Full Schedule Here
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's gymnastics team and Head Coach Randy Jepson have announced its 2019 schedule that will feature three home meets, including one double dual.
Penn State will look to build off their sixth place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions return 15 student-athletes, including two-time pommel horse national champion junior Stephen Nedoroscik, along with two-time All-America honoree junior Sam Zakutney, and All-American redshirt senior Greg Tamargo.
The 2019 season will open up on January 11-12 as the Nittany Lions head to the West Point Open hosted by Army. Penn State has won five straight West Point Open titles spanning from 2014-18, and the 20th overall.
Penn State will then return to Army for a dual meet on January 19 in West Point, New York.
The Blue & White will open up the Big Ten competition at home on January 26 as the Nittany Lions host the Huskers of Nebraska. Nebraska finished 2018 as the No. 7 team in the nation. The Penn State women's gymnastics squad will be home that same day for a double dual in Rec Hall as they host Big Ten foe Minnesota.
Penn State then heads to the University of Illinois – Chicago for a tri-meet against the Flames as well as Springfield on Sunday, February 10. Springfield finished the 2018 season at No. 16 in the poll, while UIC finished at No. 18.
On February 15-17, a select group of Nittany Lions will head to the annual Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, Nevada, before the entire squad returns home as they host both Air Force and Navy on February 23 in Rec Hall.
Penn State will return to Big Ten competition as they head to Columbus, Ohio for a meet with Ohio State on Saturday, March 2. Ohio State finished 2018 ranked at No. 5 in the College Gymnastics Association Poll, and returns senior Alec Yoder who was the 2018 CGA Event Specialist of the year.
The Nittany Lions will jump out of conference once again as they will head to Tempe, Arizona for the Arizona State Invite on Saturday, March 9.
Penn State will return to Rec Hall for its final home meet of 2019 to host Illinois and Michigan on Saturday, March 16. Michigan finished No. 3 in the rankings in 2018, and Illinois finished No. 4. Michigan closed out its 2018 campaign with a 15-9 overall record; its haul of three NCAA All-Americans is the most since 2016. Illinois finished third at the NCAA Championships in 2018, eight All-Americans earning 12 honors.
The Nittany Lions will finish the regular season on the road, taking on Minnesota and Iowa in Minneapolis on March 23. Minnesota finished the season ranked No. 2 in the polls, and as the NCAA runners-up. Iowa fell in behind Penn State at No. 9 at the end of 2018.
Penn State will take a week off before heading to the Big Ten Championships which will be held in Iowa City, Iowa on April 5 and 6. The 2019 NCAA Championships will be held in Champaign, Illinois on April 19 and 20.