Gymmen face UMass in opening dual meet

By DARREN STEELE
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State men's gymnastics team fell short of a bid for the national title last year.

This season, the Nittany Lions began with a clean slate, a talented team and high expectations.

The team started its quest for the national championship on the right foot, winning the West Point Cup while decimating a host of East Coast competition.

Tomorrow, Penn State will face one of those same teams as it heads to Amherst, Mass., to take on Massachusetts for its first dual meet of the season.

"You know what?" Penn State coach Randy Jepson asked. "We're going to have a lot of fun this season. These guys worked hard, and they are taking the season very seriously. They had a bitter end to the season last year."

Penn State is coming off an 11-3 finish last season, and has its sights set on returning to the conference championships and nationals.

Jepson, in his seventh year as head coach, is optimistic about the Lions' potential for success this season.

One reason for his optimism is the Lions' strength of schedule.

The Big Ten is stacked with talent, Jepson said, as he predicts seven of the conference's teams eventually will rank within the confines of the top 10.

At least one of the members on Jepson's squad shares his optimism for a strong finish when the regular season ends in March.

"I'm looking to win the whole thing," sophomore Tobias Ekman said. "We definitely want to qualify for nationals."

Another reason for Jepson's positive outlook is the return of Ekman and Dominic Brindle.

Both suffered injuries at regionals last season, ending the Lions' hopes of getting into nationals.

Now sophomores, both Brindle and Ekman are back, and their return will help ease the loss of Mike Dutka, one of Penn State's top three performers a year ago.

While the team has some young talent, it also boasts the return of some savvy veterans.

Senior captain Tim Lashua boasted a career-high 9.600 average on the rings last year.

Also, Penn State has two All-Americans on its squad in junior Brandon Stefaniak and senior Ron Roder. Roder stood on the medal stand at last year's NCAA Championships, finishing second on the rings and floor exercises.