March 24, 2016
By Miranda Kulp, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - With the regular season officially over, the Penn State men's gymnastics team is preparing to start the Big Ten Championships.
The Nittany Lions ended the season 10-4 overall, and 3-4 in the Big Ten. Staying focused, the boys are entering the postseason determined heading to Columbus.
"I think there will be tough competition, with Ohio State being home for the competition it does add some pressure but we're really focused right now," said Penn State head coach Randy Jepson.
Last year the Blue and White took home the top prize as Big Ten champions. If they successfully keep the title, it will be the first time in the program's history they are back-to-back Big Ten champions.
"This is a completely new team than last year and with that comes new challenges and new strengths," said coach Jepson. "Being last year's champs can motivate us for sure but we are a different team so we need to adjust accordingly if we want to win it all again."
Last year, the team won after Trevor Howard's performance put them in the lead.
"Everyone wants to be that guy to bring home the win and that's what I use as motivation," said Jepson. "These guys are all capable of great things and highly motivated, each of them wants to help the team win."
Although there's plenty of talent on the team, there's also an immense amount of Penn State pride and brotherhood.
During any meet, the boys can be found cheering on one another throughout the competition.
"We learned against Nebraska that team moral is an essential. We were down that meet and turned it around to win by only a few points and I think that had a lot to do with our attitude," Jepson said.
Penn State is known for top-notch gymnastics, and the team is trying to iron out all little details before the competition.
"We've really been solid on rings, but if we can get consistency to be our key and hammer that out as we move forward I think we stand a good chance," said Jepson.
The first day of the competition starts on Friday, April 1st in Columbus, Ohio and will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Other Big Ten schools competing are Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and host Ohio State.