Feb. 16, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 28 Penn State women's gymnastics team (2-4, 1-4 Big Ten) returns home to Rec Hall to host Cornell and Penn in a non-conference tri-meet on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m.
The Nittany Lions enter the meet following a season-best score of 196.025 last Friday at Ohio State. Penn State's score of 196.025 marked its third-straight meet with a season-best tally.
Against Ohio State, Penn State posted scores of 48.875 (vault), 49.025 (uneven bars), 49.050 (balance beam), and 49.075 (floor exercise). For Penn State, its score of 49.050 on the balance beam is a season-best and its score of 49.075 on floor exercise is its second-highest floor score of the year.
Individually at OSU, Gianna LaGuardia captured the vault title with a career-best 9.875, Sabrina Garcia won the balance beam title with a career-best 9.925, and Garcia tied with Briannah Tsang for the floor exercise title (9.875). Tsang also won her sixth-straight all-around title as she tallied a score of 39.325.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with a free live stream and live stats on GoPSUsports.com.
PROMOTIONS
- Team ICA Meet
- Short People Appreciation Day - if you're shorter than Coach Brown, you're in for free! *only available at the ticket office day of meet
- Pre-Meet Kids Zone
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 CORNELL
Cornell enters the meet against Penn State following a season-best score of 193.625 in a quad meet victory last weekend at the Big Red Invitational.
At the Big Red Invitational, Cornell posted scores of 47.900 (vault), 48.650 (uneven bars), 48.400 (balance beam), and 48.675 (floor exercise).
Nationally, Cornell ranks 60th in average score (192.135), 59th on vault (47.965), 60th on uneven bars (47.885), 52nd on balance beam (48.135), and 61st on floor exercise (48.150).
SCOUTING PENN
The Penn Quakers make the trek to Happy Valley after posting their fifth-straight meet with a season-best score last weekend in a quad meet at the Palestra.
In the quad meet against Bridgeport (194.225), Temple (194.700), and Ursinus (186.900), Penn finished third with a score of 193.725.
On the day, Penn posted scores of 48.300 (vault), 47.925 (uneven bars), 48.200 (balance beam), and 49.300 (floor exercise).
In their third-place finish, the Quakers tied their school record on the floor exercise with a tally of 49.300. Individually on the floor exercise, Alex Hartke scored a career-best 9.925 and Kyra Levi posted a career-best 9.900.
Nationally, Penn is 59th in average score (192.175), 68th on vault (47.330), 64th on uneven bars (47.515), 39th on balance beam (48.560), and 45th on floor exercise (48.770).
B1G GYMNAST OF THE WEEK X2
Senior Briannah Tsang has received Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors twice in 2018.
Following a season-best all-around score of 39.425 against Nebraska, Tsang was named the Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week (Jan. 16).
On Saturday, Jan. 13, against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tsang won the all-around title and floor exercise title outright in addition to tying for the uneven bars title.
On the day, Tsang tallied scores of 9.900 (floor exercise & uneven bars), 9.825 (vault), and 9.800 (balance beam) en route to a season-best all-around score of 39.425.
After capturing three titles at Michigan State, Tsang was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week (Feb. 5).
At Michigan State (Feb. 4), Tsang won the vault (9.850), floor exercise (9.925), and the all-around (39.475) - all with season-best scores. In addition to her three titles, Tsang tied for second on the balance beam (9.850) and she tied for fifth on the uneven bars (9.850).
B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Following the season opener against Eastern Michigan, Lauren Bridgens was tabbed the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
In her Penn State debut, Bridgens tied for the vault title (9.825), placed second on the uneven bars (9.800), finished fourth on the balance beam (9.700) and on the floor exercise (9.725). Bridgens closed out the day with a score of 39.050 in the all-around as she shared the all-around title with Briannah Tsang.
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 58 TITLES
Senior Briannah Tsang has captured 42 individual titles and 16 all-around titles in her Nittany Lion career.
With six meets into the 2018 season complete, Tsang has 17 titles to her name. On the year, she has won four floor exercise titles, three vault titles, two uneven bars titles, two balance beam titles, and has captured at least a share of the all-around title six 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.
SIX-IN-A-ROW
Senior Briannah Tsang has captured at least a share of the all-around title in each of the first six meets of the 2018 season. In her Penn State career, Tsang has won the all-around 16 times. With her fourth-straight all-around title on Jan. 27, Tsang became the first Nittany Lion since Sharaya Musser to win four-straight all-around titles (2/23-3/16/13).
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 at Maryland.
NEXT UP
No. 28 Penn State hosts No. 21 George Washington on Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. at Rec Hall. The meet against George Washington is Penn State's final home meet of the regular season.