PENN STATE

Head coach Randy Jepson

Opening statement
"I am thrilled. We had close to 150 alums from all over the country and to allow them to experience a national championship is something. This is the 50th anniversary of the 1957 championship. A good majority of that team is here. To allow them to vicariously relive some of those moments was a just a thrill for me. But I am so thrilled for our guys. We had a goal at the beginning of the season and they came through with flying colors. They never let down. I am really proud of Matt Cohen and the rest of the group. I really have to thank Thom (Glielmi) for being Matt's high school coach. We are thrilled. We are a close-knit group and it was a class act on everyone's part."

Comment on atmosphere:
"It is energetic. It is that way every year. We knew that it was going to come down to tenths of a point. That is the way it is. We tell our guys to live in the moment and celebrate the moment. Just to savor it and not get uptight about it. Being at your best in those situations is key. You just have to thrive on those moments and we just look forward to it."

Is this one of the highest points of your career?
"It is going to be tough to beat. It is a special moment. Winning it in front of the fans and family is huge."

Was the floor exercise the turning point?
"I have got to be honest with you Casey (Sandy) turned his ankle two days before the meet. We looked at it and we realized that we needed him to be able to land it. We have got a guy, Allen Harris, who didn't compete that much during the year. I told him that if he is going to make the line-up he is going to have to do it on vault. He has been landing those on his side until about 10 days ago. The kid steps up and knocks it out of the park. That really set the tone for us. We have another freshman, Nick (Virbitsky). He did a great floor set. We had trouble landing all year, but the guys found a way to find the floor and did not move, and did a good job doing it."

Matt Cohen, Sr.

Opening statement
"Well first of all I want to say a great job to the other athletes in here. David Sender and Taqiy (Abdullah-Simmons) are as good as it gets in this country for gymnastics, and they competed hard tonight. Obviously Thom (Glielmi) and Mark (Williams) are excellent coaches. I am unbelievably happy to closeout my career at Penn State winning a national title at home. So this is the sweetest way to go out. I am so proud of my coach Randy and my teammates."

What were you thinking when you guys went to the rings?
"We were just trying to stay focused on our job. We knew that Oklahoma had just done an incredible ring performance. We were on pommel horse and we could hear them. We also knew that rings was our strongest event. We went out about business as usual and everything came out in place."

Comment on the rotation:
"For me it had a great effect. You are always a little bit nervous for that last rotation with all the pressure coming down. We knew that we were going to our strongest event. We really enjoyed having that rotation."

Matt, talk about how this compares to winning as a freshman.
"It does not feel the same at all. First of all I only competed in two events that year. Second of all, I had no idea that we were capable of winning a national championship that year. I wasn't privy to that information. I just sort of blindly did it. I am much more conscious of where our team is at now. It is just sweeter that we did it this time around."

How did the rings feel after your performance?
"When I landed the routine, at that point I knew that we had won. It is an incredible feeling. It is a little bit of relief mixed in with joy. I can't really say more than it was an incredible moment. I think the team and coaches knew it, and you can't really top that."

OKLAHOMA

Head coach Mark Williams

Opening statement
"I would like to congratulate Randy Jepson and Matt Cohen and the Penn State Nittany Lions on a tremendous competition. It was hard fought all the way to the end, and a great job."

On having a three-point lead and then losing it to Penn State:
"Not every event is equal. We knew that we had to finish out with an event that isn't one of our best. We needed to have a two-and-a-half to three-point lead to have any chance. It was two points, and I tried to juggle the vault line-up and see if I could have some guys throw some bigger vaults and stay with Penn State. In the end, they were stronger. They finished strong on rings and we just struggled on horse. We got through with a score that kept us in it, but we did not have anything like they had on that event. I was proud of the fight. We excelled and made all of our event high scores for the season except for on horse. For all of the things my team has been through this year, we feel like this is still a great success."

On Ian Jackson's performance tonight:
"He has potential. He has helped us on floor, vault and rings this season. He has come in and helped us on horse when we had injuries and needed to replace some guys. As a freshman, I am thrilled with his progress and I think he will do some great things in the future."

Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Jr.

Opening statement
"Congratulations to Penn State. You guys looked phenomenal out there tonight. It was fun coming into your home and competing against you. Thank you for this honor."

Talk about what it means to win the all-around:
"I am very excited about winning the all-around. It is always a pleasure to win any competition, let alone the National Championship. It is kind of hard to talk about it because the team always comes first. But winning all-around is nice to have in a class of such great people that were ahead of me."

STANFORD

Head coach Thom Glielmi

Opening statement
"Randy Jepson, great job. For you to win at home is great. Matt Cohen, congratulations on a great memory. I did not really see much of their gymnastics, but obviously the score speaks for itself. Great job."

David Sender, Jr.

Opening statement
"I would also like to congratulate Penn State for a very well-fought competition throughout the night."