ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Second-ranked Michigan (15-0) took first at the first Arnold Invitational with a team score of 437.50 on Saturday at the Columbus Convention Center. Wolverines took home individual-event wins in five of six events on the day as U-M remained undefeated on the season.
Graduate student Syque Caesar claimed a pair of event titles on the day, beginning with a win on parallel bars with a 15.55. He followed with a pristine routine on high bar for a 15.80.
Also taking home titles were junior Stacey Ervin, who marked a 15.80 on floor in the first rotation. Rotation two saw U-M head to pommel horse, where senior Dylan James scored a 15.15 for first place, while classmate Matt Freeman took third with a 15.05.
On vault, freshman Tristian Perez-Rivera tallied a 15.10, while Caesar led an event sweep on parallel bars with his 15.55. Ervin took second on the event (15.00), while junior Nick Hunter placed third with a 14.95.
Caesar closed out the event wins for U-M in the final rotation, scoring 15.80.
No. 7 Penn State 440.200, No. 5 Minnesota 431.500
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- In the final home regular-season meet of the season, Penn State outlasted Minnesota to remain undefeated on the year with its sixth consecutive team title. The Nittany Lions recorded a season-high score of 440.200-431.500 in the victory against the Golden Gophers on senior night Saturday evening at Rec Hall.
Penn State opened the meet with a solid performance in the floor exercise, posting 74.550 to take control of an early advantage. Sophomore Alexis Torres led the way with a first-place finish in the floor exercise, posting a score of 15.650. Junior Matt Felleman followed with a score of 15.150, tying him for second.
In the next rotation, the Nittany Lions recorded another solid showing, capturing four of the top five positions on the pommel horse. Fresh off his championship title at the 2014 Winter Cup Challenge, junior Craig Hernandez turned in a 14.900 score, good for first place. Redshirt junior Nestor Rodriguez tied for second with a 14.700, while redshirt freshman Leroy Clarke and senior Preston Gall tied for fourth with a score of 14.500.
On the rings, sophomore Trevor Howard took home an individual title, matching a season-high mark with a score of 15.750. Torres finished second on the rings, swinging to a score of 15.400.
On the vault, Penn State secured positions three, four and five, as Felleman led a trio featuring Rodriguez and Howard with a second-place finish (15.200). Rodriguez and Howard finished third and fourth in the event with scores of 15.100 and 15.000, respectively. The Nittany Lions' total team score of 74.300 set a new season high on the apparatus.
Howard captured his second individual title of the night with a season-high score of 15.200 on the parallel bars. Rodriguez joined Howard in the top three with a score of 14.850, which tied him for third.
In the final event of the evening, Felleman, Clarke and Rodriguez all recorded top three finishes on the high bar to propel the Nittany Lions to victory. Felleman's score of 15.100 ranked second while Clarke and Rodriguez each posted a score of 15.050 to tie for third overall.
