LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 5 Penn State men’s gymnastics dropped a 318.600-317.150 decision to No. 6 Nebraska in a road meet at Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. PSU had seven podium finishes across all six events but missed out on all but one event title. Akseli Karsikas took home the only honor for PSU, winning the high bar with a 13.850, a new season high.
“Rule number one is don’t beat yourself,” said head coach Randy Jepson. “We had three falls and lost by a point. So, I don’t think we were able to adhere to rule number one. Still, we battled hard against some strong Big Ten competition and I think that we will be ready to be back at it against Springfield in March.”
Senior Matt Underhill opened the floor rotation, posting a 13.350. Two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Shaun Smith followed with a 13.700, the best score by a Penn Stater on the rotation. Luke Esparo tacked on a 13.600 and Akseli Karsikas finished floor with a 12.250. PSU’s 52.900 on the opening rotation trailed Nebraska’s 55.200.
Reigning Big Ten and CGA Freshman of the Week Ricky Perez headlined the Penn State pommel horse unit, scoring a 13.500, good for second on the apparatus. The Nebraska scores only expanded the Cornhuskers lead out to 3.15 over the visitors.
The Blue & White began chipping away at the Nebraska’s lead on rings, winning the team title on the event with a 53.800-52.200 win. Underhill’s 13.900 and Karsikas’s 13.800 were good for second and third in the event stadings.
Penn State took its first lead of the day on vault, first jumping in front after freshman Shaun Smith’s 13.350. Combined with Ryan’s 13.800, Simpson’s 13.300, and Underhill’s second place-worthy 13.950, the Nittany Lions broke out to a .200 lead after the fourth rotation.
Luke Esparo posted just a 12.850 to open the vault rotation, shifting the lead back to the Cornhuskers. Kacper posted a 13.000 after saving his powerful dismount, and Simpson posted a 13.800 to try and keep the Nittany Lions within a point. Eliran Ioscovich finished the rotation with a 13.450, keeping the deficit at less than a full point.
Kellen Ryan and Luke Esparo were the first two Nittany Lions to take on the high bar. Both posted a 12.100. Garnczarek fought for a 13.050 on his routine, but Karsikas’s 13.850, his best score on the apparatus since competing against Nebraska last season, took the event title and gave PSU hope headed into the Cornhusker’s final routine. The home team hit the routine though, forcing Penn State to its first loss of 2026.
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.