University Park, Pa. — Penn State is among the 12-team field that will compete at the 2011 National Collegiate Men’s Gymnastics Championships, the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Committee announced on Tuesday. Scheduled for April 14-16 on the host campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, the 69th annual event will be held at the home of the Buckeyes, St. John Arena.
The NCAA’s top 12 teams, based on their final national qualifying average, earned bids to compete, including Penn State, which finished the season ranked No. 5. Also qualifying are Big Ten teams Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio State in addition to Stanford, California, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois-Chicago, and Air Force.
Also released were the assignments for the national qualifier sessions on Thursday, April 14. Penn State, along with Oklahoma, Illinois, Minnesota, Illinois-Chicago, and Air Force will compete in Session I at 1 p.m. while Stanford, California, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, and Iowa will comprise the Session II field, set to begin at 7 p.m.
The top three teams from each qualifier will then advance to contend for the national championship at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 15. The individual all-around champion will also be crowned that evening. The following night, on Saturday, April 16, the individual event finals will be held at 7 p.m., with six national titles and All-American honors at stake.
Penn State is coming off a fourth place finish at last weekend’s Big Ten Championships in Champaign, Ill. Sophomore Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) placed second in the still rings to earn Second Team All-Big Ten honors while junior Miguel Pineda (Galloway, Ohio) and redshirt junior Warren Yang (Nepean, Ont.) also medaled, placing third in the rings and floor exercise, respectively.
Penn State has won an NCAA record 12 team championships, last capturing the national crown in 2007 at home in Rec Hall, and 51 individual titles.