March 13, 2005; Williamsburg, VA- The College of William and Mary¡¯s 12th-ranked men¡¯s gymnastics team put its best foot forward in posting a team-season best score of 214.150 but fell to reigning NCAA team champion and fifth-ranked Penn State University (219.400) in dual meet action held at William and Mary Hall today.
While the Tribe was generally very sharp in all six disciplines, it was the College¡¯s six-man ring crew that really pushed the team score over the top, as it produced a season-best 37.25 total. Sophomore Charles Portz (Humble, TX) established a career and team season high with a mark of 9.55. Portz¡¯s mark also surpasses Jamie Northrup¡¯s team record of 9.5 (again, since the 2000 rules changes).
Junior Jeff Jaekle, (Stratford, CT) also set his personal standard, as he turned in a 9.50 set. Ramon Jackson (Orlando, FL) hit for a 9.10, and, perhaps the most impressive performance came from junior Ben Carter (Herndon, VA), who shattered his previous best performance by more than a half point with a mark of 9.05. Maybe even more amazing, though, is the fact that Penn State placed three athletes ahead of Portz¡¯s stellar mark and scored an outstanding 38.550 as a team on the event.
Junior all-arounder Matt Elson (Brookfield, WI) and Jackson were the only to Tribe gymnasts to capture an individual event title, as Elson flew to a meet best mark of 9.40 on the vault, while Jackson continued to round into shape on his specialty event, the parallel bars, by recording a solid mark of 9.30.
Penn State standout all-American Luis Vargas won the other four events (floor exercise, 9.45; pommel horse, 9.75; still rings, 9.85; and high bar 9.15). The Nittany Lions¡¯ Derek Helsby took top honors in the all-around with a six-event total of 54.25.
Team Scoring 1 No. 5 Penn State 219.400 2 No. 12 William and Mary 214.150 Top Three Individuals Floor Exercise 1 Luis Vargas PSU 9.45 2 Matt Bowman PSU 9.25 3 Steve Tobin PSU 9.20 Pommel Horse 1 Luis Vargas PSU 9.75 2 Derek Helsby PSU 9.40 3 Brad Spicer PSU 9.25 Still Rings 1 Luis Vargas PSU 9.60 2 Matt Cohen PSU 9.65 3 Steve Tobin PSU 9.60 Vault 1 Matt Elson WM 9.40 Santiago Lopez PSU 9.40 Chad Buczek PSU 9.40 Parallel Bars 1 Ramon Jackson WM 9.30 2 Steve Tobin PSU 9.25 3 Aaron Ingram WM 8.80 Horizontal Bar 1 Luis Vargas PSU 9.15 2 Steve Douglass WM 8.80 3 Ramon Jackson WM 8.75 All-Around 1 Derek Helsby PSU 54.25 2 Matt Cohen PSU 52.25 3 Matt Elson WM 51.95
