Feb. 2, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team put up a season-high score to take down the Buckeyes of Ohio State by a count of 195.575-194.675 on Saturday night in Rec Hall. The men's team also defeated Ohio State, as Saturday's meet was a double dual.
"It's more about hitting 24 routines than beating the Buckeyes," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "But anytime you can beat Ohio State, it's a good day. Our goal was to hit all of our routines in order to give ourselves a chance for the victory. We've been working and fighting until the very end at outlasting our opponents and I feel like we did a great job with that tonight."
Senior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took home the all-around title with a score of 39.400. The senior also was first place on the balance beam with a score of 9.925 for the second consecutive week. Freshman Samantha Musto (Mays Landing, N.J.) returned to the Nittany Lion lineup after suffering an injury two weeks ago and competed in bars and beam.
Penn State started on the vault posting a team score of 49.000 with each gymnast posting a 9.700 or better. Musser posted a 9.875 followed by senior Madison Merriam (Gaithersburg, Md.), who posted a 9.825. Junior Sidney Sanabria-Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) scored a 9.800. Sophomore Lexi Carroll (Olney, Md.) posted a 9.775 and sophomore Alex Witt (Odessa, Fla.) posted a 9.725.
Penn State scored a team total of 48.775 on the uneven bars. Musser posted a 9.875 tying her season-high and Merriam posted a 9.800. A 9.750 was scored by both Sanabria-Robles and Junior Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.). Sophomore Krystal Welsh (Bowie, Md.) earned a 9.650.
Next on the balance beam, Penn State finished with a team score of 48.900. Musser posted a 9.925 tying her season-high. Stauder posted a 9.800 and Musto scored a 9.700. In the event, two Nittany Lions had career-highs; Sanabria-Robles scored a 9.750 and Carroll scored a 9.700.
During the floor exercise, Penn State posted a team score of 48.900. Surpassing her season-high, Merriam posted a 9.850. Junior Lindsay Musgrove (League City, Texas) also beat her season-high with a 9.825. Musser scored a 9.775. Freshman Taylor Alotta (New Tripoli, Pa.) earned a 9.750 which ties her career-high. Both Carroll and Stauder posted a 9.700.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next Sunday at Nebraska for a 2 p.m. start time with the Cornhuskers. Following Nebraska, Penn State will head to Ann Arbor, Mich. on Feb. 16 to take on the Michigan Wolverines. The Lions return to Rec Hall on Feb. 23 for a double dual with Michigan State.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's gymnastics, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-gym.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PennStateWGYM.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PSUWomensGymnastics.