Sept. 11, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Nine members of the 2013 Penn State men's gymnastics team have been selected as All-America Scholar-Athletes by the College Gymnastics Association (CGA). Five Nittany Lions received first team recognition while four qualified for second team laurels.
In order to garner first team recognition, student-athletes had to achieve a grade point average of at least 3.50 while members of the second team attained between a 3.20 and 3.499. The Blue and White placed 10th as a team in the NCAA and fifth among Big Ten squads with a combined GPA of 3.068.
Senior All-American Adrian Evans (Boulder, Colo.) headlined the group of honorees, earning a grade point average between 3.90-3.999, the highest on the team. He was joined on the first team by Scott Rosenthal (Clearfield, Pa.) (3.80-3.899), Felix Aronovich (Kiryat Bialik, Israel) (3.70-3.799), Parker Raque (Louisville, Ky.) (3.60-3.699) and Ingvar Jochumsson (KÃ"pavogur, Iceland) (3.50-3.599).
Preston Gall (Columbus, Ohio) (3.30-3.99), Tony Beck (Catasauqua, Pa.) (3.30-3.399), Matthew Chelberg (Athens, Ohio) (3.20-3.299) and Craig Hernandez (Libertyville, Ill.) (3.20-3.299) picked up second team honors.
Evans is a three-time CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete recipient and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He has earned All-America laurels on the pommel horse the past two seasons and finished fifth in the event at the 2013 NCAA Championships with a score of 14.675. Evans also turned in a career-high effort in the pommel horse against Army with a mark of 15.300.
Rosenthal, a senior in 2013, earned CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors all four years as a Nittany Lion and was a three-time All-American on the still rings. Despite dealing with a shoulder injury for most of the season, Rosenthal finished third on the still rings at the 2013 NCAA Championships with a score of 15.400 and had a mark of 15.000 in the team finals at the Big Ten Championships. He was also the recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
A two-time All-American and first team All-Big Ten honoree, Aronovich was a key member of the Penn State squad in 2013. He placed fourth in the all-around (86.700) and fifth in the high bar (14.725) at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Additionally, Arnonovich set career-highs in four different events in 2013. He turned in an effort of 15.350 on the pommel horse and a score of 15.500 on the high bar against Army before registering marks of 15.100 in the floor exercise and 15.500 in the still rings at the Illinois Dual.
Raque was a four-time CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete recipient and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He picked up his second All-America honor in 2013 after finishing sixth on the still rings (15.075) in the individual finals at the NCAA Championships. Raque recorded a career-high score of 15.300 on the high bar and tied his career-high mark of 15.800 on the still rings in a tri-meet at Temple with William & Mary.
A two-time CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete honoree, Jochumsson competed in two meets on the still rings for the Nittany Lions in 2013. He registered a career-high score of 13.600 at the Springfield College Dual and scored 11.600 on the still rings at the Navy Open.
CGA First Team All-America Scholar-Athletes
3.90-3.999
Adrian Evans
3.80-3.899
Scott Rosenthal
3.70-3.799
Felix Aronovich
3.60-3.699
Parker Raque
3.50-3.599
Ingvar Jochumsson
CGA Second Team All-America Scholar-Athletes
3.30-3.399
Preston Gall
Tony Beck
3.20-3.299
Matthew Chelberg
Craig Hernandez