The music blared through the speakers as the Penn State men's gymnastics team hung around before practice.
Some gymnasts sat and stretched while others talked, and one could even be spotted reading a newspaper on the far side of the gym. They were waiting for the start of practice, but in the larger scheme, the anticipation ran deeper than the day's routine.
"I'm excited with this team because I want to see how far we can go," Penn State coach Randy Jepson said. "It's a good challenge to take a team that doesn't have the expectations from the outside, from everyone, and see how far we can take them."
The lack of expectations has been brought about because the team lost five seniors last season. Team captain and senior Josh Borromeo acknowledged the holes left by the former seniors mean younger, inexperienced gymnasts, such as the redshirt freshmen, will have to fill them.
But although young gymnasts will have to fill the gaps, the leadership nucleus is intact. Along with Borromeo, All-American and NCAA all-around champion Casey Sandy will be returning to the lineup as well as senior Shaun Antonio.
"Leadership is always important," assistant coach Kevin Tan said. "It sets the pace for how things are going to play out in the future."
The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 5 in the Preseason GymInfo men's rankings. Out of the current 15 teams ranked, the Nittany Lions are scheduled to face off head-to-head with eight of them during the regular season.
Among those eight teams are No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Ohio State, and No. 4 Illinois. The Sooners defeated the Lions twice last season on their way to the national title. One of those meetings took place in University Park where the Lions lost by less than two points.
"We don't want any surprises when it comes down to the NCAA championships and the Big Ten championships," Jepson said. "We want to see what we're up against, and it will be important to meet those teams and be tested."
Winning the NCAA championship may take new leaders, along with the established ones, stepping up into previously unknown roles. Borromeo expects junior Allen Harris to take on one of these positions and sees many other leaders stepping up for each respective class.
Matt Albrecht is the freshman in mind to lead his class. The Ontario native looks to make his abilities known in almost all events.
But as for now, the team can only wait as its anticipation builds for its season opener against Army at University Park.
"Our team has a lot of potential right now," Borromeo said. "I've been telling our guys this preseason, that potential is only talk. We got to make some moves in practice and take some risks in training so that we make these bigger skills and make gains in practice."
