This Week: at Massachusetts Date: Saturday, Jan. 13 Time: 7 p.m. Place: Boyden Gymnasium (Amherst, Mass.) PENN STATE OPENS AT UMASS: Penn State begins defending its national title with a trip to Massachusetts to open the 2001 season. The fourth-ranked Nittany Lions return 11 gymnasts from last season's championship squad, including four all-Americans. ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS: This is the first dual meet of the season for the Minutemen. UMass opened the 2001 campaign at the 10th annual UMass Gymnastics Open on December 3. The Minutemen placed first (202.900) among seven teams and were paced by junior Andy Leis who won the all-around (50.00). UMass is coached by Roy Johnson, a 1976 graduate of Massachusetts. Assuming the head coaching position during the 1978-79 campaign, he has compiled a 152-82 record. Ranked No. 11 in the GymInfo Coaches Pre-season Poll, of the 20 Minutemen on the roster, just one is a senior and 11 are freshmen and sophomores. THE SERIES: In the 21 meetings between the two teams dating back to 1964, Penn State has never lost to Massachusetts. The teams met three time last season. The Lions won the West Point Open in which the Minutemen placed second to open the 2000 campaign. The following weekend at Rec Hall, Penn State came out on top once again, 214.200-224.350. Both teams were invited to the NCAA Championships. On the first day of competition, PSU moved on the the team finals, placing sixth with a score of 229.126, while UMass finished last of 12 teams and did not advance, 222.150. TOUGH SLATE: The 2001 Nittany Lions will have a tough slate ahead as they try to defend their national title. Penn State will compete against nine teams ranked in the top 20, including four in the top 10. Penn State will face top-ranked Michigan on Feb. 3 and No. 10 Michigan State in the confines of home and will travel to No. 2 Ohio State (Feb. 24). The Lions will battle MSU and No. 3 Oklahoma at the Southwest Cup on March 3. The Lions are also scheduled to compete against No. 13 Temple, No. 17 Army, No. 18 Navy (West Point Open) and Springfield (West Point Open). The poll is once again dominated by Big Ten teams. Besides the Lions, U-M, MSU and OSU, Iowa is ranked No.6, followed by No. 8 Illinois and No. 12 Minnesota. Gyminfo Coaches poll Preseason Rankings (12/28/00) Rank Team Average 1. Michigan* 2. Ohio State* 3. Oklahoma 4. Penn State 5. California 6. Iowa* 7. Nebraska 8. Illinois* 9. Stanford 10. Michigan State* 11. Massachusetts 12. Minnesota* 13. Temple 14. Illinois-Chicago 15. Air Force 16. William & Mary 17. Army 18. Navy 19. UC-Santa Barbara. 20. Springfield * indicates Big Ten team italics indicates 2001 opponent WHO'S BACK: This year's Penn State gymnastics team is not lacking in experience. Seven retuning gymnasts are seniors and four are all-Americans. Senior captain Dominic Brindle leads the pack loaded with talent and eager to defend its title. He earned all-America status on the high bar and rings last season, while classmates Rob Saliski (vault), Ted Johnson (floor) and Chris Lakeman (rings) earned all-America status as well. Head coach Randy Jepson will look to his seniors to lead the charge in 2001. WHO'S NOT: Penn State will miss the contributions of two-time NCAA Pommel Horse Champion Brandon Stefaniak. Also gone because of graduation is vault all-American (1999) Eddie Seng. Senior Adam Benas will redshirt the 2001 campaign because of a torn achilles. He was expected to compete for the high bar national title. Despite the loss of these three gymnasts, the Lions return plenty of talent and experience. WHAT'S NEXT: Penn State will remain on the road and take part in the West Point Open. The Nittany Lions won that Open last year and will look to defend its title. Also competing in that tournament will be UMass, Navy, Temple, James Madison, Southern Connecticut State, Springfield and Army.