Jan. 16, 2018
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Sophomore Sam Zakutney (Ottawa, Ontario) and freshman Brennan Pantazis (Sparks, Nev.) swept the Big Ten Conference weekly awards with Zaktuney winning Big Ten Gymnast of the Week and Pantazis notching Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors the conference office announced Tuesday, Jan. 16.
Zakutney notched conference honors for the sixth time in his career as he was a four-time Freshman of the Week honoree and the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year award winner. Pantazis picks up his first conference honor after donning the Blue and White for the first time at the West Point Open.
Zakutney led the Nittany Lions to a win at the 27th annual West Point Open. The Ottawa, Ontario native won three events in the team finals, with victories on the vault, parallel bars and in the all-around. Zakutney also placed third on the high bar and fourth on the floor. Finally, Zakutney participated in four event finals at the West Point Open for the Blue and White with a second-place finish on the parallel bars.
After the first week of competition, Zakutney ranks second in the nation in the all-around after scoring an 81.350, while also ranking sixth on the parallel bars with an average score of 14.100.
Pantazis paced the Nittany Lions at the West Point Open, earning two first-place finishes in the individual finals. The freshman notched a 14.250 on the floor exercise and a 13.900 on the parallel bars in his finals debut. Pantazis placed himself in the finals after earning a second-place finish in the team portion of the event on the floor exercise and tying for fourth on the parallel bars. The Sparks, Nevada native also placed second in the all-around in his first collegiate meet.
Pantazis, Zakutney and the rest of the Nittany Lions will open their 2018 home slate Saturday, January 20 at Rec Hall against Army West Point. Meet time is set for 4 p.m.