March 14, 2009
College Park, Md. - The 15th-ranked Penn State women's gymnastics team scored a 196.125 to defeat No. 19 Arizona (195.300), Maryland (194.175) and Yale (165.625) Saturday afternoon in College Park, Md.
As a team, Penn State scored a 49.200 on vault, a 49.125 on bars, a 48.925 on beam and a 49.875 on floor.
Junior Brandi Personett (Katy, Texas) claimed her ninth individual all-around title of the year with a 39.425 while freshman Whitney Bencsko (Pompton Plains, N.J.) recorded a 39.250 for second and junior Casey Rohrbaugh (Spring Grove, Pa.) posted a career-high 39.000 for sixth.
Penn State opened up the meet on floor, where Personett picked up her ninth floor title of the season with a 9.900 while freshman Daryl Konsevick (Rutherford, N.J.) posted a career-high 9.800 to tie for fourth. Rohrbaugh and junior Allie Southard (Nanuet, N.Y.) each recorded a 9.700 to tie for 12th while sophomore Heather McElwee (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) notched a 9.625 for 19th.
In the second rotation on vault, Bencsko shared the title with a 9.900 and Personett and Southard each recorded a 9.850 to tie for fifth. Sophomore Danielle Hover (Hamburg, N.Y.) tallied a career-high 9.825 for 10th while Rohrbaugh notched a 12th-place 9.775 and junior Alexandra Brockway (Macungie, Pa.) posted a 14th-place 9.725.
Bencsko and Brockway each scored a 9.875 on the uneven bars to tie for first, a career-high for Bencsko and a season-high-tying mark for Brockway. Personett posted a 9.825 for third while Rohrbaugh and freshman Alex Stine (Philipsburg, Pa.) both recorded a 9.775 for ninth. Hover rounded out the Lion competitors with a 9.750 for 11th.
On beam in the final rotation, Personett and Brockway finished in the first and second positions, respectively, with scores of 9.850 and 9.825. Southard tied for third with a 9.775 while Rohrbaugh finished seventh with a 9.750. Sophomore Melissa Klein (Oceanside, N.Y.) recorded a 9.725 for ninth while Bencsko posted a 9.700 to tie for 11th.
Penn State now competes at the Big Ten Championships on March 21 in Champaign, Ill. That meet will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
For more information on the Penn State women's gymnastics team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.