Sections

Wolverines' men's gymnastics team falls to Penn State in University Park

The Michigan men's gymnastics team might very well be Penn State's good luck charm.

The fourth-ranked Nittany Lions, scoring a season high 226.4 points, defeated the No. 24 Wolverines (206.7) and No. 18 Army (217.025) at University Park. Penn State's previous season high of 225.575 came a week earlier at New Mexico.

Michigan was there to see that meet, too.

The host Lions were quite rude to their guests, taking either first or second in every event except the pommel horse.

Steve McSparren and Joseph Roemer shared first place on the rings with 9.75 points. McSparren also won the floor exercise scoring a 9.65, and took second on the vault (9.35).

Roy Malka and Brandy Wood also tied for first on the high bar with 9.75. Thomas Ellefson placed first on the parallel bars with a 9.625, and teammate Wood came in second with 9.5.

Malka and Wood also placed second and third in the all-around, scoring 56 and 55.65 points, respectively.

"We finished strong," Penn State coach Randy Jepson said. "We haven't been (scoring that high) most of the season."

The all-around winner, however, was not from Penn State, but from Army. Steve Marshall scored a 56.875, highlighted by first-place performances in vault (9.55) and high bar (9.75).

He also received 9.55 on the floor exercise to claim second place, and a 9.45 on the parallel bars to come in third.

Marshall's fellow Black Knights Mike Sivulka and Ben Hayward also did their share of work. Sivulka scored a 9.7 in the parallel bars to take first while Hayward scored a 9.55 to take second.

Michigan (0-8) had a difficult time competing with such impressive performances. In fact, the Wolverines' team total of 206.7 is their lowest since January, when they scored a mere 197.55.

"It's hard (for us) not to be down on ourselves, especially when you look at our record," Michigan junior Jason MacDonald said. "Overall, we're still trying to not get down and work hard."

Positives can always be found, especially in an individual sport like gymnastics. Junior Flavio Martins came through with a strong fourth place finish in the all-around with 53.85 points, including a sixth-place finish on the rings (9.4).

The highest Michigan finish was by sophomore Tim Lauring, whose 9.1 on the vault was good enough for fifth.

Sophomore Jin Bin Im and Senior Chris Onuska improved on a couple of their season best scores. Im received an 8.3 on the pommel horse, bettering his 7.7 earlier this year at Ohio State. Onuska bagged a 9.05 on the high bar, improving on an 8.8 showing also at Ohio State.

Aside from that, the results look pretty bleak for Michigan.

The Wolverines will try to break into the win column this week, when they host the Michigan Invitational March 23 at Cliff Keen Arena. The meet won't be easy for the Wolverines, though. They will face No. 3 Michigan State, No. 7 Illinois-Chicago, No. 14 Brigham Young, No. 15 Temple and No. 17 Western Michigan.

At least Penn State won't be there.