Jan. 5, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 25 Penn State women's gymnastics team begins its 54th season as a varsity program on Saturday, Jan. 6. The Nittany Lions open the 2018 season against the No. 35 Eastern Michigan Eagles. The meet is slated for a 4 p.m. start at Rec Hall.
Saturday's competition marks the first meet for the Nittany Lions under head coach Sarah Brown. Coach Brown was named the eighth head coach in program history on May 4, 2017 as she joined Penn State after serving as the head coach of the Eastern Michigan Eagles for the 2017 season.
During her lone season as the head coach of the Eastern Michigan women's gymnastics team in 2017, Brown led the Eagles to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season title, the MAC Championship, an appearance at the NCAA Regionals and a final national ranking of No. 27
For Penn State, the Nittany Lions return 10 gymnasts from the 2017 season and welcome four freshmen to the program in 2018. The 2017 Penn State women's gymnastics season featured Sabrina Garcia and Briannah Tsang advancing to the 2017 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships in the all-around as individual qualifiers.
During 2018, Penn State is slated to host five meets throughout the regular season and will be one of six NCAA Regional hosts. All Penn State home meets in 2018 are scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with a free live stream and live stats on GoPSUsports.com.
PROMOTIONS
- Cub Club Meet
- Pre-Meet Kids Zone
- 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 EASTERN MICHIGAN
The No. 35 Eastern Michigan Eagles enter the 2018 season after finishing 2017 ranked No. 27.
The Eagles claimed the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season title, the MAC Championship and an appearance at the NCAA Regionals.
At the 2017 MAC Gymnastics Championships, Eastern Michigan tallied its second-best score in program history (196.500), recorded a school record on the uneven bars (49.300), and three gymnasts tied for the uneven bars title.
Katie Minasola enters her first season as the head coach at Eastern Michigan. Minasola spent the past six years working at Iowa State University as both an assistant coach and the associate head coach, and has a total of 13 years of coaching experience.
BROWN BEGINS FIRST YEAR AT PSU
Head coach Sarah Brown begins 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.
2017 RECAP
The 2017 Penn State women's gymnastics season featured the Nittany Lions posting an overall record of 11-8, which included a Big Ten record of 4-5. As a team, the Nittany Lions qualified for its 36th-straight NCAA Regional meet and they finished the year with a No. 31 ranking.
Individually, junior Sabrina Garcia and senior Briannah Tsang competed as individuals in the all-around at the 2017 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships.
Garcia received regular season All-America honors from the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches for Women (NACGC/W).
She garnered Penn State women's gymnastics' 94th All-America honor, as she was named a Second Team All-American on the uneven bars.
PSU ON BTN THREE TIMES
The Penn State women's gymnastics team will be on the Big Ten Network three times during the 2018 season. Penn State's lone regular season appearance on BTN will be its meet at Michigan State on Feb. 4. The meet will be streamed live on BTN2Go.com starting at 1 p.m. and will be shown via a tape delay starting at 4 p.m. on BTN.
Along with its meet at Michigan State, both sessions of the Big Five Meet and the Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships will be aired live on BTN on March 17 and March 24, respectively. Penn State will compete in the 5:30 p.m. session of the Big Five Meet and will either compete at 3 p.m. or 8 p.m. at the Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships.
#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. During their time at PSU, 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 41 TITLES
Senior Briannah Tsang has captured 31 individual titles and 10 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, 2017.
During 2017, she captured 12 individual event titles and five all-around titles.
FIRST CAREER TITLES
Then-freshman Kristen Politz and then-sophomore Peyton Schuller both captured their first career title as Nittany Lions against Maryland on Jan. 21, 2017.
Politz and Schuller tied for the floor exercise title along with Sabrina Garcia against Maryland, as they all tallied a 9.825.
ALL-AROUND DEBUT
In her first career all-around, then-freshman Kristen Politz tallied a 39.050 to finish third at the Penn State-Nebraska meet on Jan. 15, 2017.
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 25th in the 2018 National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Nittany Lions closed out the 2017 season ranked No. 31.
Penn State will compete against 11 programs that are ranked in the NACGC/W Preseason Coaches' Poll during the 2018 season.
Along with the NACGC/W Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Nittany Lions were selected fifth in the Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Preseason Coaches' Poll.
HOME SWEET HOME
The 2018 slate features five regular season home meets for the Nittany Lions inside Rec Hall. Along with the five regular season home season meets, Penn State will be one of the six NCAA Regional hosts.
