UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s gymnastics team triumphed over William & Mary, 313.900-296.200, to advance to 2-0 on the season on Saturday evening at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions remained perfect all-time against the Tribe, moving to 13-0.
“We had a few guys who we were hoping to get in, but a few setbacks health-wise yesterday with little things that kept them out for today,” said head coach Randy Jepson. “But to come in with what we had in terms of a lineup today and do what we did is really encouraging. We have a lot more that we can do in terms of cleaning our routines up to help ourselves score a lot higher, but we are on the upswing, which is good.”
The Blue and White came out on top in each rotation, including the team’s first event win of the year on floor. Penn State’s 51.650 bested William & Mary’s 48.450. Sophomore Akseli Karsikas took home the event title with a 13.500 after closing the routine on a stick, and junior Kacper Garnczarek finished tied for second with a 13.100 after a stick on his final pass.
A rare off-day on the pommel horse had the Nittany Lions finish with an event score under 50.000, but event champion Josh Karnes posted a 12.800 on a routine with a 5.2 difficulty to help the Nittany Lions grow the lead.
Graduate student Kellen Ryan opened the rings with a 13.650 routine, notching a stick bonus on his landing to help secure his new career best. He held the top score until Matt Underhill closed out the Penn State side with a 14.100, winning the event title for the fourth consecutive outing this year.
PSU put up a season-best 55.500 on vault, highlighted by graduate student Michael Jaroh’s top score of 14.100. Jaroh’s score marked a new season high. Sophomore Landon Simpson claimed third on the rotation with a 13.950.
Garnczarek, Jaroh, and junior Ian Raubal all stuck the landing on parallel bars to make PSU seven-of-eight at sticks on the apparatus in the last two meets. Jaroh took home his second event title of the day with a 13.900 on the p-bars.
Penn State also posted a season-best 51.100 on high bar to complete the sweep. Senior Josh Karnes ended the day on a high note, closing out the meet on a stick to boost his score to 13.500, earning the high bar title.
For his fourth-straight rings title, Matt Underhill was named the event’s Gene Wettstone award winner, which highlights the most outstanding athlete of the meet.
UP NEXT
Penn State wraps up a three-meet home stand next weekend when the team hosts Michigan for the Big Ten opener on Saturday, February 1 at 4 p.m. in Rec Hall. The action will be streamed live via B1G+.