Feb. 10, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team posted season-high scores on the vault and floor exercise in Sunday's dual meet at No. 9 Nebraska, where the Cornhuskers outscored the Nittany Lions 197.175-195.150. Penn State entered its last event, the balance beam, with scores of 48.975 or higher in its first three events, but struggled on the beam and posted a 47.800.
"As far as the first three events went today, we were absolutely thrilled," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "We had a blast for those first three events. We had our struggles on beam and we know we have to do a better job. We need to do a better job of preparing them for Michigan and they need to continue to work on their skills in practice."
Penn State's best event of the day was the vault, where the team posted a season-high of 49.225, beating the previous high of 49.100 at Denver last month. Senior Madison Merriam (Gaithersburg, Md.) led the way for Penn State on the vault, matching her season-high of 9.900. Freshman Samantha Musto (Mays Landing, N.J.) tallied a career-high score of 9.875 while senior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Lexi Carroll (Olney, Md.) each put up a 9.825.
The Nittany Lions were also strong in the floor exercise, posting a season-high mark of 49.150. Musser had a strong floor routine, posting a season-high mark of 9.9 and earning her third place overall. Junior Lindsay Musgrove (League City, Texas) matched her career-high on the floor with a 9.850. Carroll and Merriam each finished at 9.825, which also matched a career-best for Carroll.
Over on the uneven bars, the Nittany Lions finished with a mark of 48.975, which was their third best score in that event this year. Musser led the way for Penn State with a 9.875, matching her season-high for the third time during the 2013 campaign. Finishing behind Musser was Musto, who put up a 9.8. Merriam and junior Sidney Sanabria-Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) each finished with a score of 9.775.
Penn State struggled on the balance beam. Merriam, junior Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.) and sophomore Krystal Welsh (Bowie, Md.) all led the way with a 9.725.
Musser finished with an all-around score of 38.825.
Next up for Penn State will be a trip to Ann Arbor, Mich. on Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. Following the Michigan meet, the Nittany Lions will return to Rec Hall on Feb. 23 to host a double dual along with the men's team against Michigan State.
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