ROSEMONT, Ill.- Penn State men's gymnastics sweeps weekly Big Ten awards for the second time this season. Josh Karnes earns his second Gymnast of the Week honor and Matt Underhill receives his first Freshman of the Week distinction. The Nittany Lions have claimed five of nine Gymnast of the Week nods and two of nine Freshman of the Week awards this season.
Josh Karnes was named the all-around champion in Penn State's second place finish in the tri-meet against No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 6 Ohio State this past weekend. Karnes has competed in the all-around twice this season and finished first both times. His 83.950 score on Saturday is a career high and one of the highest scores in the country this season, ranking him second nationally in the all-around and third on parallel bars. The U.S. Senior National Team member also won event titles on parallel bars with a 14.550 and high bar with a 13.550. His score on parallel bars marks his sixth consecutive score of 14.000 or higher. Karnes also earned second on rings (13.600), tied for second on vault (14.450) and earned a career best and third place finish on pommel horse (14.100).
Freshman Matt Underhill recorded his second consecutive event title on still rings with his score of 14.000 and a stick bonus in Saturday's outing. He ranks 10th in the country on rings. Underhill also posted a fourth-place finish on vault with a 14.400, matching his score from the previous meet. This is the freshman's seventh vault score above 14.000 this season.
