Jan. 29, 2017
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Upperclassmen Nicole Medvitz (Paramus, N.J.) and Briannah Tsang (Vancouver, British Columbia) each won an individual title, but the Penn State women's gymnastics team (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) fell, 195.625-193.250, to the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini (5-2, 2-1 Big Ten) Sunday afternoon inside Huff Hall.
"We knew ahead of time that we were going to be a little thin on everything," head coach Jeff Thompson said. "That we would only be able to compete five gymnasts on floor and vault."
"Building for the future, later in the season when we have some of our more experienced gymnasts back, we think it is going to make us a much better and stronger team," Thompson added.
The Nittany Lions began the meet on the uneven bars where they posted a team score of 48.675.
Freshman Kristen Politz (Morganville, N.J.) led the Nittany Lions on the uneven bars as she tied for second-place with her score of 9.825. Karen Howell of Illinois won the uneven bars title with a tally of 9.850. Along with Politz on the uneven bars, sophomore Sabrina Garcia (Etters, Pa.) posted a 9.775 to tie for fourth.
The second rotation featured Tsang posting a season-best score of 9.875 for her third vault title of the season and the 10th of her career. Also on the vault, Garcia tied for third-place with a 9.725. As a team, the Nittany Lion recorded a 48.250 on the apparatus.
The Blue & White then moved to the floor exercise during the third rotation. Garcia paced the Nittany Lions on the floor exercise with her score of 9.800 to tie for third-place. Also for Penn State on the floor exercise, sophomore Peyton Schuller (Erie, Pa.) recorded a 9.750 to finish seventh.
Penn State closed out the meet Sunday with a season-best score of 48.850 on the balance beam.
For the Nittany Lions on the balance beam, Medvitz captured her second balance beam title within the past three meets with a season-best tally of 9.925. Along with Medvitz' season-best score on the event, Garcia added another third-place finish on the afternoon with her season-best score of 9.825 and freshman Tess McCracken (Plano, Texas) recorded a career-best 9.750 to finish seventh.
Garcia finished the all-around in second with a season-best score of 39.125.
The Nittany Lions return home to Rec Hall for a pair of Big Ten meets against Michigan State on Feb. 4 and Ohio State on Feb. 11.