CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Go ahead, overlook Penn State. It only
makes the Nittany Lions' celebration that much sweeter.
Penn State dominated the men's NCAA gymnastics championship,
winning the team title and individual all-around, and then capping
the weekend with Kevin Tan's gold on the still rings.
Not bad for a team that came in as an underdog.
"It was amazing," Tan said Sunday after winning the rings
title for a second straight year. "We came in here focused to win
the team finals and focused to come out on top with some event
finals. To say it is one thing. To do it, I can't comprehend it
still."
Believe it. The Nittany Lions won their NCAA-record 11th title
Saturday night, finishing more than a point ahead of two-time
champion Oklahoma and top-ranked Illinois. Just how big is that
margin? Think of a 20-point win in the Final Four, and you get the
picture.
That wasn't all. Sophomore Luis Vargas won the all-around title
and then added a silver on the pommel horse Sunday. He had a chance
to win the parallel bars final, but dropped to fourth after
botching his dismount and landing on his backside. Tan gave the
Nittany Lions their final gold, winning the still rings with a
9.812, the highest score in any event Sunday.
"We did a pretty good job," Vargas said. "I'm real happy."
So was California's Graham Ackerman, who won the floor exercise
and vault titles and tied for second on the high bar. The medals
stash was a little bit of redemption for Ackerman and the Golden
Bears, who finished sixth in the team finals after having the
highest qualifying score of any squad.
"It was hard yesterday," Ackerman said. "We started off so
strong, had so much momentum going. ... Being able to come out
tonight and do what I practiced is really great."
And what about the favorites? Though Oklahoma fell short of
becoming the first team to win three straight NCAA titles since
Nebraska won five in a row from 1979-83, the Sooners have no
regrets. They rebounded from a dismal performance in qualifying to
finish second to Penn State in one of the best finals in years, and
added three individual medals. Jock Stevens (floor), David
Henderson (rings) and Josh Gore (parallel bars) all won bronze
medals Sunday.
As for the Illini, they found the perfect way to wrap up the
weekend.
Justin Spring, the team's best gymnast, was the last up on high
bar, the meet's final event. Spring had already been shut out in
the all-around, parallel bars and vault, and Stanford's Dan Gill
and Ackerman looked as if they had the high bar title locked up.
But Spring blew away their hopes for gold with an acrobatic
performance that drew a standing ovation. His release move was the
best of the day, a full-twisting somersault over the bars that
looks like a circus trick. He did his triple somersault dismount
with the ease most gymnasts do doubles, landing with a solid thud.
Spring broke into a big grin as he saluted the judges, and his
teammates jumped up and down in celebration, knowing he'd won even
before they saw his score of 9.775.
"Someone said it was like a Hollywood ending, last up on the
last event," Spring said. "High bar is my favorite event, one of
my better events, and I have a lot of fun with it. I didn't see
what (Ackerman and Gill) did, so I just went out and had fun."
Illinois won one other event title, with Bob Rogers taking the
gold on pommel horse. Ramon Jackson of William and Mary won the
parallel bars crown.