March 4, 2018
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PITTSBURGH - The No. 27 Penn State women's gymnastics team (7-5, 1-4 Big Ten) tallied a season-best 49.300 on vault during the final rotation to capture a quad meet victory over Pittsburgh (6-11, 3-1 EAGL), Temple (15-8, 3-0 ECAC) and No. 31 West Virginia (8-9, 0-3 Big 12) Sunday at the Fitzgerald Field House.
"Today was such a great day for Squad 54," head coach Sarah Brown said. "The energy was so high throughout the meet and our team continued to fight on each event! This is by far our most complete meet we've put together and I couldn't be more proud of each gymnast. The competition was tight throughout but we kept our composure and I thought this was a great way to kick off a series of road meets in March!"
In the team standings, Penn State finished first with a season-high 196.650 followed by host Pittsburgh (196.475), West Virginia (196.075), and Temple (194.250).
Individually for the Nittany Lions, freshman Lauren Bridgens (Darnestown, Md.) won two event titles, while senior Briannah Tsang (Vancouver, British Columbia) captured two event titles and the all-around crown.
The Nittany Lions began the afternoon with a 49.100 on the uneven bars. For the Blue & White during the opening rotation, Bridgens captured her fifth uneven bars title of the season as she tied a career-best 9.925 and sophomore Kristen Politz (Morganville, N.J.) posted a season-best 9.850 to tie for third. In addition to Bridgens and Politz, Sabrina Garcia (Etters, Pa.) and Tsang tied for sixth-place as they both tallied a 9.800.
Penn State then went to the balance beam during the second rotation where it posted a 48.975. On beam for PSU, Tsang tied for the top spot with a 9.875, which marked her third balance beam title of the season. Along with Tsang, Politz netted another third-place finish on the day as she tallied a career-best 9.850. Junior Mason Hosek (Pearland, Texas) recorded a top-10 finish on beam as she tied for eighth with a 9.800.
The Blue & White then recorded its second-best score of the season on the floor exercise (49.275) in the third rotation. On floor for the Nittany Lions, Tsang finished first (9.925) for the sixth time in 2018, while Bridgens, Garcia, and Peyton Schuller (Erie, Pa.) each posted a 9.850 to tie for sixth-place. For Bridgens and Schuller, they both tied a career-best outing on floor. Freshman Alissa Bonsall (Higganum, Conn.) also tied a career-best score with a 9.800 to tie for 11th.
With three rotations in the books, Penn State and Pittsburgh each tallied a 147.350, while West Virginia had a team score of 147.250.
On vault for Penn State during the final rotation, five Nittany Lions posted a 9.825-or-better en route to a season-high 49.300. In the event standings for PSU, Bridgens tied for the event title with a career-best 9.925, Tsang tied a season-best 9.900 to place third, and three Penn Staters tied for ninth with a 9.825. The trio of Bonsall, Kourtney Chinnery (Suffolk, Va.), Gianna LaGuardia (Thornton, Colo.) rounded out the scoring for Penn State with their scores of 9.825. For Bonsall on vault, she set a career-best score.
In the all-around standings, Tsang tallied a 39.500 for her eighth all-around title of the year, while Bridgens posted a second-place finish with her score of 39.425.
Next up No. 27 Penn State heads to Provo, Utah, to take on No. 24 BYU, Texas Woman's University and Utah State on March 9. The meet is slated for a 7 p.m. (MST) start at the Smith Fieldhouse.