| Friday, Feb. 8 | 6 p.m. | St. John's Columbus, Ohio | |
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Feb. 8, 2018
PENN STATE HEADS TO COLUMBUS FOR DOUBLE DUAL
The Penn State men's gymnastics team will travel to Columbus, Ohio for a double dual with the women's gymnastics team against Ohio State Friday, Feb. 9. The two teams will take the floor at 6 p.m. with the Nittany Lions starting on the pommel horse.
CATCHING THE MEET FROM HOME
Fans who cannot make it out to the meet on Friday, can follow along with live results on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
SERIES HISTORY WITH OHIO STATE
The Nittany Lions carry the 19-11 all-time dual advantage over Ohio State but the Buckeyes have come away victorious in the last two seasons. Penn State will be looking for its first win over the Buckeyes since the 2015 campaign when it earned a 443.600-431.400 victory at Rec Hall. The Blue and White will be competing for its first win at St. John Arena since the 2012 campaign when it notched a 355.500-347.200 win over the Buckeyes.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State was picked to win the Big Ten Conference for the fourth-straight season but has struggled to start, going 0-2 in its first two conference duals. The Buckeyes will compete in their first home Big Ten meet against Penn State as its two losses were on the road against Nebraska and Michigan. Redshirt-senior Sean Melton is back for one final season, ranking first in the nation on the still rings, while Alec Yoder ranks second on the pommel horse for the Buckeyes. Yoder is also second nationally in the all-around with a season-high 83.600.
ZAKUTNEY COMPETES AT ELITE CANADA MEET
With Penn State having a bye week, it gave sophomore Sam Zakutney an opportunity to head to Quebec, Canada to compete in 2018 Elite Canada. Elite Canada is the equivalent of the Winter Cup for American gymnasts. Zakutney competed in the all-around, placing fourth overall with a 75.134. The Ottawa, Ontario native also placed third on the floor exercise with a 13.300 and placed seventh on both the vault and high bar.
PENN STATE FALLS IN FIRST B1G DUAL
Despite putting up season-best scores on the floor exercise (70.800) and parallel bars (69.850), the Nittany Lions were unable to come away with a victory over the Fighting Illini in their first Big Ten Conference home meet of the 2018 season. Illinois won all but two events as sophomore Sam Zakutney picked up two event victories with a win on the parallel bars and in the all-around.
11 NITTANY LIONS COLLECT CGA ALL-AMERICA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE HONORS
Eleven Penn State men's gymnastics student-athletes earned College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Academic All-American Scholar-Athlete honors, while the 2017 team ranked in the top 10 with a 3.284 team grade point average in the 2016-17 academic year.
Eight Nittany Lions earned first team All-American Scholar-Athlete honors with redshirt-sophomore Noah Roberson leading the way with a 4.0 grade point average. Roberson was the 2017 Elite 90 recipient for men's gymnastics as a double major in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering. Also earning first team honors for the Blue and White were Chris Sands (3.99-3.90 GPA), Wyatt Tyndall (3.89-3.80), Brayden Borromeo (3.799-3.70), Michael Burns (3.799-3.70), Alex Thomason (3.79-3.70), Benjamin Cooperman (3.699-3.60) and Franz Card (3.599-3.50).
Along with the seven first team honorees, three Nittany Lions notched second team honors, including Joseph Boyle (3.399-3.30), Dominic DiFulvio (3.399-3.30) and Stephen Nedoroscik (3.299-3.20).
As a team, Penn State ranked fifth in the nation with a 3.284 team grade point average, while Big Ten foe Nebraska led the way with a 3.505 team GPA.
Since the inception of the award in 1991, the Nittany Lions have received 76 first team All-American Scholar-Athlete honors and 46 second team All-American Scholar-Athlete honors. Penn State's 76 first team honorees rank 13th all-time amongst NCAA gymnastics teams.
TICKET INFORMATION
For information on purchasing 2018 season tickets fans can visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
NEXT UP
Penn State will travel a select group of gymnasts to the 2018 Winter Cup in Las Vegas, Nevada, Feb. 15 and 17.
