Vaulter Cooper out for season

By PAIGE MUNDY
and JENNIFER SCHOENFELD
Collegian Sports Writers

It was not even a week since his outstanding performance on the high bar. The gymnast had achieved his career high of 9.8. And now, senior Mark Cooper is facing termination of his season.

Following Penn State's victory over Nebraska Friday evening, team members, as well as Lion Coach Randy Jepson, said that the team needed to focus on the vault. Cooper, who scored a 9.3 on vault against the Cornhuskers, was trying out a routine that was more difficult than usual when he tore interior cruciate ligaments in his right knee.

"I landed my vault straight and thought I was OK," he said. "It wasn't until after I was standing there that I realized how much pain I was in."

Team trainer Angela Carlson immediately took Cooper to the Sports Medicine Center, 1850 E. Park Ave, where he received X-rays and was ultimately told that his season would be cut short.

Cooper will spend the next four weeks doing strengthening and stretching exercises. At that time, he will undergo surgery which consists of cutting one-third of his patella tendon and replacing it through the bottom part of his leg.

"It's pretty major surgery," he said. "But in the long run, I am expecting a full recovery. I should be strong, if not stronger, than I was before."

Physically, the future looks bright. But emotionally, the overwhelming feeling is disappointment for the veteran gymnast.

Redshirting, however, was not one of Cooper's options for two reasons.

An athlete must decide to redshirt by the mid-point of the current season. Cooper just missed the Feb. 10 gymnastics deadline. In addition, an athlete cannot compete in more than 20 percent of the meets. It was the Feb. 10 Nebraska meet that prevented Cooper from being eligible to redshirt because he exceeded the 20 percent maximum.

"If I could have redshirted," Cooper said, "I certainly would have. Because I'm a senior, I don't know that I would have come back next year. But I would have liked to have had the option."

As a result, Cooper will remain at home to concentrate on recuperating while his teammates travel to Columbus, Ohio this weekend to take on No. 1 New Mexico and No. 2 Ohio State. And Jepson is certain that Cooper's absence will be noticed.

"It will hurt our score a little bit," Jepson said, "but hopefully the other guys will pick up the slack and put in good performances."

Cooper will not only be missed as a competitor, but also as a leader. His teammates said they are sad to see this happen to such a team leader.

"All of the seniors are a vital part of the leadership of the team," junior Brandy Wood said. "Mark is really looked up to by the younger guys on the team because he has done really well in competing for Penn State. It is a big loss and he will be hard to replace."

While Jepson is looking for replacements, Cooper will spend the coming weeks doing tedious hours of electric stimulation and range-of-motion exercises as he begins rehabilitaion following his surgery. He will attempt to maintain an optimistic attitude despite the sad and sudden conclusion to his senior season.

"I'm disappointed and that's all I can say," Cooper said. "But you can't blame this on just one thing. I just need to sit back and enjoy what has happened so far this season. Beyond that I still have high expectations for these guys, and I'm sure they'll come out strong -- just like any championship team would."