UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 6 men’s gymnastics dropped a tightly contested match against No. 5 Ohio State, 317.950-315.500, to close out the regular season on Sunday afternoon in Rec Hall. Penn State grabbed four event titles in the loss, with a few missed routines dropping PSU out of the lead in the final two rotations.
The Nittany Lions started a little shorthanded on the floor routine, posting a score of 52.200 to Ohio State’s 54.100. Matt Underhill had the best score for the Nittany Lions on the floor routine with a score of 13.450, nearing his season high. Penn State’s other scores included Brayden Erickson with a 12.600, Kacper Garnczarek with a 13.300, and Shaun Smith with a 12.850, with all three including a stick bonus. Ohio State’s Jacob Harmon and Noah Copeland both scored season-highs on the floor event, with scores of 13.600 and 13.800 respectively, contributing to the Buckeyes’ early lead.
The Nittany Lions put on a strong performance on the pommel horse, scoring a team total of 53.450, edging Ohio State for the lead by the end of the rotation at 105.650-104.550. The backbones of the event were Kacper Garnczarek, with a score of 13.400, and Ricky Perez, who both posted a score of 13.550, winning the event title.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the fourth rotation where the Buckeyes took back the advantage, posting a score of 51.300 compared to the Nittany Lions’ 49.550, pulling back ahead with a narrow lead of 155.850-155.200. Matt Underhill was Penn State’s top scorer, continuing his strong season on the rings event with a score of 14.200 a score that would earn him the event title. Other scorers for the Nittany Lions included a 12.600 from Akseli Karsikas and a 12.700 from Kellen Ryan, both which included a stick bonus.
Penn State took back the lead on vault with four strong routines, totaling a score of 55.950 to Ohio State’s 54.600. PSU took the lead with a total score of 211.150-210.540 heading into the final touch period. The Nittany Lions were backed with top scores from Shaun Smith and Landon Simpson, with both scoring a 14.050 including a stick bonus from Simpson.
The fifth rotation included two season-highs on the parallel bars for Penn State, but another lead change came, with Ohio State taking the lead at 264.250-262.700. Landon Simpson scored 14.150, winning the event title, alongside Akseli Karsikas scoring a 13.400, with both scores accounting for the season bests for the athletes.
On the high bar, Akseli Karsikas scored a 13.900, good enough for his second season-high of the day and a tie for the event title, but the Nittany Lions final rotation push came up short. At the end of the meet, graduate student Will Fleck performed on his own high bar routine as an exhibition to cap off Senior Day.
UP NEXT
Penn State gets a week off to get healthy before heading to Lincoln, Nebraska to battle it out at the Big Ten Championships, beginning on Friday, April 3. Action from the Cornhuskers’ home arena will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.