March 17, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 12th-ranked Penn State women's gymnastics team closed out its regular season at home with a 196.500-195.550 win over the University of Maryland Saturday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions posted a season high team score on the uneven bars of 49.350.
Junior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) continued her dominance in the all-around, tying her season-best with a 39.650 for first place. Senior Whitney Bencsko (Pompton Plains, N.J.), who competed in her final home meet at Rec Hall, scored a season-high 39.325 for second place, while junior Madison Merriam (Gaitherburg, Md.) posted a 39.225. Freshman Krystal Welsh (Bowie, Md.) totaled a 39.100.
Penn State opened the meet on the vault with a team score of 49.175 to take an early lead against the Terrapins, who scored a 48.775 on the uneven bars. Starting off for the Nittany Lions was freshman Lexi Carroll (Olney, Md.) who scored a 9.700, followed by Bencsko who posted a 9.775. Third in the lineup on vault for Penn State was sophomore Lindsay Musgrove (League City, Texas) who earned a 9.750, and Welsh posted a score of 9.775.
Leading the team on vault for Penn State were Merriam, who tied her career-high with a score of 9.925, and Musser, who closed out the first event with a strong 9.950 score, tying her season best.
In the second rotation, the Nittany Lions transitioned to the uneven bars to post a season-high team score of 49.350. Maryland scored a 49.200 on the vault, allowing the Nittany Lions to improve their team score to 98.525 and maintain the lead. Maryland had a team score of 97.975. Merriam claimed the title with a season best 9.900, while sophomore Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.) and Welsh both scored an 9.825. Senior Alex Stine (Philipsburg, Pa.), Bencsko, and Musser all put up a solid 9.875.
In rotation three, Penn State headed to beam and was able to hold on to their lead with a combined team score of 147.425 to Maryland's 147.075. Maryland was on floor and put up a 49.100, while the Nittany Lions posted a team score of 48.900 on the beam. Musser's score of 9.875 was a meet-high. Bencsko posted a 9.825, and senior Daryl Konsevick (Rutherford, N.J.) scored a 9.750.
Penn State closed out their final home meet on floor with a team score of 48.800, while Maryland scored a 48.475 on the beam. Musser tied her career high on floor with a 9.950 to lead Penn State and Bencsko earned a 9.850. Konsevick scored a 9.825, while Welsh rounded out Penn State's top performers on the event with a 9.775.
The Nittany Lions continue their season on March 24 as they travel to Iowa City, Iowa for the Big Ten Championships. Action is set for 2 p.m. ET in Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Penn State women's gymnastics team is on Twitter. Follow @PSUGym for the inside scoop. You can also find updates on the Nittany Lion gymnasts at GoPSUsports.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pennstatewomensgymnastics.