Dec. 13, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's and women's gymnastics will be joining forces for the second annual Blue-White Showcase on Friday, Dec. 14. Action is set for 7 p.m. at Rec Hall and is open to the public. Admission is free but donation to Toys for Tots is encouraged and appreciated around the Holiday Season.
In its second year, the purpose of the Blue-White Showcase is to give fans a sneak preview of both 2013 teams. The intrasquad meet will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature fan interaction games and activities throughout the meet. Additionally, there will be a pizza party immediately following the meet in the concourse of Rec Hall. All fans are invited to attend.
This year's contest will also feature guest judges. Bri Garcia (Women's Soccer), Kelsey Amy (Field Hockey) and Gary Gilliam (Football) will be in the Penn State student-athlete pool of judges. Additionally, fans that participated in the Guest Judge contest will also be eligible to be selected as a guest judge.
Head coach Randy Jepson enters his 22nd season at the helm of the Nittany Lion men's gymnastics program and will return 16 competitors from a team that placed third overall at the 2012 NCAA National Championships. Jepson's 2013 group is ranked No. 4 nationally by GymInfo. A three-time National Coach of the Year, Jepson will rely on his senior leadership from captain Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.), Aronovich, Tony Beck (Catasauqua, Pa.), Matt Chelberg (Athens, Ohio), Mackenzie Dow (Cranford, N.J.), Nihir Kothari (Malvern, Pa.) and Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.).
Third year head coach Jeff Thompson returns six competitors from last year's squad that finished sixth in the Big Ten. Returning for the Nittany Lions is senior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and became the second Penn State gymnast in the last four years to earn the honor. Musser became the seventh overall Penn State student-athlete to win the Big Ten's top gymnast award. Thompson additionally welcomes eight newcomers to his 2013 squad.