Gymmen upend Michigan, fall to highly-ranked Iowa

The Penn State men's gymnastics team took on what might be the best team in the nation in Iowa. Despite coming out with a loss, coach Randy Jepson believes his team will have what it takes when the Big Ten championships roll around.

"We were a little rough in spots," said Jepson.

But dazzling in others.

Penn State (3-1) won three individual titles and took second and fifth place in the all-around as the No. 5 Nittany Lions (226.150) topped No. 11 Michigan (223.800). But it was not enough against No. 2 Iowa, which posted a 228.400 to win the tri-meet Saturday at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor.

Iowa (2-0) was led by Todd Strada, who improved on his previous week's second-place finish at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago by winning the all-around with a 56.7.

"He doesn't do anything really big," Jepson said. "He's just real solid and consistent."

A bright spot for Penn State was Ron Roeder, who tied for second in the all-around with a 56.15.

"He's like a tank," said teammate Danny Beigel. "He just goes through. He's solid. He has no weak area. He just hits."

Beigel, meanwhile, hit a season-high score on rings with a 9.8.

"I had a really great set. I put a great finish on our ring routine," Beigel said.

After the rings, Beigel added a 9.3 on both the parallel bars and the high bar and led off the vault for the Lions with a 9.55.

Brandon Stefaniak finished Penn State's routine on the pommel horse for the Lions. He won the event with a 9.7.

"He was a lock again. What can you say?" Jepson said. "He's really becoming a solid competitor."

Freshman Adam Benas struggled on floor exercises but posted a 9.5 on vault. He also claimed the high bar for Penn State with a 9.65.

"It's been his favorite event for years," Jepson said. "His routine was beautiful."

The vault, meanwhile, was a tie between Michigan's Kevin Roulston and Iowa's Travis Rosen with 9.65.

Hawkeye Brian Hamilton impressed the judges with a 9.6 on the floor exercises and a 9.65 on the parallel bars.

Lion freshman Tobias Ekman finished fifth in the all-around with a 55.2.

But despite the fine performances, the Lions still came up short. A loss can go a long way, however, especially in motivation.

"Iowa is a very talented team," said Beigel. "But we have tremendous talent. We can be right up there with them if we just think, be smart and come through."