March 3, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team heads to the historic Palestra for its final non-conference meet of the 2016-17 regular season on Sunday, March 5. The meet features host University of Pennsylvania, Bridgeport and West Chester and is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 195.200-193.525 win on Senior Day against Pittsburgh on Feb. 25.
As a team against Pittsburgh, the Nittany Lions captured event titles on the uneven bars (49.150), balance beam (48.800) and floor exercise (48.675) en route to the team's fourth-best overall score of the season (195.200).
Individually, junior Briannah Tsang won the vault (9.825), floor exercise (9.900), and the all-around (39.250), while sophomore Sabrina Garcia won the uneven bars (9.925) and senior Nicole Medvitz captured the balance beam title (9.875).
Following the quad meet at Penn, the Nittany Lions head to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Big Five Qualifier. The Nittany Lions will compete against Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Rutgers. The Big Five Qualifier is slated for a 4 p.m. (EST) start.
The top three team finishers from both Big Five Qualifiers will compete in the night session of the Big Ten Championships, while the other four teams compete in the early session.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with a stream via the Ivy League Digital Network, but must have an account to access the video. Live stats can be found on GoPSUsports.com for no charge.
ABOUT BRIDGEPORT
Bridgeport enters the quad meet ranked 51st in the RQS team standings (193.925). The Purple Knights rank 56th on the vault (48.360), 55th on the uneven bars (48.365), 42nd on the balance beam (48.575) and 31st on the floor exercise (48.970).
ABOUT PENN
Penn enters the meet ranked 62nd in the RQS team standings with a score 192.280. In the event standings, Penn ranks 65th on the vault (47.720), 62nd on the uneven bars (47.980), 54th on the balance beam (48.260) and 58th on the floor exercise (48.535).
The Quakers have a record of 6-11 on the season heading into the upcoming quad meet. Last weekend the Quakers tallied a second-place finish at the Ivy Classic with an overall score of 192.925.
Heading into the weekend, Bridgeport is 14-5 on the season. Last weekend the Purple Knights tallied a 194.275 to capture a victory over the Air Force Falcons (193.965).
ABOUT WEST CHESTER
West Chester (7-9) currently ranks 61st in team scoring (192.350), 60th on the vault (48.065), 63rd on the uneven bars (47.465), tied for 51st on the balance beam (48.285) and is tied for 52nd on the floor exercise (48.620).
The Golden Rams are coming off a fourth-place finish in a five-team meet earlier this week.
On March 1, Maryland finished first (195.800), followed by New Hampshire (195.275), Temple (194.900), West Chester (193.225) and William & Mary (191.050).
ABOUT PENN STATE
Heading into the weekend, the Nittany Lions (6-6) are 42nd in the Road to Nationals rankings with a score of 194.415.
The Nittany Lions also rank 53rd on the vault (48.465), 39th on the uneven bars (48.700), 26th on the balance beam (48.855) and 60th on the floor exercise (48.370).
Individually, Briannah Tsang is tied for 69th on the vault (9.820), Kristen Politz is tied for 109th on the uneven bars (9.805), Nicole Medvitz is tied for 18th on the balance beam (9.890) and Sabrina Garcia is tied for 84th on the floor exercise (9.830) and 47th in the all-around (38.915).
BIG TEN HONORS
Following the season-opening quad meet, Briannah Tsang was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the first time in her career.
Individually, Tsang won titles outright on the vault (9.850), floor exercise (9.850) and all-around (39.350). She also tied for the balance beam title with a 9.825.
SUCCESS ON THE BALANCE BEAM
Dating back to the 2010 season, the Nittany Lions have ended the season with a 49.000 or better on the balance beam in the RQS standings.
Currently the Nittany Lions' 48.855 on the balance beam is fifth-best in the Big Ten and ranks 26th in the nation.
Individually, senior Nicole Medvitz is tied for 18th in the nation and ranks second in the Big Ten on the balance beam RQS with a 9.890.
STELLAR SOPHOMORE SEASON
In her second year with the Blue & White, sophomore Sabrina Garcia has set a pair of top-10 performances in the Penn State record books and has won eight event titles.
In the Penn State record books, Garcia has tallied a 9.950 on the uneven bars twice, which is tied for the No. 3 performance in school history.
On the year, Garcia has claimed three uneven bars titles, one balance beam title, three floor exercise titles, and two all-around titles.
HOMECOMING
Penn State's trip to Texas will be a homecoming for three Nittany Lions. Sophomore Mason calls Pearland, Texas, home, Tess McCracken hails from Plano, Texas, and Emma Sibson is from Allen, Texas.
WELCOME BACK
The Nittany Lions return 12 members from the 2016 team that finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and fifth at the NCAA Regional Championships.
Last year, a pair of Nittany Lion freshmen competed in all 12 meets (Mason Hosek & Jessica Jones), while freshman Sabrina Garcia competed in 11 of 12 meets on the year.
RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE
Sophomore Sabrina Garcia swung into the Nittany Lion record books with her performance on the uneven bars in the 2017 season-opener.
