University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Rally Falls Just Short At Penn State
3/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
The University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team fought from behind all night Saturday at Penn State, as the Gophers took on the Nittany Lions and Temple. In the end, a valiant come-from-behind effort fell just short as Penn State took the victory with 350.150 points, just in front of Minnesota's total of 348.150. Temple brought up the rear with a score of 330.900.
"We put up a great score," Gopher head coach Mike Burns said. "It was our second-best score of the season and easily our best score away from home. But we left a few points out there that could have really made the difference."
The Gophers left plenty of points on the floor and dug themselves a deep hole in the first rotation. Penn State opened on the floor exercise and scored a 59.550, led by a 15.400 from Nick Virbitsky. Meanwhile, the Gophers were on the pommel horse. Harris Coleman ripped off a great routine on the horse, scoring a season-best and meet-best 15.100. But three of his teammates fell off the apparatus and Minnesota scored a 54.750, meaning they were down by nearly five points right off the bat.
"We started off really rough," Burns said. "But the guys did a great job of clawing their way back into the meet. The fight they showed was really good."
Minnesota moved to the rings in the second rotation,while Penn State was on the horse. The Gophers tallied a season-best score of 57.750. Michael Hillin and Thomas O'Brien led the way, as each recorded a 14.500. Meanwhile, Penn State was struggling a bit on the horse. A 55.500 for the Nittany Lions, helped Minnesota make up more than two points of its deficit.
"Harris did an awesome job," Burns said. "When he stays on the horse and keeps it clean, he's right up there with the best guys in the country."
The Gophers continued to chip away, moving to floor exercise in the third rotation. Colin McGuire scored the second-best floor routine of the season for Minnesota with a 15.250. Meanwhile, Adam Reichow also turned in a solid effort with a 15.000. By the end of the rotation, the Gophers had a tally of 59.250. Penn State scored a respectable 58.600 on the rings, led by a 15.100 from Scott Rosenthal. But Minnesota had cut its deficit to less than two points.
The fourth rotation saw Minnesota take to the parallel bars, where they scored a 58.100, which was far and away the best total of the season. Burns said he was very pleased with the Gophers' performance on the bars. Russell Dabritz paced Minnesota on the p-bars with a 14.850, while Aaron Fortunato had a solid score of 14.600. Those two marks represented the Gophers' best scores of the season on the apparatus. Penn State was on the vault in the fourth rotation. With three scores of 15.600 or better, the Nittany Lions once again extended the lead. Their 62.900 on the vault made the score 236.550-229.950.
With the Gophers on vault in the sixth and final rotation, a good score on the high bar would put them n position for victory. Unfortunately, three Gophers came off the bar. Minnesota scored just 55.250, easily its lowest output of the season. With Penn State scoring a 57.400 on the parallel bars, the Gophers faced an almost nine-point deficit heading into the sixth rotation.
"Ending on the vault is a really good thing for us," Burns said. "In the final rotation, it was our vault against their high bar. We needed some help at that point."
Penn State obliged a little, as two Nittany Lions came off the bar. Penn State scored a 56.200 on the bar, compared to a 63.050 for Minnesota on the vault. Andre Berry was sensational on the vault, scoring a 16.100 and breaking the 16-point plateau for the second time this season. Burns was also very complimentary of Reichow and Adam LaFleur on the vault. Minnesota cut into Penn State's lead by roughly seven points in the final rotation.
But in the end, even the very good vault score wasn't enough to overcome the miscues on the horse and the bar.
"I was proud of the fight we put up on the road," Burns said. "Penn State is always a tough place to compete. We would have loved to have come out with the win. We just had too many mistakes that cost us throughout the night. We really gave away two or three points on the pommel horse, which might have been the difference."
Minnesota is back at the Sports Pavilion for its final home meet of the season next Saturday (March 13). The Gophers will host Iowa and Illinois-Chicago on Senior Night. The meet will also be televised in a tape-delayed broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
-UM-
Players Mentioned
