No. 1 gymmen hit road to battle No. 3 Ohio State

By DARREN STEELE
Collegian Staff Writer

For the third time in four weeks, the No. 1 Penn State men's gymnastic team (6-0) will face a team ranked in the top five in the nation.

This weekend, the men's team is traveling to Columbus, Ohio to battle No. 3 Ohio State (7-1).

The Nittany Lions are coming off a 224-222 win over Illinois last weekend at The Bryce Jordan Center.

The Buckeyes had a successful weekend as well, defeating the Michigan Wolverines 229-227.

The Lions have done well on the road this year, a goal of theirs at the beginning of the season. Penn State's one road win came last year against Ohio State. It was the only home loss for the Buckeyes in the last four years. This year, the Lions hope to have a repeat performance.

"Were gonna have to do better than we did last week," coach Randy Jepson said. "These meets are helping us to get ready for the postseason. I really would like them to get out there and enjoy it. I also want us to stay healthy."

That is definitely a key for the Lions. They have lost team members to injuries during the past two meets. Two weeks ago, it was Dominic Brindle, a former Olympian who had been recovering from an injury when he miss-calculated a landing on the high bar and injured his ribs.

"The X-rays didn't show any damage," Brindle said. "I am just hoping whatever it is, the damage heals so I can help the team out."

Losing Brindle, who would have competed in the all-around role, will be tough on the Lions. His injuries will force the team to rely on sophomore Tobias Ekman and freshman Jose Palacios.

Palacios won the all-around in the Army meet and Ekman has had a successful season as well. He is, however, coming off a less than spectacular showing against Illinois.

In that meet, Ekman had trouble mastering the high bar, but gave an otherwise strong showing.

Ekman, as well as the rest of the team, will have to be at their best to defeat the Buckeyes.

"We know what we have to do in the gym," sophomore Chris Lakeman said. "We're a 230 team in the gym. (Referring to practices) We just need to forget about the fact that they are a ranked team."

Ohio State awaits the Lions with a very strong ranked team. Daren Lynch will be giving senior All-American Ron Roeder a challenge on the still rings. Lynch, who is ranked No. 4 in the nation in the event, had one of his best performances of the year last week and will be expected to give the same this week.

The vault could be the key matchup, as Penn State holds the No. 1 spot, and Ohio State is ranked No. 2. The Buckeyes also have the top vaulter in the nation, senior Doug Stibel.

Once again, however, the Lions will need to look to strong performances on the both the high and parallel bars. Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in both of these events.