April 5, 2018
| PENN STATE at BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS | | | 11-4 |
| Friday, April 6-Saturday, April 7 | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, Michigan | |
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April 5, 2018
MEN'S GYMNASTICS IN SEARCH OF FOURTH B1G TITLE
The Penn State men's gymnastics team will make the trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan Friday, April 6-Saturday, April 7 in search of its fourth Big Ten Conference Championship. The Nittany Lions will compete in the team championships Friday, April 6 at 7 p.m. before going on to compete in the individual event finals Saturday, April 7 at 7 p.m. All sessions will be featured on the Big Ten Network.
CATCHING THE MEET FROM HOME
Fans who cannot make it out to the meet on Friday and Saturday, can follow along with live results on MGoBlue.com, follow along live on Twitter and Instagram
@PennStateMGYM, or watch live on the Big Ten Network.
ROTATION ORDER
The Nittany Lions will get the 2018 Big Ten Championships started on the still rings and move to the vault for the second rotation of the night. In rotation three, Penn State will compete on the parallel bars and start rotation four on the high bar. Finally, the Blue and White moves to the floor exercise for the fifth rotation and ends the Big Ten Championships on the pommel horse.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE POSTSEASON IN ANN ARBOR
This week's Big Ten Conference Championships at the University of Michigan will mark the sixth time in which Penn State has competed in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the postseason. Most recently, Penn State competed for a NCAA Championship in the 2014 campaign finishing sixth. The Nittany Lions finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships in 2006 and fourth in 2005 at the home of the Wolverines. Finally, the Blue and White earned a runner-up finish in the 1998 season at the Big Ten Championships and placed 11th in the 1951 NCAA Championships hosted by Michigan.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Minnesota comes in as the top-ranked team in the Big Ten Conference, ranking second nationally to end the regular season, while Ohio State ranks third overall and Michigan comes in fifth overall. Nebraska holds the slight four-score average advantage over Penn State to ranks sixth overall and the Nittany Lions rank seventh nationally. Nebraska carries the top spot nationally on the floor exercise, the pommel horse and the vault, while Ohio State ranks first on the still rings. Individually, Shane Wiskus of Minnesota leads the nation on the floor exercise, Alec Yoder of Ohio State, Brandon Ngai of Illinois and Stephen Nedoroscik hold the top-three spots on the pommel horse, respectively, and Anton Stephenson of Nebraska ranks first in the nation on the vault.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2017 CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Penn State men's gymnastics team placed fourth at the 2017 Big Ten Championships, scoring a 411.200 Friday, April 7 at the State Farm Center. Ohio State captured its second-straight Big Ten title scoring a 418.600 behind a first-place all-around finish from Sean Melton, while Illinois placed second overall with a 416.400. The Golden Gophers of Minnesota rounded out the top three with a 413.300 and Penn State came in fourth overall with its 411.200. Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan closed out the Big Ten Championships with 410.000, 402.150 and 401.250, respectively. Wyatt Tyndall notched a podium finish in his first Big Ten Championship Individual Event Finals on the floor exercise Saturday, April 8 at Illinois. Overall, Penn State had six gymnasts compete in the individual event finals with Tyndall competing in a team-best two events. Tyndall earned a podium finish on the floor exercise, placing third overall with a 14.425 in the event. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native rounded out the championships with an appearance on the parallel bars.
PENN STATE VS. THE BIG TEN IN 2018
> vs. Illinois - Penn State had a setback to the Fighting Illini in its first Big Ten Conference meet of the season, falling 412.500-405.900. Sophomore Sam Zakutney paced the field with victories on both the parallel bars and in the all-around.
> at Ohio State - The Nittany Lions earned the victory with the second-highest score in the nation, notching a 417.400 seeing individual event victories from Joshua Smith on the floor and Sam Zakutney on the parallel bars.
> vs. Minnesota - In a meet that came down to the final rotation, it was the Golden Gophers who earned the 404.350-402.400 edge over Penn State. The Blue and White saw three event victories with Chris Sands capturing the still rings title, Joshua Smith sharing the vault win, and Michael Burns sharing the high bar victory.
> at Iowa - The Hawkeyes earned the win over Penn State in the tri-meet with Chris Sands notching his second win of the year with a 14.300 on the floor exercise and Wyatt Tyndall coming away with the parallel bars title.
> vs. Nebraska - The Nittany Lions fell to No. 2 Nebraska in its final home meet of the season. Coming back from injury, Sam Zakutney earned two victories with wins on the parallel bars and high bar, while Stephen Nedoroscik notched the pommel horse win.
> at Michigan - Penn State came away with the victory after it coming down to the final rotation of the day, scoring a 407.350. The Nittany Lions had four event victors in Stephen Nedoroscik (pommel horse), Sam Zakutney (parallel bars), Wyatt Tyndall (high bar) and Sam Zakutney (high bar)
11 EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
The Penn State men's gymnastics team notched 11 student-athletes on the 2018 Big Ten Academic All-Big Ten honors list. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled full-time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Penn State's honorees included: Brayden Borromeo, Michael Burns, Colin Coates, Benjamin Cooperman, Stephen Nedoroscik, Noah Roberson, Chris Sands, Greg Tamargo, Alex Thomason, Wyatt Tyndall, and Sam Zakutney.
PENN STATE WINS IN FINAL ROTATION AT MICHIGAN
The Penn State men's gymnastics team used a last rotation comeback to secure a 407.350-405.050 victory over Michigan in its final regular season meet Saturday, March 24 at Cliff Keen Arena. The Nittany Lions earned four event victories with Sam Zakutney taking the win on both the parallel bars and the high bar for the second-straight meet. Sophomore Stephen Nedoroscik notched his sixth pommel horse title and third-straight win, while Noah Roberson picked up the still rings title and Wyatt Tyndall shared the high bar win with Zakutney.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions will take a week off of competition in preparation for the 2018 NCAA Championships, hosted in Chicago, Illinois April 20-April 21. The team will compete in the qualifier Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m. and finish the team finals as well as the individual event finals Saturday, April 21 at 7 p.m.
