Jan. 16, 2016
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Penn State men's gymnastics team swept all six individual event titles on day two of the 25th Annual West Point Open Saturday, Jan. 16.
The feat marks just the second time in Penn State's history at the event to take home the all six event titles in the individual championships as the 2012 Nittany Lions also won all six events as well as the all-around.
"We had a very strong effort from our guys tonight, I'm very pleased," stated Head Coach Randy Jepson. "We had some real fighters and it culminated into six victories which is outstanding. It is one of those few times in your career when you can say your team swept the team event, the all-around and the six events, so I am really pleased with their efforts."
Penn State kicked off the event with a victory on the floor from Dominic DiFulvio (Marietta, N.Y.), who notched a 14.600 in his first victory of the night, while Alexis Torres (Cantano, Puerto Rico) placed second with a 14.300.
The Nittany Lions captured their second individual title of the night when Colin Coates (Emmaus, Pa.) nabbed his first top finish of the season with a 15.050. Also placing in the top-five on the pommel horse was Leroy Clarke, Jr. (Maplewood, N.J.), who scored a 13.900.
Moving to the still rings, Clarke picked up Penn State's third-straight win with a 14.450 and Noah Roberson (Williamsville, N.Y.) nabbed a fourth-place finish with a 14.150.
DiFulvio was again impressive for the Nittany Lions on the vault, scoring a 14.850 for his second first-place finish in the individual championships. Torres rounded out the top-five scorers with a 14.400 on the vault for the Blue and White.
DiFulvio was also very solid," noted Jepson. "He won the all-around, on the floor and on vault, so a really good job all around."
Torres notched a 15.400 on the parallel bars to win the event for Penn State, while Clarke placed second with a 15.250.
"Torres did outstanding this weekend," commented Jepson. "He won the parallel bars and he also did a great job on his other events as well.
Freshman Michael Burns (Baltimore, Ohio) capped off the night for Penn State with a 15.000 to complete the six-event sweep for the Nittany Lions. Torres placed second with a 14.700.
Penn State will kick off its 2016 Big Ten Conference slate Saturday, Jan. 23 when it heads to Minneapolis, Minn. to take on the Golden Gophers. Meet time is slated for 2 p.m.