14 I THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010 Pair of gymnasts leading on rings By Jim Mauro COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Earlier this season, gymnasts Miguel Pineda and Scott Rosenthal made a pact: one of them must win the title on rings MEN'S each meet. While they GYMNASTICS have not com- pletely fulfilled this pact, they have still dominat ed all season on rings. In the nine regular-season meets for the No. 7 Penn State men's gymnastics team, Rosenthal finished in the top three five times and Pineda did six times. Penn State coach Randy Jepson knows what it takes to succeed on rings, and he thinks Pineda and Rosenthal have the physical tools to score well in the event. "They're strong kids, - Jepson said. "Rings is an event you have to be strong on. That pays off." Pineda won the event three times this season while Rosenthal has taken the top spot twice. They Ruggers prepare for rival in postseason By Kevin Kline COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Bryan Oteri is friends with some of the Navy rugby players and sometimes socializes with rugby. But after the MEN'S season starts, the RUGBY relationship between the sen ior outside center and his Midshipmen buddies becomes sour. This weekend, the stakes are elevated from the regular season as No. 2 seed Penn State will take on its biggest rival, No. 3 seed Navy, in the semifinals of the Mid- Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) league playoffs. "If you're not excited about Students who read their college newspaper read 3 out of every 5 issues. •F -Alloy Media + Marketing (2008, MORI Research) also finished one-two in the indi vidual competition at the West Point Open, with Pineda edging his teammate for the title. With both gymnasts scoring well all year, it is no surprise the Nittany Lions have won rings as a team in six of the nine meets. The Lions' only losses on rings have come at the hands of No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 8 California. However, the Lions have never lost on rings by more than .75 of a point. While Jepson knows the impor tance of Pineda and Rosenthal, he likes what the rest of the gym nasts have contributed this year. "Noam IShahaml has been very steady and put in a routine for us that has been very good," Jepson said. "Felix [Aronovich] is coming along, and we've made some changes to Matt Chelberg's rou tine that seem to be helping." But there is no doubt the heavy hitters for the Lions are Pineda and Rosenthal. Pineda, sixth, and Rosenthal, 10th, are the only Lions who rank in the top-20 in the coun playing Navy in the playoffs, then you're not a Penn State rugby player," Oteri said. Saturday's winner will secure a spot in nationals and move on to Sunday's league championship game. There's a lot riding on Saturday's game, and coach Don Ferrell has stressed the impor tance of players keeping their emotions in check. "We need to maintain our com posure in the face of all the emo tions," Ferrell said. "It's a physical and emotional battle, so it's a tough balancing act. You need to bring the fire and be able to con trol it as well." The Ruggers will try to use the emotional aspect of the game to their advantage, however. After playing Navy so many times, the SPOT s Abby Drey/Collegian Penn State's Miguel Pineda competes on the rings during Saturday night's meet against Oklahoma in Rec Hall. Pineda and Scott Rosenthal, who have finished in the top three on rings a combined 11 times this year. try on rings. As a team, Penn State gym and love to push each other joke, saying, 'Tonight's my night, is fifth in the nation in the event. with friendly competition. Both you're going down,' " Rosenthal Rosenthal has competed only gymnasts said it helps to have said. - He really pushes me to work on rings in his freshman cam- competition in practice so they hard and make sure I'm precise, paign. Pineda has competed in know what to expect in meets. and I try to keep him clean. It's four other events this year but And this friendly battle has nice to have someone who is right said rings is his favorite because it pushed them to try even harder up there with you to keep you gives him the best opportunity to when it is actually time to com- working all the time." show off. pete. The two get along well in the "Every time we go out there, we To e-mail reporter: jbmsosB@psu.edu "If you're not excited about playing Navy in the playoffs, then you're not a Penn State rugby player." players know how easy it is to frustrate the Midshipmen and get them to lose their cool. If they start getting angry at each other, and if the Ruggers keep their heads cool, then they'll be able to more easily exploit Navy's weaknesses, Oteri said. That emotional edge on the field is especially valuable when play ing Navy, as its players are typical ly more fit than the Ruggers, sen ior flanker John Knab said. Knab and his teammates will Kitchen Open Late the ALLEN STREET Bryan Oteri senior outside center also have to increase their physi cality to help balance Navy's fit ness edge. "We always have something extra in the tank when we play them because there's a lot of ani mosity against each other," Knab said. -They always give us a good game, but everyone can get nasty, and that's just the nature of the beast." The animosity between the two programs dates back to when Rinaldo's wishes all Penn Staters good luck at the career fair! L 4ll autaldol BARBER SHOP 107 S. Allen St (814) 238-9515 THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Navy was the premier rugby team in the east and a team Penn State wanted to be able to play with. But in the last 10 years, the Ruggers have become competi tive with Navy after joining with the Midshipmen and six other teams to create the MARFU in 1995. The two teams that play in the league championship game earn a spot in nationals. and Navy and Penn State have met in the league championship game in each of the last nine years. "Penn State and Navy are the most represented for the east in nationals, so there's a lot of mutu al respect," Ferrell said. "But it's obviously a very, very heated rival To e-mail reporter: kwkso69@psu.edu
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