Feb. 28, 2013
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa- So far this season, the top ranked Penn State men's gymnastics team has met every challenge that has come their way. Starting now though, they will face a new test, one that will force not just them, but every team in the NCAA to adjust how they compete.
For the remainder of the season, the NCAA will be implementing a new scoring system that will allow teams to have five gymnasts compete in each event instead of six, with all five scores counting.
Without being able to have their lowest score in each event dropped, the Nittany Lions know they will have to be as sharp as ever from here on out.
"We going to have to rely more on consistency now," said senior captain Parker Raque. "It definitely puts a lot more pressure on each routine."
In order to prepare themselves for the rule change, the team plans on tailoring their practices even more to the style of the meets. This means keeping the atmosphere in practice as competitive as possible and that even casual slip ups in the gym will not be accepted.
"It all starts in the gym and we like to assimilate our practices to our meets when we train," said senior Felix Aronovich. "We like to have the entire team surround a guy before they practice each routine to create a meet-like environment."
Something that both Raque and Aronovich acknowledged is the fact that each gymnast will have to rely on themselves more and not count on a teammate to make up for their mistakes.
With such a small margin for error, the Nittany Lions know that they can't allow their focus and mindset to be affected too much by the scoring change.
"We've had really good consistency all year so it's going to be really important for all the guys to just keep the same mindset," said Raque. "We just need to go out and compete and not add extra pressure to ourselves."
The other key for Penn State, according to Aronovich, is still being able to move forward if they do make a mistake, since it will be virtually impossible for any team to stay perfect for an entire meet.
"You can't go through 30 routines without someone messing up once, that's just a fact," said Aronovich. "You just have to make sure that if you do make a mistake that it doesn't happen again and stay focused on each event."
One aspect of the scoring change that has caused disappointment for the Nittany Lions is the fact that having fewer attempts will allow fewer gymnasts to compete in meets.
For head coach Randy Jepson, having to sit some very capable gymnasts is something he is not looking forward too, though he has accepted it.
"The biggest thing is that you've just taken out competitive opportunities for guys," said Jepson. "That's what these guys live and breathe for and it's tough to see that taken away."
With his team ready to accept the new challenge that the scoring change presents, Jepson stated that it's a whole new season for the Nittany Lions at this point.
"Every day is a new day and every turn counts starting now," said Jepson. "That's not news to us and we're prepared to look at it that way from here on out."
Jepson has instilled the same mindset in his student-athletes, who have done their best to look at the rule change positively.
The way they see it, this is just another opportunity to continue to improve themselves as gymnasts going forward.
"This is a new environment for us but it is the same for all the other teams as well," said Raque. "I liked the way it was in the past but this change is exciting and it should be fun."