WEST POINT, N.Y. – The No. 8 Penn State men's gymnastics team captured its sixth-straight and 21st-overall West Point Open title on Friday night as the Nittany Lions scored a 407.500 in the 28th Annual West Point Open at Christl Arena.
Navy came in second with a score of 395.25, and host Army followed in third with a score of 392.100. William & Mary came in at 382.65, while Springfield earned a fifth-place finish with a 372.25 score, while Temple wrapped up the meet with a 302.800 score.
Junior Sam Zakutney and sophomore Alex Frack each placed in the all-around with Zakutney earning his second-straight all-around title with an 81.00 and three event titles, while sophomore Alex Frack took fourth with a score of 77.90.
"It was a win, but it wasn't pretty," head coach Randy Jepson said after his team took home the title on Friday evening. "We had quite a few guys miss routines we were counting on, so we will have to regroup. But the bright spots include Stephen Nedoroscik who did a great job on pommel horse with an outstanding score of 15.30. Sam Zakutney's win in the all-around was nice because he has taken some time off from doing the all-around and it was just nice to see him step in and knock out a win. Some other highlights include Nick Mock whose first routine on pommel horse at Penn State was outstanding, and Isaac Hammett did a great job on rings. So there were bright spots for us, but we have a lot more work to do."
Penn State won five of the six events, including taking the top-four spot in the high bar and having Noah Roberson and Greg Tamargo tie for first on the rings.
The Nittany Lions took to the high bar to open the evening and started things off with a bang, taking the top-four scores on the night and landing five in the top-10. Zakutney won his first event, finishing with a 13.700, redshirt sophomore Favian Valdez followed right behind with a 13.650 score for second. Frack came in third with a 13.40, and Brennan Pantazis wrapped up the top-four with a 13.250. Senior Chris Sands rounded out the top-10 finishes with a 12.750 and an eighth-place finish. Zakutney, Valdez and Frack all qualified for Saturday's finals.
Zakutney picked up his second-straight event title as he scored a 14.45 on floor exercise. Sands came in third with a 13.85, while Frack added a seventh place finish at 13.60, and Tamargo came in eighth with a score of 13.550. Zakutney, Sands and Frack will compete on Saturday night in the finals.
Penn State then moved on to the pommel horse where two-time reigning national champion Stephen Nedoroscik dominated the event with a career-high 15.300, a mark that ties for second-best in WPO history. The second place finish also came from the Nittany Lions as Valdez finished with a 14.00. In his first meet as a Nittany Lion, freshman Nick Mock took fifth with a score of 13.70. All three will compete in the final on Saturday.
On the rings, redshirt seniors Noah Roberson and Greg Tamargo tied for first place with a 14.500 score. Isaac Hammett came in at No. 4 with a 14.350, while Parker Clayton added a sixth place finish with a 13.850. Tamargo, Hammett and Clayton will all complete in the finals.
Vault was the lone event not to go in favor of the blue & white. Valdez qualified for the finals with a third place finish with a 14.200, and Wyatt Tyndall also qualified after his fifth place 13.950 score.
On the final event of the day, Zakutney picked up his third win of the day after scoring 13.950 on the parallel bars. Tyndall scored a 13.50 and a fourth place finish, while Valdez joined Zakutney and Tyndall in qualifying for the finals on Saturday with a 13.300 finish. Clayton and Frack finished in the top-10 with a 13.150 and a 13.100, respectively.
"We have a number of finalists for Saturday, which is great. We are hoping for victories, but we are going to have to fight hard, since we did show as well as we wanted too and we have some things to prove tomorrow."
Penn State's finalists return to action on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. as they conclude the West Point Open.