Penn State opens its home slate against Eastern Michigan (Jan. 6) followed by hosting Nebraska (Jan. 13). After a road meet at Maryland, the Nittany Lions return home to host Illinois for a double dual on Jan. 27.
The Blue & White close out its regular season home slate with back-to-back meets in February. Penn State will host Cornell & Penn in a tri-meet on Feb. 17 before welcoming George Washington to Rec Hall on Feb. 24.
If Penn State is one of the 36 teams to qualify for the NCAA Regional round, the Nittany Lions will be automatically seeded in the University Park Regional on April 7.
BIG TEN GYMNASTS TO WATCH
Prior to the start of the 2018 season, freshman Lauren Bridgens and senior Briannah Tsang were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch.
Bridgens enters her first year as a Nittany Lion after competing at Hill's Gymnastics under coaches Kelli Hill, Cynthia Smaha, and Tian Zhang. Last summer, Bridgens tallied a pair of top-10 finishes at the 2017 Junior Olympic National Championships, as she finished second on vault (9.875) and she tied for eighth on floor (9.625).
During her time at Penn State, Tsang has qualified for the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships each of the past two seasons.
At the 2017 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, she placed 30th in the all-around with a score of 39.1000, and her best finish of the evening came on the floor exercise as she tied for 18th with a 9.9000.
The 2015 Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year, Tsang has won 41 career titles, has received All-Big Ten First Team honors twice (2016 & 2017), tallied All-Big Ten Second Team honors in 2015, and was named to the 2017 Big Ten All-Championships Team.
SMART LIONS
Last season, seven Nittany Lions were honored by the Big Ten for their work in the classroom.
Mason Hosek, Jessica Jones, Nicole Medvitz, Tina Postiglione, Chanen Raygoza, Peyton Schuller and Briannah Tsang were named to the 2017 Academic All-Big Ten team.
Along with the Academic All-Big Ten selections, eight Nittany Lions were named to the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) list of 2017 scholar-athletes.
Mason Hosek, Jessica Jones, Tess McCracken, Nicole Medvitz, Kristen Politz, Chanen Raygoza, Peyton Schuller, and Briannah Tsang were honored by the NACGC/W for their success in the classroom.
As a team, the Nittany Lions recorded an overall GPA of 3.2213 during the 2016-17 school year.
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
FUTURE NITTANY LIONS
Melissa Astarita and Dymiana Cox have signed their National Letters of Intent to attend Penn State University and participate in women's gymnastics starting in the 2019 season.
Astarita joins the Nittany Lions after competing at Action Gymnastics under coach Magdalena During. A native of Morganville, New Jersey, Melissa is the daughter of Michael and Natalie Astarita. While at Penn State, Melissa plans to major in mathematics.
Cox joins the Penn State women's gymnastics program after competing for Parkettes Gymnastics under coaches Robin Netwall, John Holman, Bill and Donna Strauss. A native of Elmont, New York, Dymiana is the daughter of Darrell and Jessica Cox. While at Penn State, Dymiana plans to major in kinesiology and intends to attend medical school following graduation.
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
TSANG CLAIMS SILVER
Briannah Tsang and Team Canada captured a silver medal in women's artistic gymnastics this past August at the 2017 World University Games at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.
As a team, Canada posted a 161.100 to bring home the silver medal. The Russian Federation tallied a 163.000 for the gold medal, while Japan finished third with a 159.900.
Individually, Tsang finished 11th in the all-around with an overall score of 51.000. In the all-around final, she posted scores of 14.000 (vault), 11.850 (uneven bars), 12.950 (balance beam), and 12.200 (floor exercise).
NITTANY LION DUO COMPETES AT JO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Penn State women's gymnastics freshmen Alissa Bonsall and Lauren Bridgens brought home top-10 event finishes in the Senior F section of the 2017 Junior Olympic National Championships at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on May 6-7.
At the 2017 Junior Olympic National Championships, Bonsall's meet was highlighted by tying for ninth on bars (9.600) and a 10th-place finish on floor (9.600), while Bridgens finished second on vault (9.875) and she tied for eighth on floor (9.625).
NEXT UP
Penn State continues its season-opening homestand on Jan. 13 as it hosts No. 9 Nebraska in the Big Ten opener for the two schools. The meet is slated for a 4 p.m. start.