March 25, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 25, 2014 - Senior Kassidy Stauder (Palmerton, Pa.) became the second Penn State women's gymnast to earn regular season All-America distinction from the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches for Women (NACGCW). A top performer on the balance beam all season, Stauder earned second team All-American on the event.
"This is an honor that Kassidy has deserved each of her previous years at Penn State; but, we were using her in a lead-off role on balance beam because she was so consistent and always led us off with a hit routine," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "We always felt that her scores were never as high leading off as they could have been as an anchor person.
"This season, Kassidy has been our anchor and has been rewarded each meet after following some pretty outstanding beam workers with her own incredible routine. There's a reason she is ranked first in the region, second in the Big Ten and top-15 in the NCAA."
This marks the second year of the regular season All-America team, which supplements the traditional All-America honors awarded at the national championships. Last season, Penn State's Sharaya Musser earned first team accolades on the balance beam and second team distinction in the all-around.
Stauder was the top balance beam worker in the conference this season entering the Big Ten Championships, where she finished tied fourth on the event. She currently ranks 14th in the NCAA on the event with a Regional Qualifying score of 9.895 and was one of only two Big Ten gymnasts to earn All-American recognition on the balance beam.
She owns a season average of 9.856 and posted a career-best score of 9.950 on the event in a quad meet at New Hampshire with Bridgeport and George Washington on March 8. She has topped the 9.875 mark on the event eight times in 2014, besting 9.900 on four occasions. She has five balance beam titles on her resume this season.
Stauder is also one of the top all-arounders in the nation, ranking 18th in the competition with a RQS of 39.365. She narrowly missed earning All-American honors in the all-around and has a career-best score of 39.475, which ranks second on the team, and has posted the team's best all-around score in six meets this season.
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