March 27, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 17 Penn State women's gymnastics team took second with a score of 196.525 at the 2010 Big Ten Championships hosted by Ohio State. Michigan took the conference crown for the fourth straight season with a 196.900. Iowa finished third with a 195.575, Michigan State took fourth tying with Minnesota with a 195.350, Illinois placed sixth with a 195.025 and Ohio State scored a 194.700 for seventh.
Senior Brandi Personett (Katy, Texas) was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second year in a row, while freshman Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Personett's honor was the sixth for a Nittany Lion gymnast and Musser's was the third rookie honor since Penn State joined the Big Ten for the 1992 season.
Personett won the Big Ten all-around title for the third time in her career with a 39.550, while Musser finished third with a 39.500. Freshman Madison Merriam (Gaithersburg, Md.) scored a personal-best 39.100 in the all-around, good enough for ninth place.
The Nittany Lions, as a team, scored a 48.850 on vault, tied their season high with a 49.350 on bars, a 49.025 on beam and also tied their season-high with a 49.300 on floor.
The Nittany Lions opened the championship meet with a bye before moving to beam in rotation two. Musser was Penn State's top performer on the event with a 9.900 to tie for second. Personett took eighth with a 9.875, while senior Allie Southard (Nanuet, N.Y.) tied for 16th with a 9.800. Junior Danielle Hover (Hamburg, N.Y.) scored a 9.750 as senior Casey Rohrbaugh (Spring Grove, Pa.) posted a 9.700. Iowa's Houry Gebeshian took the beam title with a 9.950.
After a bye in the third rotation, Penn State advanced to floor where Personett defended her floor title for the third straight season with a 9.950. Musser posted a personal-best 9.900 to tie for second while classmate Merriam tied her career-best with a 9.850 to tie for sixth. Sophomore Daryl Konsevick (Rutherford, N.J.) scored a 9.825 to rank 12th and Southard and Rohrbaugh each scored a 9.775 on the event.
The Nittany Lions faced another bye in rotation four before heading to vault. Personett was Penn State's top finisher on vault scoring a 9.850 to tie for third. Musser and senior Rosie Smith (Waterford, Pa.) each scored a 9.800 for eighth place. Merriam placed 18th with a 9.750 as Rohrbaugh posted a 9.650 to round out the PSU performers. Michigan's Natalie Beilstein won the event with a 9.900.
Penn State closed out the meet on the uneven bars where the Nittany Lions claimed the top three spots. Sophomore Natalie Ettl (Waukesha, Wis.) earned her first Big Ten title with a 9.925, Musser placed second with a 9.900 and Personett tied her season-high of 9.875 for third. Merriam tied her personal-best score of 9.850 for fifth, while senior Alexandra Brockway (Macungie, Pa.) and sophomore Alex Stine (Phillipsburg, Pa.) each earned a 9.800.
The Nittany Lions now await the NCAA Regional draw to learn its final ranking. Penn State hosts the 2010 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Northeast Regional on April 10 with meet action beginning at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall.
The Big Ten Network will re-air the 2010 Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championship on three occasions. The meet will be re-broadcast tomorrow morning, March 28, from 2-5 a.m., on Monday, March 29 from 12-3 p.m. and again on Friday, April 2 form 5 -7 p.m.