Feb. 27, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 27, 2014 - It will be the final time during the regular season that seniors Lindsay Musgrove (League City, Texas) and Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.) will compete inside the hallowed hall of Rec Hall when they take to the floor at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28 by hosting Bridgeport, Western Michigan and Yale.
It wasn't a season-best effort last weekend for the Blue and White, but they did walk away with the confidence of knowing that they can perform under extreme pressure. The Nittany Lions posted a season-best score of 49.175 on the vault and registered their third best score on the floor exercise, but a couple of falls on uneven bars really tested their mettle.
After a slip from the first performer and an injury to the second, the Nittany Lions final four performers stepped up and closed out the meet strong to help the team improve to 12-2 overall on the season.
The Nittany Lions are currently among the Top-25 in overall team score and on all four apparatus. Their Regional Qualifying Score of 195.795 currently sits 18th in the NCAA, while they ranks 14th on the floor exercise (49.120), 15th on the vault (49.055) and are 21st on both the uneven bars (48.935) and balance beam (48.735).
The Regional Qualifying Score is based on a team's and an all-around competitor's six best regular-season-meet scores, of which three must be away.
Junior Krystal Welsh (Bowie, Md.) led the way for Penn State, finishing second in the all-around with a career-best 39.325, and Stauder placed third in the all-around, finishing among the top five on each event. The duo also tied for the individual title on the uneven bars with identical scores of 9.850.
Stauder's 39.300 performance marked the third time this season she has topped the 39.300 mark and helped improve her national ranking in the competition. The senior currently ranks 16th nationally with a RQS of 39.220. Stauder is also currently tied for ninth in the NCAA on the balance beam at 9.865 and 25th on the uneven bars at 9.855.
Musgrove enters the weekend as one of the team's top contributors on the vault and floor exercise - making the squad's first and final rotations on to watch at Rec Hall. The senior has topped 9.800 twice on the vault and five times on the floor exercise this season. Her 9.900 on the floor exercise in the home opening quad meet ranks second on the team , while her 9.825 is fifth on the vault.
Junior Sidney Sanabria-Robles completed a solid all-around at Rutgers, as well, turning in a 39.225 performance and posting a career-best score of 9.900 to win her second vault title of the season. Freshman Nicole Medvitz continued her solid rookie season with a second place showing on the balance beam with a 9.825, marking her second highest score of the season.
Penn State will hit the road for two straight meets to close out the regular season, starting on March 8 in a quad meet at New Hampshire w/Bridgeport & George Washington. A quad meet at No. 8 Michigan with Iowa and No. 12 Minnesota on Saturday, March 15 closes out the season. The quad meet in Ann Arbor will air live on the Big Ten Network at 1:30.
For information on purchasing 2014 Big Ten and NCAA Regional Championship tickets fans can visit http://www.gopsusports.com/tickets/w-gym-tickets.html or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
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