 9.575 on the parallel bars, finishing .012 out of first place to Japan¡¯s Kazuya Ueda. On high bar, Vargas took sixth with a 9.087, with first-place finisher Yann Cucherat of France winning with an 9.612.

Representing his native Puerto Rico, Vargas was seventh on the pommel horse with a 7.925. Winner Alexander Artemov of the United States earned a 9.362 on the apparatus.

Only a junior in eligibility, this will be Vargas¡¯ final year competing for the Lions this year. Minus their NCAA champion, No. 4 Penn State met No. 2 Ohio State tonight to celebrate senior night. The Lions lost to the Buckeyes 222.075-215.500.