Jan. 19, 2018
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 26 Penn State women's gymnastics team dropped a 195.550-195.025 decision to the Maryland Terrapins Friday night at the XFINITY Center.
For the Nittany Lions (1-2, 0-2 B1G), senior Briannah Tsang (Vancouver, British Columbia) won her third all-around title of the season with a 39.300 along with winning the uneven bars and tying for the vault title. In addition to Tsang, junior Gianna LaGuardia (Thornton, Colo.) also tied for the vault title and classmate Mason Hosek (Pearland, Texas) won the balance beam title.
"Tonight we got off to a slow start, but we rallied well on floor and beam," head coach Sarah Brown said. "I thought our upperclassmen showed a lot of poise and did a great job keeping our team energized. We are making improvements each meet so overall I'm proud of the team's effort tonight."
The Nittany Lions opened the evening on the uneven bars with Tsang and freshman Ava Verdeflor (Allen, Texas) taking the top two spots with a 9.900 and 9.825, respectively. Along with the duo of Tsang and Verdeflor, sophomore Tess McCracken (Plano, Texas) and senior Sabrina Garcia (Etters, Pa.) tied for fifth each with a 9.775. After the first rotation, Maryland (4-3, 1-1 B1G) led Penn State, 48.725-48.575.
During the second rotation on the vault, Tsang, LaGuardia and Maryland's Audrey Barber tied for the top spot with each gymnast posting a 9.800. With two rotations remaining, Maryland held a 97.650-97.175 lead over Penn State.
In the third rotation, Penn State tallied a season-high 48.875 on the floor exercise. The Nittany Lions were anchored on the floor exercise by Garcia and Tsang tallying a 9.850 and 9.800, respectively. In the floor exercise standings, Garcia tied for second and Tsang tied for fourth. After three rotations, the Terrapins led the Nittany Lions, 146.525-146.050.
Penn State closed out the night with a season-high 48.975 on the balance beam. The rotation opened up with freshman Lauren Bridgens (Darnestown, Md.) posting a 9.825 to tie for second. The Nittany Lions ended the rotation with Tsang recording a 9.800 to tie for fourth and then Hosek tied a career-best score of 9.900 to win her first balance beam title of the season.
The Nittany Lions return home for their first double dual of the 2018 season. Both Penn State gymnastics programs will host Illinois on Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. at Rec Hall.