CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Penn State men's gymnastics team finished third in Session II of the 2019 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships Qualifying Meet on Friday afternoon to earn a spot in the finals on Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m. ET at the State Farm Arena on the University of Illinois – Champaign campus.
Oklahoma, the first-place team from Session II, and Illinois, the second-place team from Session II, will join the Nittany Lions in the finals on Saturday evening. The trio from Session II will join Stanford, Nebraska and Michigan from Session I.
Penn State scored a 404.278 on Friday evening to earn a spot in the finals, trailing Oklahoma, 419.191, and Illinois, 410.324. The Nittany Lions bested Iowa, 400.390, Ohio State, 399.754, and Army, 383.855.
We caught up with Isaac Hammett and Coach Jepson after the thrilling final rotation to get their thoughts and emotions as we move on to the finals on Saturday! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/L8XkNyLRRU
— Penn State Men's Gymnastics (@PennStateMGYM) April 20, 2019
The Nittany Lions trailed Iowa, who was in third after five rotations, by 2.233 points heading into the sixth event of the evening, which for the Blue & White was the rings.
All five Penn State still rings competitors finished in the top-11 of the meet. Junior Isaac Hammett was the final competitor to go and he needed to score higher than a 12.000 to boost the Nittany Lions into third. Hammett came out and posted the best rings score for the Blue & White at 14.366, which was good for fourth for the session. Parker Clayton scored a 14.066 for sixth, and Noah Roberson recorded a 13.966 for eighth place. Greg Tamargo finished tied for ninth on the evening with a 13.866, Brayden Borromeo added a 13.833 for 11th.
Penn State started the evening on vault where junior Sam Zakutney recorded a career-high 14.733 after getting major air on his vault. His 14.733 was good for second at the meet. Wyatt Tyndall came out with a strong 14.066, and Borromeo added a 14.000. Brennan Pantazis added a 13.900, while Claytons cored a 12.633.
On parallel bars, Zakutney continued his hot start as he scored a 14.466, again good for second in the meet. Michael Burns finished ninth on the parallel bars with a 13.566, and Alex Frack scored a 13.266. Pantazis scored a 13.133 for the Blue & White, and Tyndall added on 11.833 after a fall.
Burns added a ninth-place finish on the high bar after a 13.566 performance. Favian Valdez added a 13.533 for a 10th-place finish. Both Chris Sands and Wyatt Tyndall scored 13.166 on the rotation. Zakutney scored a 11.233 on a hard fall that forced him to opt-out of the all-around and the last three rotations.
Penn State moved on to floor where Pantazis scored a season-high 14.400 for a fifth-place finish on the evening. Tyndall added an eighth-place floor finish with a 14.166. Valdez added a 13.566, while both Borromeo and Sands added 13.433 routine scores.
Stephen Nedoroscik finished the meet with the second-best pommel horse score after recording a 14.500. Valdez finished with the Nittany Lions' second-best performance a 13.266. Jack Baldwin and Burns both scored a 12.400, while Nick Mock scored a 12.366. Penn State scored a 64.932 on the horse, a had a 334.190 team score heading into rings.
Penn State will open the NCAA Championship Final on the high bar for rotation on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. ET in Champaign, Ill.