April 11, 2015
Final Results | Saturday Start List
NORMAN, Okla. -- The Penn State men's gymnastics team finished third at the 2015 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships Friday night inside the Lloyd Noble Center on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. No. 1 Oklahoma won its ninth NCAA title with its score of 447.050 followed by No. 2 Stanford (440.450) and No. 3 Penn State (439.500).
Individually, junior Trevor Howard (Columbus, Ohio) and senior Matthew Felleman (Medway, Mass.) tallied All-America finishes in the all-around; Howard finished fourth (88.500), while Felleman claimed seventh (88.200). Both Nittany Lions recorded career-best performances in the all-around.
The Nittany Lions began the night firing on all cylinders as three gymnasts hit career-best performances on the still rings. Felleman got things started for Penn State with a career-best score of 15.050, then Leroy Clarke, Jr. (Maplewood, N.J.) followed up with a 15.100 to continue the momentum for the Nittany Lions.
Up next, senior captain Tristan Duverglas (West Orange, N.J.) hit a career-best score of 15.600 as the third Nittany Lion on the still rings. The fourth Nittany Lion, Alexis Torres (Catano, Puerto Rico), also posted a score of 15.600.
Howard capped off an outstanding team performance with the third-best score in school history. Howard tallied a career-best score of 16.250 to give the Nittany Lions an event score of 77.600. Penn State's score of 77.600 is the top mark in school history and the No. 1 score this year in the NCAA. On the still rings, Howard finished second, while Duverglas and Torres tied for fourth. Howard, Duverglas and Torres will advance to the individual finals.
Rotation two, the vault, Penn State was led by freshman Thad Lawson (Chesapeake, Va.). Lawson recorded his second-best score of the year (14.950) to tie for 11th overall. He will serve as an alternate for the individual finals Saturday night.
Also in the vault, Felleman tied his season-best score of 14.800 and Howard tallied a score of 14.850. As a team, the Nittany Lions posted a score of 72.600 on the vault. Penn State held the lead heading into the third rotation.
In the third rotation, the parallel bars, Penn State posted a team score of 72.550. On the parallel bars, Clarke, Jr. and Howard both posted scores of 15.250 to tie for third. Also in the event, Felleman recorded a score of 14.450 to round out the top three Nittany Lions. Following the third rotation, they Nittany Lions found themselves in third.
On the high bar, Felleman led the Nittany Lions with his sixth-place finish as he tallied a score of 14.950. Howard added to his all-around total with a mark of 14.550 and freshman Quest Hayden (Harrisburg, Pa.) posted a score of 14.300. As a group, the Nittany Lions recorded an overall score of 71.900. After the fourth rotation, Penn State was in third with its team score of 294.650.
The Nittany Lions' forte, the floor exercise was next. In the event, all five Nittany Lions posted scores of 15.000 or better. Christian McSwain (Jamestown, N.C.) started the event with a 15.200, followed by back-to-back 15.000s from Felleman and sophomore Dominic DiFulvio (Marietta, N.Y.).
After posting a score of 14.700 on the floor exercise last night, Lawson tied his career-high, and the No. 4 score all-time at Penn State, (15.700) to take the top spot on the night. Howard closed out the floor exercise for Penn State with a 15.200. Lawson will advance to Saturday's individual finals. As a group, Penn State hit a school record score of 76.100. After rotation five, the Nittany Lions were in second.
On the pommel horse, the final rotation, Penn State finished with a score of 68.750. Clarke, Jr. (14.000) and Felleman (13.950) posted the top two scores for Penn State. With Howard competing in the all-around, he added a score of 12.400 to his point total.
Individual Finalists:
Leroy Clarke, Jr. -- Parallel Bars
Tristan Duverglas -- Still Rings
Matthew Felleman -- High Bar
Trevor Howard -- Parallel Bars, Still Rings
Thad Lawson -- Floor, Vault (Alternate)
Alexis Torres -- Still Rings
Final Results:
1. Oklahoma - 447.050
2. Stanford - 440.450
3. Penn State - 439.500
4. Michigan -Â 437.650
5. California - 432.100
6. Iowa - 427.450
NOTES: Felleman and Howard become the first Penn State duo to be named All-Americans in the all-around in the same year since 1969 (Bob Emery and Dick Swetman) ... Penn State's team score of 439.500 is tenth-best in school history ... Penn State was picked to finish sixth in the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Preseason Poll ... The Nittany Lions' third-place finish Friday is the highest since they finished third in 2012.
The top-10 finishers from each event from Friday night's session will advance to the individual finals Saturday night starting at 8 p.m. ET
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