CAREER HIGHS
Floor Exercise: 9.600 at William & Mary (March 3, 2007)
Pommel Horse: 8.550 vs. Ohio State (Feb. 26, 2005)
Rings: 8.050 vs. Navy/Temple (Jan. 21, 2005)
Vault: 9.575 vs. Japan (March 1, 2005)
Parallel Bars: 9.100 vs. Michigan (Feb. 3, 2007)
High Bar: 8.700 at Ohio State (Feb. 25, 2006)
All-Around: 49.750 vs. William & Mary (March 4, 2006)
PENN STATE CAREER
2007: Placed second in the vault at the NCAA Qualifier with a season-high score of 9.300, helping Penn State post the top qualifying team score...Was one of the Nittany Lions[apos] top vaulters for the season, earning seven second place finishes in total...Established himself as Penn State[apos]s most consistent performer in the floor exercise...Was a clutch performer in the event late in the season, not scoring below a 9.300 in its final two months, including scores of 9.500 and 9.400 at the Big Ten Championships and 9.350 and 9.450 at the NCAA Championships...Recorded a career-high mark of 9.600 to take first in the floor exercise in a dual meet win over William & Mary...Tied for third on the floor at the Temple Invitational (8.750) and at Stanford (9.300)...Posted a career-high score of 9.100 in the parallel bars versus Michigan...Won the parallel bars title at the Temple Invitational (8.900) and placed second in the event versus William & Mary (8.850).
2006: Led Penn State with a score of 9.225 on the vault at the team finals of the 2006 NCAA Championships...Placed third in the floor exercise (9.375), helping Penn State garner second in its NCAA Qualifier...Captured second place on the vault (9.600) at the 2006 Big Ten Championships...Won the floor exercise in home dual meet with William & Mary (9.150) and placed third in the event at Ohio State (9.450) and at California (9.350)...Penn State[apos]s top vault competitor in 2006, Lopez claimed victory in the event at Temple (9.500) and placed second at the West Point Open (9.050), versus Stanford (9.300), against William & Mary (9.150), and at California (9.300)...Finished first in the parallel bars at Michigan (8.450) and earned four third place finishes...Set career highs in the floor exercise (9.525 at Big Ten Championships), parallel bars (9.050 vs. Stanford), high bar (8.700 at Ohio State), and in the all-around (49.750 vs. William & Mary) in 2006...Ended the season ranked nationally eighth in the floor exercise (9.350) and sixth on the vault (9.340)...A 2006 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
2005: Earned All-American honors on the vault in his first collegiate season, placing fourth in the NCAA Championships event finals...Placed second (9.525) at the NCAA Qualifier and sixth (9.475) at the NCAA Team Championships on the vault...Scored a 9.475 to earn a second place finish on the vault in the event finals of the Big Ten Championships...Tied for the vault title with teammate Chad Buczek vs. William & Mary, scoring a 9.400...Collected third place three times on the vault (9.200 vs. Army; 9.350 vs. Ohio State; 9.575 vs. Japan)...His 9.575 against Japan was a season-high...Finished third in the floor exercise at Illinois with a score of 9.100...Posted a career and season high score of 9.300 in the floor exercise at the NCAA Team Championships...Averaged 9.369 on the vault and 8.823 on the floor exercise for the season...Competed once on the pommel horse (8.550), the rings (8.050), and the parallel bars (8.700) for the season.
GYMNASTICS BACKGROUND
A six-time Mexican national champion, Lopez captained the junior national team twice...Took fourth place at the Central American Games on the floor exercise...Competed at the 2003 World Championships...Earned the bronze on the pommel horse at the 2004 Pacific Alliance as well as a bronze on the floor at the Junior Pan-American games in 2004.
PERSONAL
The son of Alberto Lopez and Laura Viana, Santiago Lopez was born on July 7, 1986 in Baja, Calif....Has one brother...An Engineering Science major.
QUOTING COACH JEPSON
'Santiago is our senior captain and he has done a great job in pulling this team together. It is tough to do after you win a championship, but he has done it. He is great on floor and vault and, last year, he did a terrific job for us on parallel bars. Those three will be his cornerstone events this season. He has the capability to be right up there at the top in the NCAA in the floor and vault. What I appreciate about him most is his steadiness and his leadership.'