MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; March 31, 2007 ¨C Sophomore Casey Sandy (Brampton, Ont.) and junior Tommy Ramos (Guaynabo, P.R.) claimed second place finishes to lead the Nittany Lions in the individual events finals portion of the 2007 Big Ten Championships on Saturday evening in Minneapolis.
One night after earning All-Big Ten honors in the all-around, Sandy tied for second place in the pommel horse with a score of 9.050. Ramos, the defending Big Ten champion on the still rings, fell short in his bid to repeat and finished as the conference runner-up with a score of 9.575. Also qualifying for the individual finals in the parallel bars, Ramos took fourth.
After winning the parallel bars with a career-high score of 9.650 in Friday¡¯s team finals, junior Derek Helsby (Orlando, Fla) slipped to third place with a mark of 9.175. He also placed seventh in the high bar.
Santiago Lopez (Cibola del Mar, Mex.) gave a strong performance on the floor exercise, scoring a 9.400 to place sixth. The junior also secured a fourth-place finish in the vault (9.075).
Junior Vladi Klurman (North Miami Beach, Fla.) improved upon his score in the pommel horse from last night, using a mark of 8.725 to claim fourth place.
Competing in his final Big Ten Championships, senior captain Matt Cohen (Agoura Hills, Calif.) strengthened his candidacy for the Nissen-Emery Award by earning a sixth-place finish in the still rings with a score of 9.350.
In two weeks, the Nittany Lions will seek their NCAA-record 12th team title when they host the 2007 National Collegiate Men¡¯s Gymnastics Championships from April 12-14. The nation¡¯s elite collegiate gymnastics competitors will descend upon University Park, Pa. and historic Rec Hall to vie for team and individual glory. The competition begins on Thurs., April 12 with two qualifying sessions, scheduled for 1 and 7 p.m. The top three teams from each qualifier then advance to vie for the national championship at 7 p.m. on Fri., April 13. The nation¡¯s top all-around performer will also be crowned that evening. On Sat., April 14, the individual event finals will be held at 7 p.m., with six national titles and All-American honors at stake.
