Jan. 23, 2016
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Penn State men's gymnastics team suffered its first loss of the 2016 campaign to the Golden Gophers of Minnesota Saturday, Jan. 23. The Nittany Lions fell 432.750-418.500 in its first Big Ten Conference meet of the season, taking one event title.
Penn State (6-1, 0-1 B1G) captured its third still rings title of the season with a season-high 72.350, while Leroy Clarke, Jr. (Maplewood, N.J.) took home his third-straight still rings title of the season and freshman Michael Burn (Baltimore, Ohio) placed second on the high bar for the second time in his career. Also seeing a top-three finish for Penn State was freshman Chris Sands (Lancaster, Pa.), who placed second behind Clarke on the still rings.
Minnesota (4-2, 1-0 B1G) earned the win on five events and took home five individual event titles as well as the all-around competition title. Tristan Duran captured the all-around title with an 85.400, while Jalon Stephens finished the event for the Golden Gophers with a first-place finish on the high bar with a 14.600 to just edge out Burns.
"It was a disappointing effort today," stated Head Coach Randy Jepson. "We are better than what we showed and we are going to have to have better focus and toughness throughout the season if we are going to improve throughout the season and challenge some of the better teams."
The Nittany Lions started its first Big Ten meet on the pommel horse, scoring a 65.150. The Golden Gophers edged out the Blue and White taking the top three places and scoring a 70.700. Clarke led the way for Penn State with a 13.900 to tie for fourth overall, while Christian McSwain (Jamestown, N.C.) placed fifth with a 13.650.
Moving to the floor trailing Minnesota, Penn State saw three season-high scores, including a team-best 15.100 from junior Dominic DiFulvio (Marietta, N.Y.) to finish fourth overall. Also scoring season-highs were Joshua Smith (Baton Rouge, La.), who finished seventh overall with a 14.450 and McSwain, who finished eighth overall with a season-high 14.400.
Minnesota continued to build on its lead, notching the top four spots on the vault, while Alexis Torres (Cantano, Puerto Rico) tied for fourth with a team-high 14.600. Tying for seventh overall for the Nittany Lions were Jeremy Munn (York, Maine) and Wyatt Tyndall (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), who scored matching 14.450s. The 14.450 marked a career-high for Munn on the vault.
The Nittany Lions earned their first victory of the afternoon on the still rings with a season-high team score of 72.350. Clarke took his third still ring title of the season tying a career-high 15.300, while Sands tied for second with a career-high 14.700. DiFulvio capped off the top five scoring for Penn State with a 14.400 and Burns made his first career appearance on the still rings with a 13.600.
Burns led the way for the Nittany Lions for the third time this season on the high bar notching a 14.450 to earn the second-place finish, while Clarke posted a 13.850 to finish fifth. Tyndall rounded out Penn State's top three with a 13.400 on the high bar.
In the final event, Minnesota took the top two scores, while Clarke grabbed his second top-three finish, placing third with a 14.550. Also finishing in the top five for Penn State was Torres, who placed fourth overall with a 14.450.
The Nittany Lions will return to Rec Hall Saturday, Jan. 30 when Illinois comes to Happy Valley. Meet time is slated for 4 p.m. with half of the ticket proceeds going toward THON.