RESULTS
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 5 Penn State erased a 2.35-point deficit in the final two rotations on their way to a thrilling 399.30-399.15 win over No. 4 Illinois in a Big Ten men's gymnastics meet Sunday at Rec Hall. The Lions improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference, while the Illini dropped to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in league competition.
"This was a great competition that was back and forth," Penn State head coach Randy Jepson said. "To come down to the last event and need to put in six routines and have the guys come through is great."
Trailing 271.15-268.8 after its turn on vault, Penn State needed to get the job done on parallel bars and high bar, and the Lions did just that. The big difference came on parallel bars, where the Lions scored 66.0 during the fifth rotation compared to the Illini's 62.6 on the apparatus in the final rotation.
The freshmen class came up big for Penn State down the stretch, including Ethan Dick, who received the Gene Wettstone Award as the Lions' Gymnast of the Meet. He was the event winner on parallel bars, scoring 13.65. That easily bested the second-place finisher from Illinois, who scored 13.5. Another freshman, Michael Jaroh, was third with a 13.4. Jaroh was making his collegiate debut.
Penn State out-scored Illinois 66.0-65.40 in the fifth rotation, so it still trailed by 1.75 heading into the final event. The Lions made up the difference with a 1.9-point advantage in the sixth and final rotation, scoring 64.5 on high bar. Another freshman making his collegiate debut, Matt Cormier, tied for second with teammate Alex Frack with a 13.1, while Jaroh was fourth with a score of 13.05. Frack needed to hit his final routine and the senior came through in the clutch.
Cormier had an outstanding debut meet, adding two event wins to his solid performance on high bar. In his first ever event as a Nittany Lion, Cormier took first on floor with a score of 14.35. He was followed by teammate Robbie Shamp with a 14.2. Three rotations later Cormier added a win on vault, tying Evan Manivong (Illinois) with a score of 14.6. Two more freshmen making their debut, Colin Wingrove and Michael Artlip were third and fourth with scores of 14.4 and 14.05, respectively.
Parker Clayton had a solid performance on rings, scoring 14.0 to take second. The Lions were paced by Nick Mock, Alex Frack and Dick on pommel horse as the trio finished third through fifth.
Penn State and Illinois figured to be an evenly-contested matchup as the Lions were picked fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll and Illinois was picked third.
"This was a great way to open the Big Ten schedule, but we have a lot of work to do," Jepson said. "We have a lot of improvement we can make. But I'm thrilled for our guys that they persevered, and they saw the results of their labor today."
