April 28, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State men's gymnastics team held its annual end of season banquet on Sunday. The Nittany Lions honored the 2015 senior class and handed out team awards.
"It is always great to gather at the end of the season to say thank you to those who have contributed to our success and celebrate the achievements of the season as a Penn State family," head coach Randy Jepson said. "This year we have much to celebrate both individually and as a team. I am proud not only of our athletes but, of those who contribute so much behind the scenes to make the Penn State Men's Gymnastics experience all that it is."
As a team, Penn State captured its third Big Ten title in school history and finished third at the 2015 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships.
Individually, the Nittany Lions had seven All-America finishes, one national champion, two first team All-Big Ten honorees and two Big Ten champions, including Matthew Felleman (Medway, Mass.) winning the Big Ten all-around title and Trevor Howard (Columbus, Ohio) defending his 2014 Big Ten still rings title.
At the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, Penn State posted seven All-America finishes, including Thad Lawson (Chesapeake, Va.) winning the floor exercise title. Lawson becomes Penn State's 53rd national champion and the second Nittany Lion to win the floor exercise title in the past three years (Trevor Howard -- 2013).
In the record books, the Nittany Lions set 15 individual top-10 all-time performances, including Craig Hernandez's (Libertyville, Ill.) school record score of 15.950 on the pommel horse and as a team, Penn State tallied 25 top-10 record books performances, including school record scores of 76.100 (floor exercise) and 77.600 (still rings).
Bringing home the Most Improved Gymnast award was Dominic DiFulvio (Marietta, N.Y.). DiFulvio, a sophomore, recorded career-best scores on all five apparatus he competed on during the 2015 season. He posted scores of 15.400 (floor exercise), 14.350 (still rings), 14.700 (vault) and 14.850 (parallel bars) throughout the season.
At the West Point Open, DiFulvio tallied a career-best score of 15.400 on the floor exercise for the top spot in the team finals. Later in the season, he tied his career-best score (15.400) to capture his first-career floor exercise title at the Nebraska Quad.
The Most Valuable Gymnast award went to junior Trevor Howard. During the 2015 season, Howard recorded six top-10 performances in school history. On the floor exercise, he tied his career-best and the No. 2 score in school history (15.800). On the still rings, Howard set three top-10 marks, as he scored 16.250 (No. 3), 16.100 (tied for No. 4) and 16.000 (tied for No. 9). Howard also set two top-10 performances on the parallel bars. His score of 15.650 ranks third all-time, while his score of 15.400 is tied for seventh all-time.
Howard sealed Penn State's third Big Ten title with his score of 15.100 on the floor exercise and he also propelled the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Team Finals as he tied his career-best score of 15.800 on the floor exercise.
Also at the team banquet, Coach Jepson announced that Leroy Clarke, Jr. (Maplewood, N.J.) will captain the 2016 Nittany Lions. Clarke, a redshirt sophomore, recorded his first All-America finish as he placed sixth on the parallel bars with his score of 14.725. Along with his All-America finish, Clarke recorded career-best scores of 14.900 (pommel horse), 15.350 (still rings) and 15.300 (parallel bars) during the 2015 season.
Most Improved Gymnast -- Dominic DiFulvio
Most Valuable Gymnast - Trevor Howard
2016 Team Captain -- Leroy Clarke, Jr.
Follow Penn State men's gymnastics on Facebook by clicking here or on Twitter @PennStateMGYM.