During yesterday's press conference leading up to the 2007 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships, Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Jepson and his fellow NCAA coaches were joking and chatting.
Presumably that won't last much longer.
The No. 3 seed Penn State men's gymnastics team will compete for a record 12th national championship this weekend at Rec Hall -- starting at 1 p.m. today.
Entering third behind Big Ten champion Ohio State and defending national champion Oklahoma, Penn State is considered one of the favorites. But it must first survive the qualifying session.
The Nittany Lions will be featured in the second qualifying session tonight at 7 along with California, Temple, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
The No. 1 seed Buckeyes, fresh off their third consecutive conference championship, will headline the first session along with Big Ten teams Michigan, Illinois and Iowa. The top three finishers from each session will advance to the team finals tomorrow night.
The Lions will be looking to rebound from their disappointing second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships
two weeks ago, losing to Ohio State by one-tenth of a point. Penn State was in contention all night, but the high bar, an activity the team has struggled in all year, might have cost it a chance at the title. No number was more telling than the 6.9 out of 10 senior captain Matt Cohen received on his routine.
When Jepson was asked what his team needed to improve for the national championships, he said, "We need to stay on the high bar."
However, the Lions seem to perform better for the home crowd, losing only once this season in Rec Hall and wining against championship contenders Ohio State and Illinois during the regular season. The lone defeat was by only two points to then-No. 1 Michigan.
"The crowd will help them play well," Ohio State head coach Miles Avery said. "Penn State will be tough to beat in Rec Hall."
At the same time, Penn State hopes this national tournament does not end with the same result as the last two times it held the event, when the Lions came up short of the title. The university last served as host to the championships at the Bryce Jordan Center in 1998, and Rec Hall in 1991. The winners those two years, California (1998) and Oklahoma (1991), are in the Lions' qualifying session tonight.
"The last time Oklahoma competed on [Rec Hall's] floor, they won the national championship, so they have some great memories here," Jepson said. "We also have some great memories at Rec Hall, and competing here, so we hope to create another one."
During the conference, Jepson also discussed what it means for Penn State to be hosting the event.
"Obviously, to host [an] NCAA championship is a very exciting privilege," he said. "Our guys have been very excited to be home and compete here at Penn State. I think one of the things that stands out is that we have a lot of alums that are coming back, so we're looking forward to the event as well."
He and Cohen also discussed whether being at home could maybe take some of the focus away from competing.
"It's not a distraction for our team," Cohen said. "We've had plenty of home meets before."
