Michigan came to University Park ranked No. 1, and while it will leave Penn State with its ranking intact, the Wolverines got all they could handle against the No. 2 Nittany Lions.

Even though the Lions (11-1) took four of the six events individually, the Wolverines (8-0) rallied in the final rotation to get a 216.75-215.8 victory in Rec Hall on Saturday night. Despite the loss, the point total by Penn State was its highest of the season.

Even though Penn State lost a meet for the first time this season, head coach Randy Jepson said he wasn't too disappointed with the team's effort.

Instead, he said this is a wake-up call for his team. He also said he was happy with the great fan support.

"It was what I thought it would be. It was a great event," he said. "And now it's the things I've been talking about -- making improvements."

Thanks to some season-high scores and a very enthusiastic student section clad in white, the Lions gave the top team in the country a scare.

"It was what we expected. They got out to the lead until the last event," Michigan head coach Kurt Golder said. "It was pedal to the metal."

Going into the last rotation, the Lions were leading by a single point, but Michigan overtook them with great scores in its final event, the parallel bars. The Wolverines are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation on that event, allowing them to constantly answer the challenges from Penn State -- even with the crowd into it and their backs against the wall.

"I'm pretty happy with myself," Michigan captain Andrew Elkind said. "I got mad about the remarks [from the fans], but I turned it into a positive to fire myself up."

Elkind led the late Michigan charge by placing first individually on the parallel bars.

Penn State sophomore Casey Sandy took the all-around title without competition for Penn State. Sandy posted a career-best score of 54.400 and also won the pommel horse.

"I was pretty pleased. I just started doing all-around after my [arm] injury," he said. "But there is room for improvement."

Aided by three season-high individual scores on the rings, Penn State took the lead after the third rotation. Penn State junior Tommy Ramos set season highs on both the rings (9.70) and the high bar (9.40).

The Lions were also especially strong on the vault, the event that Michigan struggled to do well in Saturday.

"I felt it was a great start. I was pretty confident going in after my past performances," freshman Nick Virbitsky, one of the top scorers in that event, said. "I just went all-out to get the team going."

Even though Michigan leaves with its No. 1 ranking intact, the Nittany Lions stood toe-to-toe with the Wolverines, who the Lions will still get two more shots at this season in the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships. The latter is being held at University Park.

Next up for the Lions is the Winter Cup, an individual competition in Las Vegas from this Thursday to Saturday night. Penn State representatives include Virbirtsky, Matt Cohen, junior Vladi Klurman and assistant coach Kevin Tan.