UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s gymnastics started 2026 in the win column after toppling Army West Point, 311.300-297.600, in Rec Hall on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lion win was powered by five PSU event titles, including a hat trick from senior Matt Underhill.
“We had a lot of young guys in the lineup and in Rec Hall for the first time, but we had a great fighting spirit,” said men’s gymnastics head coach Randy Jepson. “We had five misses, and we really want to see that get better, but it was a really good effort overall from the guys. We have a lot of improvements we can make in terms of a hit ratio and sticks, so the future is bright.”
Of the 12 student-athletes in the starting lineup for Penn State, six made their first-collegiate appearances for PSU.
Matt Underhill opened the meet, posting a 13.350 on floor for a solid start to his final season-opening meet. The score stood the rest of the rotation, earning the Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, native his first event title of the afternoon. Two freshman and a sophomore followed up Underhill’s performance. Brayden Erickson, a sophomore transfer from Greenville, stuck the landing and posted a 12.550 in his first routine donning the Blue & White. Eliran Ioscovich and Shaun Smith rounded out the rotation, posting a 12.450 and a 13.150, respectively, for their first collegiate scores. Combined, Penn State won the opening rotation, 51.500-49.900.
Redshirt-sophomore Bobby Alessio kicked off rotation two for the Nittany Lions, posting a 12.600 on pommel horse in his first collegiate appearance following two seasons missed due to injury. Ricky Perez got his first taste of Rec Hall, posting a 12.350 in his first collegiate routine. Landon Simpson put up a 13.350 in his return to Rec, while Kacper Garnczarek finished second in the rotation on a 13.700. Despite missing the individual rotation title, Penn State still won the pommel horse with a 52.000 compared to Army’s 51.250.
Ritam Malik was the next Nittany Lion to make his collegiate debut. He posted an 11.850 on still rings before Akseli Karsikas put up a 12.600 in the second up spot. Underhill punctuated his second event title of the day with a stick, earning a 13.750, while redshirt-sophomore Luke Esparo posted a 13.100 first action since his freshman All-American season in 2024. Penn State won the apparatus by nearly five points.
Matthew Underhill sticks it on rings 💪 pic.twitter.com/DLsMnBYPyG
— Big Ten Gymnastics (@B1GGymnastics) January 11, 2026
Graduate student Kellen Ryan opened the vault rotation with a 14.200 and a stick, a score that stood as the top tally until Underhill finished the Nittany Lion rotation with a stick of his own, and a 14.300, garnering him his third event title in three routines. Smith and Erickson posted routines between the two high scorers for a 12.950 and a 12.750.
Rotation five opened with a 13.200 on parallel bars for Luke Esparo, who won his first event title since 2024. Karsikas, Garnczarek, and Ioscovich followed with a 12.750, 13.150, and a 13.100 to win Penn State its fourth team title of the afternoon.
PSU only grew its lead in the final rotation, after Army faced lower difficulties and stumbles on its high bar routines. Esparo opened with a stick bonus to help him land a 12.000, before Ryna put up a 13.200 to win the event title, while Simpson posted a 12.550 and Garnczarek wrapped up the afternoon with a 12.350.
UP NEXT
Penn State if off to West Point, New York, next weekend when the team competes in the 2026 West Point Open on Friday, January 16. Qualifiers from Friday night will advance to the individual session on Saturday, January 17 for a chance to win some hardware.