Jan. 20, 2007
PHILADELPHIA -
The Temple men's gymnastics team will begin its 2007 season when it hosts Penn State, James Madison and William and Mary on Sunday afternoon, January 21, at 2:00 pm in McGonigle Hall.
In his 31st year, head coach Fred Turoff looks to catapult his team to new heights. With an extraordinary amount of talent, this team is ready to show that last year's presence at the NCAA Championships was no fluke. With a new assistant coach in Theo Maes, this team has increased its level of difficulty and shown big improvements in terms of execution.
The last time Temple faced Penn State in the regular season, the Owls fell to the Nittany Lions with a score of 202.450-190.050. However, by the end of the season, Temple was scoring well into the 200 range. At last year's ECAC Championships, William and Mary ousted Temple with a score of 206.130-203.180. James Madison is competing for the second time this season after placing third at the Navy Open on January 16.
The line ups have been set, and we'll see Luke Vexler, Sterling Kramer, John Vogtman and Jason Russo in the all-around competition. Kramer, who is last years conference all-around champion, is set to start off his season exactly where he ended, while Vexler has had to struggle with a couple of minor injuries. Vogtman, the 2006 ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year, looks to steadily improve as well. Russo has been spending a lot of time building his endurance due to his increased level of difficulty, and is set to unveil some big skills this season.
These four competitors will provide the Owls with a strong base on each event, while the other two slots will go to several specialists such as
Alex Gorski,
Derek Shepard,
Nate Naisby, Andy Corp,
Clay Stewart,
John Jeffries and
Dan Berlin. Berlin took a nasty spill off the trampoline last week, and is questionable for the pommel horse line up. Freshman newcomer Pat McLaughlin is set to make his NCAA debut on three events as well.
The Owls will get a week to fine tune their routines before they head to West Point next weekend for a two-day competition. The Owls will meet Penn State once again, along with host team Army, and fellow conference rival Navy.
