Jepsen hopes practice makes perfect for gymmen at NCAAs

Looking to improve on its third-place performance two weeks ago at the Big Ten championship, the Penn State men's gymnastics team heads to the NCAA East Regional competition Saturday at West Point.

Penn State coach Randy Jepson is very optimistic concerning his team's projected performance. Over the past two weeks, practices have gone very well and he expects the hard work to pay off.

"I expect us to place in the top three at the end of the meet," Jepson said. "I'm aiming for a clean, solid team performance. Our focus to is to improve on what we have done thus far."

Last week, Jepson arranged a practice competition for the team in which he judged its performances. He said it went very well, and the team seems to be in great shape for NCAAs.

With solid performances from outstanding seniors Tom Ellefson, J.M. Michel and captain Joe Roemer, improvement should not be difficult.

Senior Roy Malka has been in much better physical condition than he has all season. He has been nailing routines in practice with very few errors.

Sophomore Ron Roeder, according to Jepson, has been solid all year and expects him to build on that. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Mike Dutka is ready to prove, once again, he is for real. His strength and skills will be on display for only the 12th time in his collegiate career and hopes to earn high scores.

Compared to last year's team, this year's group of Lions is much younger and inexperienced. However, the team has matured quickly and performed beyond Jepson's preseason expectations.

"The freshman class has really jelled well together, and it is nice to see," Jepson said.

The momentum that has been steadily increasing over the past several weeks should pull them through the tough competition and into the top three. Jepson is hoping for clean routines from the get-go. Starting out strong always sets the tone for the meet's momentum, Jepson said.

The floor exercise was last year's strongest event. Although it has plagued the team this year, the gymnasts have been working hard to clean up their routines and consequently eliminate deductions in scores.

Last year at regionals, the Lions placed third with a score of 225.3. Two weeks ago, the Lions came in third at Big Tens with a score of 228. Defending national champ and No. 1 Ohio State is still the favorite to place first.

Yet, Jepson said the Buckeyes are beatable, and his team would love to do the honors.