UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's gymnastics will travel to West Point, New York to compete at the West Point Open Jan. 12 -13 for the 27th time in program history. The Nittany Lions will match up against Army, Navy, Springfield and William & Mary.
MEET INFORMATION
At the West Point Open
Date: Friday, Jan. 12-13, 2024 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: West Point, N.Y. | Venue: Holleder Center
Teams: Army, Navy, Penn State, Springfield and William & Mary
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgkk_T8kbdY (YouTube)
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions won their season opener against Army at Rec Hall with a score of 393.800-370.450. The men swept the competition winning all six events.
Leading the way for Penn State was junior Josh Karnes. The Erie, Pa. native won three events Friday evening and was dubbed Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for his performance.
Freshman Landon Simpson won the pommel horse in his collegiate debut which landed him Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Michael Artlip (vault) and Luke Esparo (still rings) also picked up victories at the meet in their respective events to help the squad win their 18th consecutive head-to-head meeting against Army.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Navy, Springfield and William & Mary will open their seasons this weekend at the competition.
CGA Preseason Poll Rankings:
Army: 11th
Navy: 8th
Springfield: 12th
William & Mary: 13th
MEETING HISTORY
Penn State won their ninth consecutive West Point Open in 2024 with a score of 407.600. The program has won 24 out of the 32 titles in the overall history of the event.
Matt Cormier was the all-around champion last season with a score of 81.950. Michael Artlip placed second in the all-around with his score of 78.900.
2024 SEASON PREVIEW
The Nittany Lions enter their 2024 campaign ranked sixth in the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Preseason Coaches Poll.
Head coach Randy Jepson returns for his 33rd season at the helm of the program along with associate head coach Tony Beck (eighth season) and assistant coach Carlos Vazquez (11th season).
Penn State finished their 2023 season 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. The team has 13 returners including All-Americans Josh Karnes, Matt Cormier, Michael Jaroh and Matt Underhill.
Karnes was named the CGA All-Star Competition MVP last month after being named the parallel bars champion and helping the East team win for the second year in a row.
Karnes along with sophomore Ian Raubal were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch after stellar regular and off seasons.
The team has four new faces. Freshmen Bobby Alessio, Luke Esparo, Akseli Karsikas and Landon Simpson will make their collegiate debuts this season.
UP NEXT
Penn State will travel to Annapolis, Md. to match up against Navy Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m.
