UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 11, 2007 ?C Senior captain Matt Cohen (Agoura Hills, Calif.) was honored as the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award on Wednesday night at the College Gymnastics Association Awards Banquet, held on the campus of Penn State University, hosts of the 2007 National Collegiate Men??s Gymnastics Championships. Bestowed in recognition of outstanding athletic achievement, academic excellence, and sportsmanship, it is the highest honor presented in collegiate gymnastics.
| Matt Cohen |
Cohen becomes the first Nittany Lion to win the award since Spider Maxwell was recognized in 1987 and the fifth in Penn State men??s gymnastics history. Other winners include two-time national all-around champion Steve Cohen (1967), Bob Emery (1969), for whom the award is partly named, and parallel bars national champion Gene Whelan (1976).
In addition to providing outstanding leadership in the gym and in the classroom, Cohen has had an excellent competitive senior season in 2007. Currently ranked No. 6 in the nation in the still rings, with a 9.550 national qualifying average, he has finished in the top three in the event in eight meets this year. At the 2007 Big Ten Championships, he used a career-best score of 9.650 to tie for first place in the rings in the team competition. As an all-around performer, Cohen has been ranked consistently in the top five throughout 2007. He won the all-around title at the West Point Open and Temple Invitational, an effort that earned him his first career Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor. In Penn State??s dominating dual meet win over Illinois on Feb. 17, Cohen set a career-high all-around score of 53.200.
The Nittany Lions begin pursuit of their NCAA-record 12th national championship on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall when they compete in a qualifying session of the 2007 National Collegiate Men??s Gymnastics Championships.