Jan. 28, 2011
Final Stats
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team was back on the road Friday evening in a tri-meet hosted by No. 1 Florida. The Nittany Lions took second place with a 195.300, while the Gators won the meet with a 197.500 and No. 13 N.C. State finished third scoring a 194.075.
"I thought we started and finished the meet strong," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "The team did really well on beam and bars. With the injury to Stephanie Brock earlier this week, we had to make some lineup changes. There were a few mistakes that cost us a couple of tenths here or there, but when you look at the big picture, we didn't count a fall. The girls fought hard and showed a lot of determination and courage. Overall, the team did a great job tonight."
As a team, Penn State scored a 48.800 on vault, season-highs of 49.125 on bars and 48.775 on beam and a 48.600 on floor. Sophomore Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned a second place finish in the all-around with a season-best 39.475.
The Nittany Lions opened the meet on beam with four Nittany Lions finishing in the top ten. Senior Danielle Hover (Hamburg, N.Y.) scored a season-high 9.725 to tie with teammate Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.) for ninth. Junior Daryl Konsevick (Rutherford, N.J.) took sixth with a 9.775 and Musser finished second on the event with a 9.850. Florida's Ashanee Dickerson won the event scoring a 9.975.
Penn State moved to floor in the second rotation where Musser was the top performer for the Nittany Lions taking third with a season-best 9.875. Junior Whitney Bencsko (Pompton Plains, N.J.) placed ninth with a 9.775 and Stauder scored a 9.750 for 12th to round out Penn State's top performers on the event. Alaina Johnson of Florida won the event scoring a 9.925.
Musser led the Nittany Lions on vault with a second place score of 9.900. Freshman Kristin Blades (Gainesville, Va.) scored a personal best 9.825 to tie for seventh and sophomore Madison Merriam (Gaithersburg, Md.) earned a 9.750 for 11th place. Florida's Johnson scored a 9.950 for the event title.
The Nittany Lions closed out the meet on the uneven bars. Hover posted a season-high 9.750 for 10th and junior Alex Stine (Philipsburg, Pa.) scored a 9.775 for ninth. Merriam earned a season-high 9.825 for sixth place, while Musser tied her career high on the event with a 9.850 for fifth. Junior Natalie Ettl (Waukesha, Wis.) finished second to lead the Lions with a season-best 9.925. Florida's Johnson earned her third title of the night on the uneven bars with a 9.950.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions return to campus on Sunday, Feb. 6 for their second home meet of the season. Penn State hosts Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Bridgeport at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall.