| PENN STATE at WEST POINT OPEN | | | 0-0-0 (0-0-0) |
| Saturday, Jan. 13-14 | 7 p.m. | Gross Center West Point, N.Y. | |
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Jan. 12, 2016
NITTANY LIONS OPEN 2017 CAMPAIGN AT WEST POINT OPEN
The Penn State men's gymnastics team will start its 2017 campaign on the road at Army West Point, the site of the 2017 National Championship, for the 26th Annual West Point Open Friday, Jan. 13-Saturday, Jan. 14. The Nittany Lions will compete for their fourth-straight title after winning the event in 2014-16 and sweeping the individual event titles in the 2016 campaign.
ROTATION ORDER FOR WEST POINT OPEN
The Nittany Lions will begin the meet on the high bar before having a bye in the second rotation. After a short break, Penn State will move to the floor exercise followed by the pommel horse before its final bye. Finally, the Blue and White will close out the meet on the still rings, vault and parallel bars, respectively.
PENN STATE HISTORY AT THE WEST POINT OPEN
Penn State has won the West Point Open 18 times in the 25 years of the meet, having won it 10-straight times from 1998-2007. The Nittany Lions are the three-time defending champs, notching a 424.850 in the 2016 season.
Additionally, the Blue and White have won 79 individual event titles at the West Point Open, clinching all six individual event titles in the 2016 campaign. The feat marked just the second time in Penn State's history at the event to take home all six event titles in the individual championships as the 2012 Nittany Lions also won all six events as well as the all-around.
Penn State returns four of its five champions from the 2016 season, including senior captain Dominic DiFulvio who nabbed both the floor and vault title. Also earning event titles at the 2016 West Point Open were junior Colin Coates, who scored a season-best 15.050 on the pommel horse and Michael Burns, who notched a season-high 15.000 on the high bar.
PENN STATE VS. OPPONENTS AT WEST POINT OPEN
The Nittany Lions own a dominating 238-46-0 overall record against its six opponents at the West Point Open, defeating Temple 81 of the 92 times the two teams have faced off. Furthermore, Penn State has defeated both Army West Point and Navy over 50 times in the history of the squads, while defeating Springfield 32 times, Big Ten foe Nebraska 10 times and Arizona State twice.
SERIES WITH ARIZONA STATE
Penn State is 2-0 all-time with Arizona State. The Nittany Lions notched a 430.450-413.700 victory over the Sun Devils when it traveled out to Tempe, Ariz. Mar. 4, 2016 for a dual meet.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Penn State owns a 58-18-1 overall record against Army West Point and has won 49-straight meetings against the Black Knights. The Nittany Lions have not dropped a meet to Army West Point since 1962 when the Black Knights handed Gene Wettstone and his squad their lone loss of the season with a 54-42 victory over Penn State.
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST NAVY
Penn State owns a 55-10-0 overall record against the Midshipmen, defeating Navy on 28-straight occasions. The Nittany Lions have not dropped a meet to Navy since 1988 when they fell 275.600-275.300, Feb. 5.
SERIES HISTORY WITH SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE
The Blue and White are 32-3-0 all-time against the Pride, picking up 23-straight victories. The Nittany Lions have not fallen to Springfield since Jan. 11, 1975 when they were defeated 202.60-200.50.
GLANCING AT THE SERIES WITH TEMPLE
Penn State has faced off with Temple on 92 occasions, taking 81 victories. The series with the Owls dates back to the 1937 season as the Nittany Lions have met up with Temple more times than any other opponent in the history of the program.
HISTORY WITH NEBRASKA
The Nittany Lions are 10-3-0 all-time agains the Cornhuskers having picked up three victories over its Big Ten opponent in the 2016 season. Penn State and Nebraska will test each other early on in the season before competing for a second time in a tri-meet with Iowa in Lincoln, Neb.
LAST TIME OUT AT THE WEST POINT OPEN
The No. 6 Penn State men's gymnastics team captured their third-straight title at the 25th Annual West Point Open Friday, Jan. 15. The title marks the 18th time that Penn State has won the event in its 25-year history.
The Nittany Lions bested their score from a week prior, posting a 424.850, while Army West Point placed second with a 616.350 and Navy picked up the third-place finish with a 415.800. Penn State garnered the top spot in four-of-six events, taking the title on the floor (72.250), still rings (70.300), vault (72.950) and high bar (71.100).
Moving into the individual events, the Penn State men's gymnastics team swept all six individual event titles on day two of the 25th Annual West Point Open. 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.
NITTANY LIONS PICKED FOURTH IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Penn State 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. and Dominic DiFulvio 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.
