WEST POINT, N.Y. - Penn State men's gymnastics finished second behind Ohio State at the 2025 West Point Open with a score of 237.800. The Nittany Lions bested Army, Navy, Springfield, and William and Mary in the outing.
“Overall, I thought the guys had a solid start to the season,” said associate head coach Tony Beck. “We had a couple breaks in places but showed poise and competed until the last routine. We have some great routines that weren’t on the floor tonight, so I’m excited to see this team grow each week as we get some of our key players into line ups.”
Matt Underhill won the rings title after posting the meet’s best score with a 13.700. He also finished with a 13.500 on floor and tallied a 12.450 in the vault.
“Matt did a great job tonight,” said Beck. “He has been solid all preseason, has put in the work and was ready to show out. We are all proud of him, he earned that title.”
In his NCAA collegiate debut, graduate student Kellen Ryan finished fourth in the all-around with a score of 76.200. He tallied a 13.450 on floor, 12.000 on pommel, 12.650 rings, 13.550 on vault, 12.000 on parallel bars, and a 12.550 on high bar.
Akseli Karsikas finished tied for second in the floor with a 13.650, his highest score in the event since competing at Michigan last season. The sophomore also tallied a 13.200 finish in the pommel, good for third in the event, and a 12.400 mark in the high bar.
Michael Artlip followed up Kasikas on floor with a fourth-place finish and a 13.600 score. Artlip competed in the all-around alongside Ryan, and received a 11.350 on pommel, 11.700 rings, 13.500 on vault, 12.550 on parallel bars, and a 12.500 on high bar. The graduate student finished fifth overall with a 75.200 mark.
Kacper Garnczarek finished his floor routine with a 13.000, but immediately responded with a 13.500 pommel horse score, good for fifth overall. The junior finished eighth on high bar with a score of 13.150, and grabbed a 12.100 on parallel bars.
Josh Karnes opened his senior season with a sixth-place, 13.350 score on pommel and a 12.700 P bar routine.
Michael Jaroh’s fourth-place vault routine earned a 13.700 score, leading all Nittany Lions. He also posted a 13.100 on pommel.
Matt Cormier made his one event count, placing fourth in the parallel bars with a 13.250.
Luke Espero rounded out the PSU contenders with a 12.750 in an on rings, a mark that ranked 10th overall.
Artlip, Underhill, Karsikas, Karnes, Garnczarek, Jaroh, Ryan, and Cormier all advance to tomorrow’s individual finals in select events following their performances this evening.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions return home to open head-to-head competition next weekend when they host Army on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall.