Jan. 27, 2017
| PENN STATE at SPRINGFIELD | | |
| Sunday, Jan. 29 | 1 p.m. | Springfield, Mass. | |
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Jan. 27, 2017
MEN'S GYMNASTICS TRAVELS TO SPRINGFIELD
The Penn State men's gymnastics team travels to Springfield, Mass. for a dual with the Pride Sunday, Jan. 29. The Nittany Lions and Springfield College will compete at 1 p.m. in its second road meet of the 2017 campaign.
The away meet will mark the second of the season for Penn State and begin a stretch of two away duals before the Nittany Lions return to Rec Hall for their second double dual of the year with the women's program.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE PRIDE
Penn State carries a 33-3-0 all-time record against Springfield adding its more recent win at the 26th Annual West Point Open, Jan. 13. The Blue and White have tallied 24-straight victories over the Pride and have not fallen to Springfield since Jan. 11, 1975. This season, Penn State defeated Springfield 412.350-390.550 at the West Point Open.
DiFULVIO IMPRESSES IN FIRST HOME MEET
Senior Dominic DiFulvio paced the Nittany Lions to a 414.200-396.050 victory over Army West Point in its first home dual of the 2017 season. The Marietta, N.Y. native collected the still rings title with a 14.650 before tying for first on the vault. Finally, DiFulvio notched the all-around title for the first time in the 2017 season with a 82.600.
VALDEZ EARNS SECOND-STRAIGHT BIG TEN HONOR
Freshman Favian Valdez notched his second-straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor as announced by the conference office for week ending Jan. 22.
The freshman earns the honor for the second time in his career after garnering it following his first collegiate appearance at the West Point Open. The Kearny, N.J. native picked up three top-five finishes in his second collegiate outing for the Blue and White against Army, Jan. 21.
Valdez earned his second title of the 2017 season with a 14.050 on the pommel horse for a victory against Army West Point in Penn State's first home meet. Valdez also placed fourth overall on the vault with a 14.050 and placed third in the all-around.
HAMMETT MAKES FIRST CAREER APPEARANCE
Freshman Isaac Hammett made an impact in his first collegiate appearance against Army, Jan. 21. The Sacramento, Calif. native placed second on the still rings with a 13.900.
BORROMEO AND NEDOROSCIK EARN SPOTS IN ROTATION
Along with Favian Valdez and Isaac Hammett, freshman Brayden Borromeo and Stephen Nedoroscik have found a spot in the lineup in the first two meets of their collegiate careers. Borromeo has competed on the floor exercise once and made three appearances on the vault, while Nedoroscik has competed twice on the pommel horse.
NEDOROSCIK RETURNS HOME FOR SPRINGFIELD MEET
Freshman Stephen Nedoroscik will make his first trip back to his home state of Massachusetts this weekend when Penn State takes on Springfield College. The freshman gymnast is from Worcester, Mass. and attended Worcester Technical for high school. This season, Nedoroscik has competed in both meets on the pommel horse for the Nittany Lions, posting a 13.450 against Army and tying for fifth overall last weekend.
PENN STATE RANKED IN THE TOP-10 IN ALL SIX EVENTS
After two weeks of competition the Nittany Lions are ranked in the top-10 in all six events, while sixth student-athletes rank in the top-10 in six events. Penn State ranks second in the nation on both the pommel horse and the parallel bars and comes in third on the still rings and fourth in overall team score. Finally, Penn State ranks fifth on the high bar, sixth on the floor exercise and eighth on the vault.
Individually, Michael Burns and Dominic DiFulvio rank in the top-10 in the all-around with Burns sitting in 7th nationally and DiFulvio holding the No. 8 spot. Burns also ranks 10th in the pommel horse, while DiFulvio ranks eighth in the still rings. Along with Burns, senior Leroy Clarke, Jr. and freshman Favian Valdez rank in the top-10 on the pommel horse as Clarke is seventh and Valdez is ninth nationally. Finally sophomore Wyatt Tyndall ties for fifth on the floor exercise and Franz Card ranks ninth on the parallel bars.
NITTANY LIONS EARN VICTORY OVER ARMY
The Penn State men's gymnastics team picked up a 414.200-396.050 victory over Army West Point in its home-opener against Army West Point. All-arounder and senior captain Dominic DiFulvio notched his first all-around title of the 2017 campaign with an 82.600, while Favian Valdez placed third overall in the all-around with a 79.800. Penn State saw three season-best team scores and one tie as it put up a season-high 69.650 on the floor exercise, a 68.950 on the still rings and a 70.150 on the vault, while tying a season-best 67.300 on the high bar.
The Blue and White won five out of six events with Wyatt Tyndall taking the floor exercise, Valdez earning the pommel horse title, DiFulvio notching the still rings win and tying on the vault and Franz Card taking home the parallel bars title.
2017 PROMOTIONS
With the 2017 men's gymnastics home schedule starting Saturday, Jan. 21, the Nittany Lions have numerous promotions for its four home duals this season.
Penn State opens the 2017 home slate against Army West Point Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. The double dual against the Black Knights will be its annual THON meet where 25 percent of tickets proceeds will go to THON. The Nittany Lions will also be giving away its 2017 schedule poster.
The Blue and White will ask fans to White Out Rec Hall Saturday, Feb. 11 for its second double dual with the women's team, this time against Ohio State. Fans will receive white shakers to cheer on the Nittany Lions and there will be a special Kid's Zone with an airbrush tattoo artist, caricature artist and balloon artist. The Nittany Lions will also ask those in attendance to submit their favorite White Out memory from any Penn State sporting event for a chance to be featured at the meet. All prior Penn State gymnastics campers will be admitted to the meet free of charge in honor of Camper Day.
The meet against the Buckeyes will also be Veterans, Armed Forces and Public Safety Day with all being invited to the meet for free with valid veteran, military or public safety I.D. Finally, the 2017 Nittany Lions will be signing autographs after the meet against Ohio State.
Penn State welcomes back its 2007 National Championship team Saturday, Mar. 18 for a special recognition ceremony between rotations. The meet against Michigan will also be the first of two meets featured on the Big Ten Network. In its final home meet of the 2017 campaign against Iowa, Saturday, Mar. 25, the Nittany Lions will honor its six seniors for their last home meet of their careers. The six seniors set to be honored for their careers at Penn State are Joseph Boyle, Franz Card, Dominic DiFulvio, Christian McSwain, Jeremy Munn and Leroy Clarke, Jr. The meet against the Hawkeyes will also be featured on the Big Ten Network.
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
Penn State opens the 2017 Big Ten Conference slate and the month of February Friday, Feb. 3 at Illinois. The dual between the two squads is scheduled for 7 p.m.
