UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 6 Penn State men’s gymnastics took down No. 7 Illinois in the team’s Big Ten opener, 316.800-311.000 in Rec Hall. PSSU scored above a 52.000 on all but one rotation, combining for a well-balanced victory over the Illini. The Nittany Lions stuck seven total routines on the afternoon.
“It was a good Big Ten victory, today,” said head coach Randy Jepson. “We were on a hot streak going into high bar, which has been our struggle all season. We really had to fight to hit on high bar and didn’t quite get the results we would have liked there, but four sticks is always something to be happy about. I am really proud Ricky Perez for securing a personal best on pommel horse, and Luke Esparo had a really great overall day. He has worked in practice to clean up his rings routines, and I think you’re starting to see the results of that.”
Freshman Brayden Erickson opened the afternoon for the Nittany Lions posting a 13.200 and sticking the landing to get PSU started. Senior Matthew Underhill followed wth a 13.300, freshman Shaun Smith posted a 13.200, and junior Luke Esparo grabbed a 13.150. Illinois had just two routines score above an 11.300 in the first rotation, giving PSU more than a four-point lead.
PSU kept the momentum on pommel horse, highlighted by Ricky Perez’s 13.900, the best score by any Penn Stater this season. Landon Simpson neared his season-high with a 13.600, less than three-tenths off his best, while senior Kacper Garnczarek and freshman Ritam Malik posted a 13.300 and a 12.550, respectively. Penn State only grew its lead in the second rotation, pushing out to a 106.200-101.000 lead.
Luke Esparo had a clinical rings routine, posting a 14.100 to conclude the rotation and win the event title, while the nations rings leader, Matthew Underhill, had a 13.700 routine. Akseli Karsikas execution was the best of the routine at an 8.750, earning him a 13.650 final score after the stick, and Ritam Malik posted a 12.150 for his final routine of the day.
All four Penn Staters hit their vaults, inkling a whopping 9.150 execution score from Simpson, leading to his 13.950 on the apparatus. Shaun Smith was the next best Nittany Lion on the rotation, scoring a 13.750. Despite the scores, Illinois’ Garrett Schooley took the event tile with a 14.350, and winning the first rotation of the afternoon for the visitors.
Penn State got right back to winning rotations on the parallel bars, led again by Simpson who took the event title with his 12.650. Esparo finished narrowly behind after his stick for a 13.550. Eliran Ioscovich posted a 13.100 on his only event of the day.
Penn State missed a pair of routines on high bar, but Karsikas’s event title with a 13.700 and the buffer from winning four other rotations powered the Nittany Lions to a nearly six-point win.
UP NEXT
Penn State hits the road next weekend for its first road dual of the season, taking on Big Ten foe Nebraska on Saturday, February 7. Action is set to begin at 4 p.m. and will be streamed live on B1G+.