Jan. 26, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 32 Penn State women's gymnastics team (1-2, 0-2 B1G) is set to host the No. 33 Illinois Fighting Illini (3-1, 1-1 B1G) on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 4 p.m. at Rec Hall. The meet will be a double dual format with the Penn State men's program competing against the Illinois men's gymnastics program.
Penn State returns home following a 195.550-195.025 loss at Maryland on Jan. 19. At Maryland, three Nittany Lions captured event titles, seven Penn Staters set career-best marks or tied career-best scores and the team set season-best scores on the balance beam and floor exercise.
Individually, Briannah Tsang 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 tied for the vault title and classmate Mason Hosek won the balance beam title.
As a team, Penn State closed out the meet with season-best scores of 48.875 on the floor exercise and 48.975 on the balance beam.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with a free live stream and live stats on GoPSUsports.com.
PROMOTIONS
- Princess and Pirates Day
- Free wands and eyepatches while supplies lasts
- Pre-Meet Kids Zone
- Balloon Artist
- Caricature Artist
- Face Painter
- Create-A-Sign Station
- Post-Meet Autographs
TICKET INFORMATION
Fans can purchase single meet tickets and single double dual tickets for both men's and women's gymnastics for $8 for adults and $5 for youth by calling 1-800-NITTANY Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Group tickets for the 2018 season for both the men and women's gymnastics are also available for groups of 20-or-more for just $4 per ticket by calling IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions at 814-867-2541.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
The Illinois Fighting Illini head to Happy Valley with an overall record of 3-1 and a record of 1-1 in Big Ten action. The Illini are coming off a 194.975-194.325 loss to Michigan on Jan. 19.
For Illinois against Michigan, the team recorded scores of 48.850 (vault), 47.775 (uneven bars), 48.900 (balance beam), and 48.800 (floor exercise).
Individually, three Illini earned four event titles, which included Rae Balthazor winning the all-around (39.100) and the floor exercise title (9.875).
Nationally, Illinois ranks 33rd in scoring average (194.713), tied for 26th on the vault (48.825), 37th on the uneven bars (48.475), 13th on the balance beam (49.013), and 52nd on the floor exercise (48.400).
MARYLAND RECAP
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 195.550-195.025 loss at Maryland last Friday. As a team at Maryland, Penn State recorded season-best scores on the balance beam (48.975) and the floor exercise (48.875).
Individually, three Nittany Lions won event titles and seven Penn Staters either set a career-best mark or tied a career-best score.
BROWN BEGINS FIRST YEAR AT PSU
Head coach Sarah Brown is in her first year at the helm of the Penn State women's gymnastics program. Brown was tabbed the eighth head coach in program history on May 4, 2017.
WELCOME (BACK) TO HAPPY VALLEY
Head coach Sarah Brown completed her coaching staff with the hiring of Dallas Becerra and Rob Drass.
Becerra comes to Penn State after spending the 2017 season as an assistant coach under Coach Brown at Eastern Michigan.
Drass, a 1990 Penn State graduate, returns to Happy Valley with a wealth of coaching experience. Most recently, Drass served as the assistant head coach for the University of Pittsburgh women's gymnastics team from 2014-17. While at Penn State, Drass was a member of the Penn State men's gymnastics program.
#Squad54
The Penn State women's gymnastics team is comprised of 10 returners and four newcomers. The Nittany Lions welcome freshmen Alissa Bonsall, Lauren Bridgens, Kourtney Chinnery, and Ava Verdeflor to the program.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The Nittany Lions return a veteran laden squad in 2018. Sabrina Garcia and Briannah Tsang competed as individuals in the all-around at the 2017 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships.
Along with Garcia and Tsang, Mason Hosek, Gianna LaGuardia, and Peyton Schuller return to the Nittany Lions in 2018. Prior to the start of the 2018 season, Hosek has competed in 21 of 24 meets, LaGuardia has competed in 17 of 24 meets, and Schuller has competed in 18 of 24 meets.
TSANG'S 50 TITLES
Senior Briannah Tsang has captured 37 individual titles and 13 all-around titles in her Nittany Lion career.
Three meets into the 2018 season and Tsang has nine titles to her name. On the year, she has won six individual event titles (vault - two, uneven bars - two, balance beam - one, and floor exercise - one) and won the all-around three times.
FRESHMEN DEBUTS
The Penn State women's gymnastics team opened its 2018 season with three freshmen making their Nittany Lions debut.
For Penn State, Alissa Bonsall, Lauren Bridgens, and Kourtney Chinnery competed in the Nittany Lion lineup along with Ava Verdeflor competing an exhibition routine on the uneven bars.
Bonsall opened up her Nittany Lion career with a third-place finish on the vault (9.800), a third-place finish on the uneven bars (9.775), a fifth-place finish on the balance beam (9.625), an 11th-place finish on the floor exercise (9.550), and a fourth-place finish in the all-around (38.750).
In Bridgens' Nittany Lion debut, she tied for the vault title (9.825), took second on the uneven bars (9.800), placed fourth on the balance beam (9.700), took fourth on the floor exercise (9.725), and tied for the all-around title (39.050).
Chinnery made her debut with a 9.725 on the vault to place sixth.
Against Nebraska, Verdeflor made her Nittany Lion lineup debut with a 9.250 on the uneven bars to place 10th.
THREE-IN-A-ROW
Senior Briannah Tsang has captured at least a share of the all-around title in each of the first three meets of the 2018 season. In her Penn State career, Tsang has won the all-around 13 times.
FIRST CAREER TITLES
Three Nittany Lions have captured their first career titles this season. For Penn State, Alissa Bonsall shared the uneven bars title against Nebraska, Lauren Bridgens tied for the vault title and the all-around title against Eastern Michigan, and Gianna LaGuardia tied for the vault title against Maryland.
NEXT UP
No. 32 Penn State heads to East Lansing, Michigan, to take on Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 4. The meet is slated for a 1 p.m. start at the Jenison Field House.