Jan. 26, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team posted a season-best score of 195.500 on Saturday night to take first place in a quad meet with Iowa, No. 20 Pittsburgh and Rutgers in Rec Hall. Finishing behind the Nittany Lions was Iowa at 195.325, followed by Pittsburgh at 193.575 and Rutgers at 193.225.
Senior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was the all-around champion with a score of 39.525, a season-best for her. Musser was an individual event champion on the vault, bars and beam while finishing third on the floor exercise. Additionally, the Nittany Lions posted season-high scores as a team on the bars and floor.
"What an exciting night for Penn State Women's Gymnastics," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "Our fans got to see a great show, competition and excellent floor performance to pull off the victory. Our team will gain a lot of confidence from knowing we had a great meet despite not being at full strength."
On the vault, Penn State posted a team score of 49.075 with each gymnast putting up a 9.700 or better. Junior Sidney Sanabria-Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) started with a 9.800. Following a 9.775 by sophomore Lexi Carroll (Olney, Md.) and junior Lindsay Musgrove (League City, Texas), senior Madison Merriam (Gaithersburg, Md.) posted a 9.875 a week after suffering an injury on the uneven bars. Musser finished with a 9.875 as well.
Next up for the Nittany Lions was the uneven bars, where Musser led the way with a 9.875. Sanabria-Robles finished behind Musser with a 9.850 and Merriam checked in at 9.800. The Nittany Lions posted a 49.050 total on the uneven bars and held a score of 98.125 through two events.
Despite struggling as a team on the beam, Musser wrapped up the event with a 9.925, a season-high for her. Musser's finish carried over to the floor routine, where the team put up their season-best score of 49.025. Junior Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.) led off on floor with a 9.775, followed by a 9.750 from freshman Taylor Alotta (New Tripoli, Pa.). Musgrove and Carroll each put together beautiful routines, finishing with a 9.800 and 9.825 respectively. Sanabria-Robles finished with an all-around score of 39.100 after putting up a 9.775 on her floor exercise. Musser wrapped up the meet with a 9.850.
Penn State returns to Rec Hall next Saturday at 7 p.m. for a double dual meet with the men's squad against Ohio State. It will also be Penn State's "Paint it Pink" meet. All fans are encouraged to purchase a "Paint it Pink" t-shirt on the west concourse of Rec Hall. Fans that wear their t-shirt will get free admittance into the meet on Feb. 2.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's gymnastics, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-gym.
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