Blue White Illustrated

H e was just starting his Penn State career, but gymnast Thad Lawson wasn't going to bide his time in the hope that his big opportunity would someday arrive. He was thinking national championship right from the start. "It's always been a dream," Lawson said. "It definitely was in the back of my mind going through the season, and I was just trying to work to make that a reality." He did just that. The freshman from Chesapeake, Va., claimed the individual title on the floor exercise at the NCAA champi- onships April 12 in Oklahoma City. In addition, four of his teammates recorded All-America finishes, and the Nittany Lions came in third as a team after winning the Big Ten championship two weeks earlier. "It was great showing by our five All- Americans tonight," head coach Randy Jepson said. "I am proud of all five of them and especially Thad Lawson, com- peting as a freshman." Lawson captured the individual title on the floor exercise with his career-high score of 15.725, his third score of 15.700 or higher on the floor exercise this season. The previous night, he posted a mark of 15.700 for the top spot in the team finals. His score of 15.725 ranks No. 5 all-time in the Penn State record books. In winning the floor exercise crown, Lawson became Penn State's 53rd NCAA champion and the fourth to bring home the individual title in that event. He also became the second Penn State freshman to win the NCAA floor exercise title in the past three years, joining 2013 champion Trevor Howard. "I knew I came in first [the previous night] and was leading, and I knew I had to take it one skill at a time and not get ahead of myself," Lawson said. "The biggest thing was sticking the dismount. ... I told myself, 'I'm not moving after this triple full. I'm not moving.' I just did the same thing and came through." The Nittany Lions received a pair of All- America finishes on the still rings from senior captain Tristan Duverglas and Alexis Torres. Torres tallied a score of 15.750 for third place, and Duverglas tied for fourth with his score of 15.600. Leroy Clarke Jr. claimed his first All-America nod with a sixth-place finish on the parallel bars (14.725), while senior Matthew Felleman posted a fifth-place finish on the high bar (14.900) to gain All-America recognition for the second time in the past three years. The Nittany Lions have now garnered 311 All-America citations since 1938. As a team, Penn State finished with 439.500 points, while Oklahoma won its ninth national championship with a score of 447.050. Stanford was second with 440.450. It was a gratifying finish for the Nittany Lions, who had been picked fourth in the preseason Big Ten poll. "We thought we were underrated head- ing into the season, and we demonstrated our strength throughout the season," Jep- son said. "We made a strong statement toward our future." ■ V A R S I T Y V I E W S FLOOR GENERAL Lawson claims NCAA title as gymnasts finish 3rd LAWSON Canadian standout signs with Lions All-arounder Wyatt Tyndall, a mem- ber of the Canadian Junior National Team, has signed with Penn State and is expected to play a key role when he joins the team next season. Coach Randy Jep- son describes the native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, as "a very capable all- arounder with no real weak event." "We anticipate that he will step right into our starting lineup next season on multiple events," Jepson said. "His ex- perience as a Canadian National Team member will aid us greatly in our quest for our 13th NCAA team championship." Tyndall said he chose Penn State "be- cause of the integrity of the people, its well-respected academics, and of course its very successful gymnastics program." He is a three-time Provincial all-around champion, as well as the 2012 Kyle Shewfelt Invitational all-around champ.

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