Dec. 15, 2016
ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Penn State men's gymnastics team was picked fourth in the 2017 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference office Thursday, Dec. 15. Along with the preseason coaches' poll, seniors Leroy Clarke, Jr. (Maplewood, N.J.) and Dominic DiFulvio (Marietta, N.Y.) were named to the Gymnast to Watch List for the upcoming season.
For the third-straight season Ohio State grabbed the top spot in the Big Ten Poll, while Minnesota was picked to finish second and Illinois rounded out the top three places. With the Nittany Lions coming in at fourth, Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan complete the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll for the 2017 campaign.
Head coach Randy Jepson returns to the helm of the Penn State program for his 26th season, looking for the squad's fourth Big Ten title and nation-leading 13th National Championship. The 2017 squad returns one All-American in Clarke, who placed eighth on the still rings at the 2016 National Championship. Also returning for a final season for the Blue and White is DiFulvio, who was named team captain and picked up four first-place finishes in the 2016 campaign.
Penn State will also be looking to six newcomers to make an impact immediately, specifically on the pommel horse as Stephen Nedoroscik (Worcester, Mass.) and Favian Valdez (Kearny, N.J.) have been tabbed as two of the top pommel horse performers in the country in their respective classes.
The Nittany Lions kick off the 2017 on the road as it travels to the West Points Open, Jan. 13-14. Last season, Penn State captured the team title as well as all six individual titles for the first time since the 2012 season
Fans can catch the 2017 team home at Rec Hall for the first time in 2017 Saturday, Jan. 21 when they take on Army West Point in a double dual with the women's program starting at 4 p.m.
Single meet and season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting 1-800-NITTANY, online at www.GoPSUSports.com/tickets or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center.
BIG TEN MEN'S GYMNASTICS PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
- Ohio State
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Penn State
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Michigan
BIG TEN MEN'S GYMNASTS TO WATCH LIST
Alex Diab, So., ILL
Brandon Ngai, Jr., ILL
Dylan Ellsworth, Jr., IOWA
Austin Hodges, Jr., IOWA
Dmitri Belanovski, Jr., MICH
Tristian Perez-Rivera, Sr., MICH
Tristan Duran, Jr., MINN
Zach Liebler, Sr., MINN
Austin Epperson, Sr., NEB
Anton Stephenson, So., NEB
Tristan Burke, So., OSU
Jake Martin, Sr., OSU
Leroy Clarke, Sr., PSU
Dominic DiFulvio, Sr., PSU