April 14, 2016
By Miranda Kulp, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State men's gymnastic team heads back to Columbus, Ohio this weekend for the 2016 NCAA Championships.
Being no strangers to the national stage, the Nittany Lions have won the championships 12 times already, the last one being in 2007.
"I've seen it all in my career," said head coach Randy Jepson. "I've had teams that dominate in regular season but then loss it in the championships, and I've had teams that battle their way to the championships and take it from behind."
The Lions recently came in fourth place at the Big Ten championships and bring back valuable lessons with them as they prepare for the NCAA championships.
"We have some things to work out still but I think we're standing at a good spot right now," said Jepson. "This is the healthiest we've been all season which is good, we're not a 100% but I'm glad we're better than where we were earlier in the season."
The championship breaks down into two sessions on Friday, April 15th, with the top three teams of both session I and session II competing for the team event finals on Saturday, April 16th.
"We've been really solid all around this year," said coach Jepson. "We've been really solid on rings and parallel bars, which is the event we've really been able to make the most gain on people in competition."
"High bars we've also been very solid on this year," he continued.
Although the team's been solid in the competition, they still aim to improve.
"If anything I would say we want to hit pommel horse," Jepson said. "Not that we're bad on that event, but it's not as strong as the rest of our routines and I think if we iron that out we'll be in great shape for the competition."
With the Blue and White just recently competing in the St. John Arena at Ohio State University, they're well-prepared for the setting of the NCAA competition.
"This is our third postseason in this arena, I think the guys will be very comfortable entering the arena," said Jepson. "It plays to our benefit we've seen the setting before and know what the teams we're competing against are."
"We're entering the weekend expecting no surprises, but also prepared for anything."
With a squad full of veterans such as Trevor Howard, Alexis Torres, and Leroy Clarke Jr. leading the team the Lions are keeping their spirits high.
The Nittany Lions have worked hard the entire season and they'll end their 2015-2016 campaign this weekend with hopes to finish on a high note.
"I always tell my guys anything can happen," said Jepson. "As long as we go out and do the job we're trained to do and have fun doing it we'll be fine, we just need to stay focused on the big picture and see what happens."
The competition will start at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 15th and extend into Saturday with the first event starting at 7 p.m.