Road-weary gymmen return home to face Michigan State

The Penn State men's gymnastic team knows there is no place like home.

Which is why the No. 5 Nittany Lions are glad to be back at Rec Hall where they will welcome No. 10 Michigan State at 7 p.m. tomorrow. This home meet will be their first since Jan. 16 when they defeated Massachusetts and Temple.

The road-weary Lions (4-2, 2-2 Big Ten) beat Michigan twice in the last two weeks, but also fell to No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 Illinois.

The Lions fell in the polls after losing to Illinois, but polls are not what's important to Jepson. He's more concerned with his team's performance.

"We started off really well," Jepson said. "Then on floor exercises we were a little rough there, and on the high bar we're not very consistent."

The Spartans (1-1, 0-1) are consistent and a fine example of a strong team, evident by their season-high team score of 225.75.

"They piece a team together very well," Jepson said. "You can use 12 men (in a gymnastics meet) and they take full advantage of that."

Michigan State coach Rick Atkinson will need solid performances from sophomore Mike Quarress along with seniors Keith Douglas and Ethan Sterk, who holds the team's high score on parallel bars (9.75) and the high bar (9.65).

"We have to have our big guns hit their routines," Atkinson said.

Every routine will be important this weekend, and both coaches know the outcome of the meet could hinge on the last two events, the parallel bars and high bar. And this could be an advantage for Michigan State.

"Our last two events are our most exciting," said Atkinson, "and our best events."

Jepson says the Lions will need to improve on high bar. The team's season-high score on the high bar is 37.3, is its lowest score on any event. On parallel bars, its average is 37.4.

"It's going to be a really good matchup," Jepson said. "We're gonna have to take care of our own business."

Atkinson knows Penn State will be tough but is looking more for solid scores than a victory.

"Penn State is a really good team," Atkinson said. "It's a good chance to get a good away score."