Garcia recorded a career-best 9.950 on the uneven bars, which tied the No. 3 performance in school history.
Two weeks later, Garcia posted another 9.950 on the uneven bars against Maryland on Jan. 21.
As a team, the Nittany Lions tied the No. 10 performance in school history on the balance beam with a 49.300 at the Texas Woman's University quad meet on Feb. 19.
TSANG'S 38 TITLES
Junior Briannah Tsang has captured 29 individual titles and nine all-around titles in her Nittany Lion career.
Tsang opened up her junior year with three individual titles and the all-around title in a quad meet victory against Bowling Green, BYU and Temple on Jan. 7.
On the year, she has 10 individual event titles and four all-around titles.
FIRST CAREER TITLES
Freshman Kristen Politz and sophomore Peyton Schuller both captured their first career title as Nittany Lions against Maryland on Jan. 21.
Politz and Schuller tied for the floor exercise title along with Sabrina Garcia against Maryland, as they all tallied a 9.825.
NEW NITTANY LIONS
Tess McCracken, Kristen Politz and Mikayla Waddell joined the Penn State women's gymnastics team in the fall of 2016 as freshmen.
McCracken is from Plano, Texas, while Politz (Morganville) and Waddell (Ridgewood) both call New Jersey home.
NITTANY LION DEBUTS
All three Nittany Lion freshmen have competed in at least one meet during the 2017 season.
Tess McCracken made her Nittany Lion lineup debut at Nebraska, Kristen Politz competed in the season-opener and Mikayla Waddell made her lineup debut in Blue & White at Illinois.
ALL-AROUND DEBUT
In her first career all-around, freshman Kristen Politz tallied a 39.050 to finish third at the Penn State-Nebraska meet.
On the day, Politz recorded a 9.875 on the uneven bars, a 9.625 on the vault, a 9.750 on the floor exercise and a 9.800 on the balance beam.
PRESEASON POLL
The Penn State women's gymnastics team was selected 23rd in the 2017 National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Nittany Lions closed out the 2016 season ranked No. 26.
Penn State will compete against eight programs that are ranked in the NACGC/W Preseason Coaches' Poll during the 2017 season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The 2017 slate features five home meets for the Nittany Lions inside Rec Hall. Penn State opens the 2017 campaign at home in a quad meet against Bowling Green, BYU and Temple on Jan. 7. The Nittany Lions return home two weeks later to host Maryland in a double dual with the Penn State men's program on Jan. 21.
The month of February features three home meets for the Blue & White with Michigan State (Feb. 4), Ohio State (Feb. 11) and Pittsburgh (Feb. 25) coming to town. All Nittany Lion home meets start are scheduled for Saturdays at 4 p.m.
STARTING OFF STRONG
Since the 1999 season, the Nittany Lions have started the season with a top-10 season-opening meet score. The Nittany Lions have tallied a season-opening top-10 score in each of the past three seasons.
Five of those scores have been recorded at home, with four others accomplished at the Super Six Challenge; 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
195.775 Morgantown, W.Va. 2012
195.075 University Park, Pa. 1999
194.875 University Park, Pa. 2006
194.850 Gainesville, Fla. 2005
194.800 University Park, Pa. 2009
194.675 University Park, Pa. 2015
194.625 University Park, Pa. 2017
194.600 Tuscaloosa, Ala. 2004
194.575 Fayetteville, Ark. 2007
194.375 Athens, Ga. 2003
SMART LIONS
Four Nittany Lions were honored by the Big Ten for their work in the classroom.
Nicole Medvitz, Christina Postiglione, Chanen Raygoza and Briannah Tsang were named to the 2016 Academic All-Big Ten team.
To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
BIG TEN GYMNAST TO WATCH
Prior to the start of the 2017 season, Briannah Tsang was named a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch.
Tsang tied for 38th overall on the floor exercise at the 2016 NCAA Championships with her score of 9.8125.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Penn State enjoys one of the most historic collegiate gymnastics venues in the country and they take pride in giving the home crowd something to cheer for, including a lot of wins.
Since 1975, Penn State owns a 233-59 overall record in home meets. The Nittany Lions are 230-59 at Rec Hall and are 3-0 in meets contested inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The loss to North Carolina State on Jan. 9, 2016, snapped a seven-meet winning streak inside Rec Hall. The seven-meet winning streak was the fourth-best in program history.
Penn State swept its last two home meets in 2014 and was unblemished in its five home dates in 2015.
The longest unbeaten streaks in school history are as follows: (Streaks are listed by meets, not wins. Meaning if Penn State hosted three teams needed to be victorious vs. all three opponents to extend the streak.)
1977-82 28 meets
1999-2001 11 meets
1975-77 10 meets
2014-15 7 meets
2013-14/2009-10/2005 6 meets
2007/1992-93 5 meets
2011/1991/1986-87 4 meets
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the quad meet at Penn, the Nittany Lions head to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Big Five Qualifier. The Nittany Lions will compete against Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Rutgers. The Big Five Qualifier is slated for a 4 p.m. (EST) start.