The land of the rising sun set on the men's gymnastics team last night, as the Japanese college all-stars defeated Penn State by a tight score of 224.5-224.3. The meet was lost by two-tenths of a point and came down to the last rotation.

The meet was anything but ordinary from the beginning, as the night was kicked off with an exchange of gifts, the playing of two separate national anthems and an introduction of a Japanese translator.

The Lions held the lead for most of the night, but Japan closed the doors with Kazuki Mizutori's mid-air flip on the high bars to earn a 9.75. Mizutori also took second place on the parallel bars with a 9.6. His performance of the night was honored with one of the two Jean Wetstone Awards, for outstanding gymnast of the night.

Nothing but positives came out of this close loss, though. The Lions performed with an extra bounce in their routines and were virtually flawless in the pommel horse and parallel bars, events they have struggled with all year.

"It was a big meet," Penn State coach Randy Jepson said. "They were primed and focused, plus we had a better lineup."

The lineup was dramatically improved with the return of Luis Vargas. Last weekend, Vargas was away at the America Cup, placing second on the pommel horse. Vargas was once again the best all-around gymnast and winner of the other Wetstone Award.

"I did pretty well on the pommel horse for the new rules that they had," Vargas said.

"I was tired at the beginning of the meet, but came back and did well."

The Lions didn't let the close proximity of the last meet damper their performance as they took first place on the pommel horse and still rings, and also swept the vault.

"It was great to see them do so well," Jepson said. "They did well on the pommel horse."

Derek Helsby, the standout freshman sensation, had another excellent performance as he scored a 9.6 on the pommel horse on his birthday.

"Helsby is always steady and solid," Jepson said. "I've been following him for a while and he's concentrated and focused with his routines."

The birthday boy was in awe as he took in the night of culture and another strong team performance.

"It was exhilarating," Helsby said. "It was cool having the Japanese lettering on the board and talking to them."

While Senior Night was celebrated last Saturday, this was officially the last meet the six seniors would have in Rec Hall.

"I wouldn't have them go out any other way," Jepson said. "They all had great careers, fought hard tonight and just got edged out."

Captain Steve Tobin had the most persevering showing of the night out of all the seniors, performing with strep throat and a fever.

There was a little bit of history wrapped up in the meet, as Jepson was a gymnast when the last international team, Russia, traveled to Rec Hall in 1982 to compete.

"The meets are rewarding," Jepson said. "I was an athlete then and now I'm on the other side as planning and setting up."

The Lions pounce back into action in two weeks against William & Mary.