Lions to defend top rank

By JENNIFER SCHOENFELD
Collegian Sports Writer

Even though the men's gymnastics rankings have Penn State ranked No. 1, Lion Coach Randy Jepson knows there are no guarantees.

"It is a valid ranking based on our scores," he said. "But the way I view it is, the only ranking that is legitimate is what we do on the floor at the NCAA championships when all of the teams are on the floor at the same time."

To be in the No. 1 position, Penn State's three highest scores (at least two away scores) were combined. But the team is aware of a lot of teams out there that are every bit as good, if not better, Jepson said.

The Lions will compete against No. 15 Brigham Young and No. 18 Army at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Rec Hall. Jepson and his gymnasts know what kind of competition they are up against.

"BYU is a very good team." Jepson said. "They have (senior) Darren Elg, who is ranked third in the all-around (57.93), and he is an outstanding gymnast. That, coupled with the fact that they have been a very formidable team for several years -- this is going to be a tough meet for us."

In preparation for their last four meets, the Lions have been concentrating more on landings for fewer deductions in their routines.

Despite wanting to increase the difficulty in their vault routines, the Lions have settled on doing the same routines they have been working on all year.

"We can now concentrate more on the landings of these vaults and make those a bit cleaner," Jepson said.

Senior Mark Cooper, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament (knee) more than a month ago, will most likely return to the high bar lineup tomorrow. He has been training for two weeks and started dismounting alone last Tuesday, wearing a custom-made brace.

"It's amazing," Cooper said. "It took a lot of work and I feel really lucky. I wasn't expected to come back, and I really amazed myself."

Note:

-- This is the last home regular-season meet for the Lions. Three seniors -- Cooper, Lee Ricketts and captain Dave Riordan -- will be honored after the competition.