Jan. 8, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's gymnastics team will open the 2010 season on Sat., Jan. 9 when it hosts Army at Rec Hall. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Entering his 19th season at the helm of the Penn State program, head coach Randy Jepson will guide a squad dominated by youth, as just five Nittany Lions have two or more years of competitive experience at the NCAA level and the freshman class makes up nearly 50 percent of the roster. Returning to provide veteran leadership and competitive experience are seniors Allen Harris (Lancaster, Pa.), the team captain for this season, Matt Greenfield (Villanova, Pa.), Noam Shaham (Kfar Saba, Israel), and Nick Virbitsky (Harrisburg, Pa.) and junior Warren Yang (Nepean, Ont.). Newcomers Felix Aronovich (Kiryat Bialik, Israel), Mackenzie Dow (Cranford, N.J.), and Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) are expected to be key figures in the line-up in their freshman campaigns.
The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 6 in the national GymInfo Preseason Coaches' Poll and have been selected to tie Ohio State for fourth place in the Big Ten in 2010 by a vote of the conference coaches.
Like Penn State, youth will be a prominent theme for Army in 2010. The Black Knights' roster features just four upperclassmen, led by key senior contributors Justin Sappington and Ty Smith. Juniors Nolan Melson and Tim Tieng and sophomore Jonathan Hoey will also lend experience. After fielding a team comprised of just 10 competitors in 2009, 20-year head coach Doug Van Everen has replenished the ranks with seven freshmen.
Penn State owns a 46-18-1 record all-time against Army. The Nittany Lions have faced the Black Knights in either dual meet or open competition to begin the season in each of the past eight years, compiling a perfect 8-0 record, including last season's 344.250-309.550 victory in Rec Hall.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Army dual on the Internet with live scoring updates or with a live video webcast from Rec Hall. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State will be back in action next weekend when it travels to compete at the West Point Open on Jan. 15-16. Hosted by the United States Military Academy, the Nittany Lions have dominated the annual competition, winning 11 consecutive team titles. The team competition is scheduled for Friday with the individual event finals to be held on Saturday. Both competitions are set for 7 p.m. at the home of the Army Black Knights, Christl Arena.