UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State men's gymnastics heads to Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday to compete at the Navy Open for the first time since 2014. The Nittany Lions will be joined in the five-team field by the host Mids, William & Mary, Springfield, and Temple. The meet is scheduled for 2 p.m.
HISTORY AT THE NAVY OPEN
• Penn State is set to compete at the Navy Open for the first time since 2014.
• The Lions won the event in each of the past two times they competed in 2013 and 2014.
• Since then, without Penn State competing, Navy won six straight titles at its home meet.
LAST TIME OUT
• Penn State won its eighth-straight title at the West Point Open with a score of 393.650. Navy was the runner-up in the six-team field with a score of 391.45.
• Matt Cormier won an individual title on high bar with a score of 13.50 in the final. He also had the best score (13.70) in the prelims while helping the Lions win the team competition.
• Posting runner-up finishes for Penn State were Ethan Dick (parallel bars), Nick Mock (pommel horse), and Kaleb Booth (floor).
JAROH SET TO MAKE DEBUT
• Sophomore Michael Jaroh is set to make his season debut this weekend. He was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree as a freshman last season.
• Jaroh is tentatively in the lineup on pommel horse, rings, vault, and parallel bars.
GENE WETTSTONE AWARD
• The first Gene Wettstone Award, given to the MVP of meets at Rec Hall, went to Andres Perez Gines in the win over Army.
• He placed in the top three in all three events in which he competed, including a first-place finish with a score of 12.60 on parallel bars. He was the runner-up on high bar and added a third-place showing on pommel horse.
B1G GYMNASTS TO WATCH
• Sophomores Matt Cormier and Michael Jaroh were named Gymnasts to Watch by the Big Ten earlier this week.
• Jaroh earned two Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors and Cormier added one last season. Jaroh also had one Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award.
TEAM CAPTAIN NAMED
• Senior Andres Perez Gines will serve as team captain this season, taking over for Brennan Pantazis.
LONG TRADITION
• Penn State is tied with Oklahoma for the most NCAA team titles (12) and has more NCAA Championships appearances (66) than any team in the history of the sport.
B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS AT REC HALL
• It's never too early to get excited for postseason competition at Rec Hall. The Big Ten Championships will be held at Penn State on April 1-2.
UP NEXT
• Penn State travels to Annapolis for the Navy Open on Saturday, Jan. 22. Competing teams will be Navy, William & Mary, Springfield, and Temple.