PENN STATE COMES IN SIXTH IN THE CGA PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The Penn State men's gymnastics team enters the 2017 campaign ranked sixth in the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Preseason Coaches' Poll as announced Tuesday, Nov. 22.
Oklahoma was picked to finish first in the nation for the third-straight season with 17 first-place votes, while Stanford was picked to finish second with one first-place vote and Ohio State was projected to round out the top three with one first-place vote. Minnesota and Illinois ranked fourth and fifth, respectively with Penn State coming in as the No. 6 team to start the 2017 season.
NITTANY LIONS SET TO APPEAR ON BTN THREE TIMES
The Penn State men's gymnastics team will have two home meets featured on the Big Ten Network, while the network will also air the 2017 Big Ten Championships. The Nittany Lions and the Wolverines of Michigan will square off at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 18 on BTN before the Blue and White closes out its season against Iowa Saturday, Mar. 25 at 3 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
The 2017 Men's Big Ten Championships will be hosted by Illinois in Champaign, Ill. Friday, Apr. 7 and Saturday, Apr. 8. The team championship will be handed out on Friday, while individual event winners will be crowned Apr. 8. Both sessions will be aired live on BTN starting at 7 p.m.
JEPSON KICKS OFF 26TH SEASON AT THE HELM OF MEN'S GYMNASTICS
The 2017 campaign marks the 26th season for Head Coach Randy Jepson as the program leader of the Nittany Lions. Jepson came to Penn State in 1982 as a senior gymnast, earning All-America honors on the rings and being a Nissen-Emery Award nominee. From there, he went on to be the graduate assistant for two seasons before becoming an assistant coach from 1985-1991. In 1992, Jepson served as the acting head coach and was promoted to head coach in 1993 and since has led the Nittany Lions to three national championships and three Big Ten titles.
Jepson has been the National Coach of the Year on three occasions (2000, 2004 and 2007) and garnered the prestigious CGA Honor Coach Award in 2011, which is given to the coaches who have 25 years of service or more to the sport of gymnastics. Additionally, Jepson is a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year honoree and has coached 43 All-Americans on 100 occasions, 30 First Team All-Big Ten selection and 11 NCAA Individual Event Champions.
CLARKE RETURNS FOR FINAL SEASON AFTER ALL-AMERICAN FINISH IN 2016
The 2017 men's gymnastics team sees the return of senior Leroy Clarke, Jr., who is the lone All-American returner for the Blue and White. Clarke capped off the 2016 season with an All-American finish on the still rings, placing eighth overall. The redshirt-senior from Maplewood, N.J. will be in search of his third All-American title in the his final season with Penn State as he earned the honor on the parallel bars in the 2015 season.
JEPSON WELCOMES FIVE FOR 2016
Head Coach Randy Jepson will welcome five freshman in the 2017 campaign. The five newcomers include: Brayden Borromeo, Isaac Hammett, Stephen Nedoroscik, Favian Valdez and Sam Zakutney. Nedoroscik, Valdez and Zakutney have been tabbed as three of the top pommel horses performers in the country in their respective classes, while Borromeo and Hammett will hope to make an impact on a variety of events in their freshman campaigns.
SEVEN NITTANY LIONS COLLECT CGA ALL-AMERICA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE HONORS
Seven Penn State men's gymnasts earned College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Academic All-America Scholar-Athlete honors, while the 2016 team ranked in the top 10 with a 3.123 team grade point average in the 2015-16 academic year. Four Nittany Lions earned first team All-America Scholar-Athlete honors with sophomore Noah Roberson leading the way with a 4.0 grade point average. Also earning first team honors for the Blue and White were Michael Burns, Wyatt Tyndall and Chris Sands.
Along with the four first team honorees, three Nittany Lions notched second team honors with Franz Card, Benjamin Cooperman and Dominic DiFulvio all earning grade point averages between 3.399-3.30.
As a team, Penn State ranked 10th nationally with a 3.123 grade point average, while William and Mary paced the nation with a 3.512 team GPA and Stanford came in second with a 3.427 team grade point average.
Since the inception of the award in 1991, the Nittany Lions have received 65 first team All-America Scholar-Athlete honors and 43 second team All-American Scholar-Athlete honors. Penn State's 65 first team honors ranks 13th all-time, while its 43 second team honors are tied for third all-time.
TICKET INFORMATION
For information on purchasing 2017 season tickets fans can visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Penn State will host its first home meet of the 2017 season Saturday, Jan. 21 against Army West Point. The dual is slated to start at 4 p.m. at Rec Hall.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions open their 2017 home slate Saturday, Jan. 21 against Army West Point. Penn State and Army square off at 4 p.m. at Rec Hall.
