April 24, 2008
Stats
ATHENS, Ga. - Penn State sophomore women's gymnast Brandi Personett (Katy, Texas) earned First Team All-America status on the balance beam during the first session of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, held in Athens, Ga. Personett recorded a 9.850, the second-highest beam score of her career, to tie for second on the apparatus. Personett, along with the four other First Team All-Americans from the first session and the First Team All-Americans from the second session, will compete for the individual national championship on Saturday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m.
Personett becomes Penn State's 74th overall individual All-American and the first since the 2005 season, as she captured the Lions' 10th All-America honor on beam. The last Penn State gymnast to earn All-America status on beam was Nikki Smith in 1999. The Nittany Lions have only had one individual national champion on beam in the history of the program, in 1978 when Ann Carr captured the honor.
Qualifying as an individual all-arounder, Personett opened up the first session of the NCAA Championships on the uneven bars, scoring a 9.850, her second-highest score of the year, to tie for 16th. Following her second-place 9.850 on beam in the second rotation and a bye in the third rotation, Personett suffered a fall on floor, scoring a 9.150. However, she recovered and closed out the meet on floor with a 9.800 to finished tied for 16th in the all-around with a 38.650.
The women's gymnastics championships consist of 12 teams and 12 all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and individual event specialists. The top two teams and the top two all-arounders from each of the six regionals received automatic berths to the national championships.
The top four individuals from each of the two sessions in each event (plus ties) from the preliminary team and all-around competition will compete in the individual event competition on Saturday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m.
First Session ONLY
Vault
First Team All-America
Kayla Hoffman, Alabama 9.9
Michelle Stout, Arkansas, 9.9
Yuki Lamb, Oregon State 9.875
Susan Jackson, LSU 9.875
Second Team All-America
Melanie Sinclair, Florida 9.85
Amanda Castillo, Florida 9.85
Ashley Reed, Florida 9.85
Kiara Sturms, Oklahoma 9.85
Casey Jo Magee, Arkansas 9.85
Bars
First Team All-America
Melanie Sinclair, Florida 9.95
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, LSU 9.95
Summer Hubbard, LSU 9.925
Kassi Price, Alabama 9.925
Second Team All-America
Casey Jo Magee, Arkansas 9.9
Kaylan Clevinger, Ohio State 9.9
Jennifer Kessler, Oregon State 9.9
Morgan Dennis, Alabama 9.9
Balance Beam
First Team All-America
Emily Parsons, Nebraska 9.875
Ashley Reed, Florida 9.85
Melanie Sinclair, Florida 9.85
Brandi Personett, PENN STATE 9.85
Susan Jackson, LSU 9.85
Second Team All-America
Casey Overton, Alabama 9.825
Corey Hartung, Florida 9.825
Kiara Sturms, Oklahoma 9.825
Jami Lanz, Oregon State 9.825
Allison Buckley, Illinois 9.825
Floor Exercise
First Team All-America
Morgan Dennis, Alabama 9.925
Corey Hartung, Florida 9.925
Amanda Castillo, Florida 9.925
Susan Jackson, LSU 9.9
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, LSU 9.9
Ashley Reed, Florida 9.9
Nicola Willis, Florida 9.9
Kiara Sturms, Oklahoma 9.9
All-Around
First Team All-America
Melanie Sinclair, Florida 39.525
Susan Jackson, LSU 39.5
Ashley Reed, Florida 39.425
Amanda Castillo, Florida 39.425
Second Team All-America
Kiara Sturms, Oklahoma 39.4
Corey Hartung, Florida 39.4
Morgan Dennis, Alabama 39.4
Emily Parsons Nebraska, 39.35
--NITTANY LIONS--