March 10, 2018
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TEMPE, Ariz. - The Penn State men's gymnastics team earned a decisive victory over Arizona State and Navy, scoring a 402.450 Saturday, March 10.
"We took this meet as an opportunity to get some rest on some guys and hopefully it will pay off down the road," said head coach Randy Jepson. "We were very solid for the first half and had some breaks in the second half, so we will have to address our focus as the meet goes on. Now it is time to send off our seniors in Rec Hall against a very strong Nebraska squad on Saturday."
Junior Chris Sands (Lancaster, Pa.) notched his third-straight victory in as many weeks as he scored a meet-high 14.200 on the floor exercise for the Nittany Lions, while Stephen Nedoroscik (Worcester, Mass.) followed it up with a victory on the pommel horse, scoring a 14.850. Junior Michael Burns (Baltimore, Ohio) picked up the third-straight event victory for the Blue and White with his fourth win on the high bar and notched his second win of the day with the victory on the parallel bars.
The NIttany Lions started the meet on the still rings, scoring a 68.500 behind a team-best 13.900 from Noah Roberson (Williamsville, N.Y.), who placed second overall in the event. Sands placed second for the Blue and White with a 13.850, while Greg Tamargo (Kennett Square, Pa.) rounded out the top three with a 13.650,
Moving to the floor exercise, Sands picked up the first victory of the day for Penn State with a 14.200 on the floor exercise and freshman Brennan Pantazis (Sparks, Nev.) placed second overall with a 14.100 on the floor exercise for the Blue and White. As a team, the Blue and White scored a 69.100 to remain in the lead after two complete rotations.
Penn State moved to the pommel horse for the third rotation of the day, where Nedoroscik paced Penn State for its second event victory of the day notching a 14.850 as the final competitor for the Nittany Lions. Senior Colin Coates (Emmaus, Pa.) placed second for the Blue and White with a 13.400 and freshman Alex Frack (Nazareth, Pa.) finished out the top three for the Nittany Lions with a 13.150. With three rotations complete, Penn State led the field with a team total of 136.250.
The Blue and White took to the high bar in the fourth rotation of the meet with a team score of 63.450 behind the third-straight event victory for Penn State. Burns picked up the win on the high bar with a meet-best 13.550, while Sands earned his second podium finish of the night placing second with a 13.500.
The Nittany Lions moved to the vault in the fifth rotation, where Pantazis led the team with a 14.300 and Brayden Borromeo (Littlestown, Pa.) followed it up with a 14.100. As a team, Penn State scored a 69.350 and continued to lead the field with one rotation left.
In the final rotation, Burns earned his second event victory of the day on the parallel bars, scoring a 14.000, while Sam Zakutney (Ottawa, Ontario) placed second for the Nittany Lions with a 13.800. The team wrapped up the event with a score of 54.900 en route to a victory over Navy and Arizona State.
Penn State will conclude its 2018 home slate Saturday, March 18 when it welcomes Nebraska to Rec Hall for a 4 p.m. meet.