Feb. 16, 2013
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team posted a season-high score of 196.700 in a 197.375-196.700 loss to the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Saturday afternoon in Cliff Kleen Arena. The team score is the highest for Penn State since March 4, 2011. Additionally, it is the highest road score Penn State has posted since 2007.
"We finally put together a dual meet with routines that met our full potential," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "I think the way we trained this week with beam and doing intersquads at the end of practice was a big help. It was great to have our men's basketball team there to cheer us on. We need to continue this effort into next week."
The Nittany Lions crushed their previous season-high score of 195.575, set against Ohio State back on Feb. 2. Additionally, Penn State posted season-best scores on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. Senior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished second in the all-around, posting a season-high mark of 39.525. Sophomore Lexi Carroll (Olney, Md.) also participated in the all-around, posting a score of 38.350.
On the vault, every Nittany Lion hoisted a score of 9.8 or better as the team accumulated a total of 49.275. Senior Madison Merriam (Gaithersburg, Md.) put up a career-best mark of 9.950 to lead the way for Penn State. The senior captain bested her previous score of 9.925 back on March 17, 2012. Musser finished behind Merriam with a mark of 9.875. Junior Lindsay Musgrove (League City, Texas) and freshman Samantha Musto (Mays Landing, N.J.) each posted marks of 9.825, while Carroll and junior Sidney Sanabria-Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) each checked in at 9.8.
On the uneven bars, Penn State was phenomenal, with Musser and Musto each posting marks of 9.9, a career-best for Musto. Merriam finished behind the duo with a score of 9.825. Junior Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.) rounded earned a 9.8 clip for the Nittany Lions on the bars.
Penn State made great strides on the balance beam as well this week, putting up a mark of 49.050, its second-best score on that event all season. Five of six Nittany Lion gymnasts finished above a 9.8, with Musser leading the way with a 9.875. Carroll Musto and Stauder each put up marks of 9.8, while sophomore Krystal Welsh (Bowie, Md.) finished with a score of 9.775.
The Nittany Lions set a season-high mark 49.350 on the floor exercise. Merriam put up her second score of 9.9 or better on the day, as she finished with a 9.9 to lead the way for Penn State. Musser posted a season-high of 9.875, while Musgrove marked a 9.85. Freshman Taylor Alotta (New Tripoli, Pa.) put up a career-high of 9.8 for the Lions.
The Lions return to Rec Hall on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. for a double dual with Michigan State. All tickets can be purchased by calling Penn State Athletics at 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Athletic Ticket Office inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
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