Dec. 10, 2015
ROSEMOUNT, Ill. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team has been picked fourth in the Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference office Thursday afternoon. Penn State's Kiera Brown (Newport News, Va.) and Briannah Tsang (Vancouver, British Columbia) were selected as "Gymnasts to Watch" for the upcoming season.
Two-time defending Big Ten champion Michigan garnered the top spot in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll followed by Nebraska and Illinois.
Penn State finished the 2015 season ranked No. 22 in the NCAA to mark the 13th straight season the program has finished among the top-25 nationally. The Nittany Lions posted one school record, a 49.550 on the vault at Illinois on Jan. 31, and two top-10 scores in program history; a 49.450 on the vault in a quad-meet vs. Brockport, Iowa State and Penn (2/28) also ranks No. 7 in the record books and the 197.025 team score vs. Michigan State (2/7) is tied for the fifth best score in school history.
In the postseason, Penn State posted its top score at the Big Ten Championships in program history and added two top-10 scores into the NCAA Regional record books. The 196.725 on March 21 in Ann Arbor, Michigan is the top score in Big Ten Championships history for the Blue and White, topping the 196.650 from 2003. The Lions scored 49.200 on the vault to rank No. 5 in the Regional record books, while the 49.050 on the uneven bars is tied for No. 7 in the school's regional history.
Brown, a transfer from Georgia, will be a junior this year for the Nittany Lions. At Georgia, Brown was named All-SEC after she finished tied for second on the uneven bars at the 2014 SEC Championships. She also finished the 2014 season tied for 19th nationally on the uneven bars.
Tsang enters her sophomore season with the Nittany Lions after being named the 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Tsang was also named to the All-Big Ten second team. Last season, she competed in all 12 of the team's meets, including the NCAA Regional Championships. In 2015, she won at least one event title in each of her first seven career meets and posted at least one event win in eight of her 12 competitions.
Penn State opens the 2016 campaign with a double dual meet against North Carolina State at 4 p.m. on Jan. 9. While the women's team competes against NC State, the men's program takes on Army. The first 400 fans in attendance at Rec Hall will receive an exclusive white out t-shirt. At the meet, kids can get their face painted, receive airbrushed tattoos and a caricature artist will be present. There will be an autograph session following the conclusion of the meet.
Single meet and season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting 1-800-NITTANY, online at www.GoPSUSports.com/tickets or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center.
BIG TEN WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. Michigan
2. Nebraska
3. Illinois
4. Penn State
5. Ohio State
6. Minnesota
7. Iowa
8. Michigan State
9. Maryland
10. Rutgers
BIG TEN WOMEN'S GYMNASTS TO WATCH LIST
Lizzy Leduc, Fr., Illinois
Giana O'Connor, Sr., Illinois
Mollie Drenth, Jr., Iowa
Angel Metcalf, Jr., Iowa
Abbie Epperson, So., Maryland
Kathy Tang, Sr., Maryland
Nicole Artz, Jr., Michigan
Olivia Karas, Fr., Michigan
Lisa Burt, Sr., Michigan State
Elena Lagoski, Jr., Michigan State
Ciara Gardner, So., Minnesota
Lindsay Mable, Sr., Minnesota
Hollie Blanske, Sr., Nebraska
Ashley Lambert, Jr., Nebraska
Taylor Harrison, So., Ohio State
Kaitlyn Hofland, Fr., Ohio State
Kiera Brown, Jr., Penn State
Briannah Tsang, So., Penn State
April Baker, Jr., Rutgers
Elizabeth Groden, So., Rutgers