UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 5 Penn State men’s gymnastics is back in action this week when the team travels to No. 6 Nebraska on Saturday, February 7 for the team's second Big Ten meet of the season. The event is set to begin at 5 p.m. ET and will be streamed live via B1G+.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Date: Saturday, February 7 at 5 p.m. ET
Location: Lincoln, Neb. | Venue: Devaney Center
LAST TIME OUT
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.
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.
MEETING HISTORY
Penn State is 8-8 all-time against the Cornhuskers. The Nittany Lions have won just two of the last six meetings, but took the most recent contest in a 329.050-328.850 en route to a Big Ten regular season title.
2026 SEASON PREVIEW
The Nittany Lions entered their 2026 campaign ranked seventh in the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Preseason Coaches Poll.
Head coach Randy Jepson returns for his 35th season at the helm of the program along with associate head coach Tony Beck (10th season) and assistant coach Carlos Vazquez (14th season). Vazquez received the prestigious Honor Coach Award from the CGA at the conclusion. The award recognizes a member-coach of twenty-five years or more who has gained the admiration of his coaching associates. The Honor Coach Award Committee selects the recipient of this award each year by a secret ballot. The chairman presents this, the most prestigious of all gymnastics coaches’ awards, at the banquet prior to the NCAA Championship.
As a trio, the group was recognized as the CGA Central Region Coaching Staff of the year.
Penn State finished their 2025 season with a 6-1 overall record and 3-1 conference mark, good for a Big Ten regular season title. The team went on to have a record book finish in the post season, grabbing a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and earning the best PSU team finish in nearly a decade with s fifth-place spot at the NC Championships. The team has nine returners including All-Americans Matt Underhill and Luke Esparo.
Underhill is the lone returner to the roster with 2025 All-American honors after being recognized by the CGA for his work on rings during the regular season. Esparo is expected to be another big contributor this season foe the Nittany Lions after having to miss the 2025 season due to injury. The Wallingford, Connecticut, native was an All-American in his freshman season back in 2024.
Akseli Kasikas, who spend the summer and fall at various national team events with Finland, is back in action for the Blue & White. He and teammate Kacper Garnczarek were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch heading into 2026.
In addition to the returners, Penn State added a class of seven new faces to the roster.
UP NEXT
Penn State gets a week off next week before Kacper Ganczarek, Landon Simpson, and Luke Esparo all compete individually at various national team appointments across the globe.