NORMAN, Okla., April 5, 2002 - Junior Kevin Donohue (Saddle River, N.J.) became the first Nittany Lion in 17 years to earn All-America honors in the all-around, placing seventh with a score of 53.775 at the NCAA Championships individual preliminaries which were held at the Lloyd Noble Arena on Friday night. Along with Donohue, sophomore Kevin Tan (Fremont, Calif.) advance to the event finals on Sunday night to compete for the individual national title on their respective events. Donohue advanced to the event finals on floor and vault. He scored a 9.600 on the floor which was second overall and a 9.375 on vault to tie for seventh. The top eight gymnasts, including ties, advance to the event finals. Donohue also had top 25 finishes on horse (23rd, 8.850), parallel bars (19th, 8.700) and high bar (11th, 8.950). Prior to Donohue's honor in the all-around on Friday, Terry Barlett earned All-America status in the all-around in 1985. Tan advances to the event finals on both events he competed on. He was defeated on the rings for only the second time this season, placing fourth with a score of 9.450. He also tied for seventh on parallel bars with a score of 8.900, tying for seventh place. Junior Matt Abboud (Dayton, Maine) competed on two events at the individual preliminaries. A 9.200 on pommel horse just missed the event finals as he tied for ninth place. He also scored a 8.700 to tie for 19th on parallel bars. Junior Zack Roeder (Montrose, Pa.) also participated on two events. He tied for 21st on floor with a score of 9.000. He also placed 34th on horse at 8.475. Also competing on Friday evening were senior captain Adam Benas (Latham, N.Y.), and freshmen Steve Tobin (Cherry Hill, N.J.), Jerker Taudien (Eskilstuna, Sweden) and Kyle Fernandez (Stratford, Conn.). Benas was put into the high bar lineup at the last minute and he recorded an 8.150. Tobin posted an 8.150 on floor, Taudien was tied for 19th on pommel horse with an 8.950 and Fernandez was 25th at 8.700. The individual preliminaries were held in conjunction with the team finals. Host Oklahoma took home the team honor with a score of 219.300. Ohio State's Raj Bhavsar won the all-around individual title, scoring a Friday's NCAA Championships will air on ESPN2 on Saturday, April 13 at 6 p.m. ET and will re-air on ESPN May 7 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Penn State Individual Scores Horse: Matt Abboud, t9th, 9.200 Rings: Kevin Donohue, 41st, 8.300 Vault: Kevin Donohue, 8th, 9.375 PBars: Matt Abboud, t19th, 8.700 HBar: Adam Benas, 41st, 8.150 All-Around: Kevin Donohue, 7th, 53.775
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