April 6, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 29 Penn State women's gymnastics team returns home to Happy Valley to host an NCAA Regional meet on Saturday, April 7. The meet is slated for a 4 p.m. start at Rec Hall.
The No. 29 Nittany Lions will host No. 5 Florida, No. 8 Washington, No. 17 Arizona State, No. 27 West Virginia and No. 30 New Hampshire, with the top two teams earning a berth into the NCAA Championship field on April 20-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Nittany Lions are in search of their 18th team appearance at the NCAA Championships. Penn State has been represented at the last two NCAA Championships with individual qualifiers.
The Penn State is coming off a seventh-place finish (195.500) at the 2018 Big Ten Championships. Individually for the Nittany Lions, Briannah Tsang tied a career-best score of 9.950 to tie for the floor exercise title.
As a team at the Big Ten Championships, Penn State closed out the meet with a season-high 49.400 on the floor exercise.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with four free streams featuring each apparatus via BTN2Go.com. Live results will be on GoPSUsports.com.
ROTATION ORDER
Penn State will open the meet on the uneven bars and then will head to the balance beam. Following beam, Penn State will have a bye before heading to floor. The Nittany Lions will head to vault before closing the meet with a bye.
PROMOTIONS
- Posters making table on the west mezzanine
- Caricature Artist (Available on the west mezzanine from 3-5:30 p.m.
- Photo booth customized with participating team prompts and take home photos. (Available on the west mezzanine from 3-5:30 p.m.)
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets can be purchased at the door on Saturday or by calling 1-800-NITTANY on Friday.
Ticket prices are: $10 for adults, $7 for youth (under 12), and $7 for PSU students.
Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets for $5 per person.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
No. 5 Florida enters the meet with a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 197.390. The Gators are coming off a third-place finish (196.825) at the SEC Championships.
Individually for Florida, Alex McMurtry won the vault (9.975) and the uneven bars (9.950), while Alyssa Baumann won the balance beam (9.975).
No. 8 Washington enters the meet with an RQS of 196.960. Last time out, Washington finished fourth at the Pac-12 Championships with a score of 196.750.
Individually for Washington, Joslyn Goings tied for third on the vault (9.900), Monica Riley tied for seventh on the uneven bars (9.875), and Hailey Burleson tied for seventh in the all-around (39.425).
No. 17 Arizona State enters the meet with an RQS of 196.545. Last time out, Arizona State tallied a score of 196.425 to place sixth at the Pac-12 Championships.
Individually for ASU at the Pac-12 Championships, Cairo Leonard-Baker tied for third on the vault (9.900), tied for seventh on uneven bars (9.875), and tied for fourth on the floor exercise (9.900). On the day, she tied for seventh in the all-around (39.425).
No. 27 West Virginia enters the meet with an RQS of 196.070. Last time out, WVU finished fourth at the Big 12 Championships with a score of 195.625.
Individually for WVU, Kirah Koshinski tied for fifth on the vault (9.875) and tied for sixth on the floor exercise (9.875).
No. 30 New Hampshire enters the meet with an RQS of 195.940. Last time out, New Hampshire finished second at the EAGL Championships with a score of 196.300.
Individually for New Hampshire, Danielle Mulligan won the uneven bars title (9.950) and Danielle Doolin took second on the floor exercise (9.925).
PENN STATE AT THE REGIONAL MEET
Penn State will be making its 37th-straight appearance at the NCAA Regional meet. Penn State has advanced to the NCAA Regional meet every year since its inception in 1982.
Prior to 2018 season, Penn State has competed on the road 33 times and has hosted 13 NCAA Regional meets.
As a team, Penn State has finished first at an NCAA Regional 12 times, the last time taking place in 1999 at home.
Including the AIAW and NCAA Regional meets, the Nittany Lions have combined for 63 individual event titles and 16 event titles. Most recently, Briannah Tsang tied for the floor exercise title at the 2016 NCAA Regional hosted by the University of Michigan.
LAST YEAR'S REGIONAL MEET
Last year at the 2017 NCAA Regional meet, hosted by the University of Florida, the Penn State women's gymnastics team recorded a fourth-place finish with a team score of 195.325.
Individually, then-sophomore Sabrina Garcia and then-junior Briannah Tsang both advanced to the NCAA Championships in the all-around.
In the final all-around standings, Tsang took fourth with a 39.250, while Garcia finished seventh with a 39.050.
ALL-AMERICANS
Following the conclusion of the 2018 regular season, Lauren Bridgens and Briannah Tsang were named Second Team All-Americans by the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches for Women (NACGC/W).
Bridgens was named a Second Team All-American on the uneven bars, while Tsang was tabbed a Second Team All-American on the floor exercise.
BIG TEN HONORS
A trio of Nittany Lions have garnered honors from the Big Ten conference during the 2018 season.
Freshman Lauren Bridgens was named First Team All-Big Ten and was tabbed the Big Ten Freshman of the Week five times.
Junior Sabrina Garcia was named a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree.
Senior Briannah Tsang has been named the Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Gymnast of the Week four times.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Nittany Lions will be hosting an NCAA Regional meet for the 14th time in program history and for the first time since the 2014 season.
In program history, Penn State has hosted an NCAA Regional meet and advanced to the NCAA Championships in the same season eight times (1984, '86, '88, '92, '96, '99, 2000, and '14).
RAISING THE BAR
Heading into the University Park Regional, the Penn State uneven bars lineup ranks 11th in the nation with a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 49.275.
The Nittany Lions have ranked as high as seventh in the nation on the uneven bars (March 12).
Heading into the 2017 NCAA Regional meet, Penn State ranked 22nd on the uneven bars with an RQS of 49.115.
TSANG'S 68 TITLES
Senior Briannah Tsang has captured 50 individual titles and 18 all-around titles in her Nittany Lion career.
In 2018, Tsang has 27 titles to her name. On the year, she has won eight floor exercise titles, six vault titles, three balance beam titles, two uneven bars titles, and has captured at least a share of the all-around title eight times.
SIX-IN-A-ROW
Senior Briannah Tsang opened the 2018 season by capturing a share of the all-around title in each of the first six meets. 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).
RECORD SETTING PERFORMANCES
On the year, the Nittany Lions have set five PSU record book performances. As a team, the Nittany Lions have recorded the No. 2 (49.475) and tied-No. 4 (49.375) scores on the uneven bars. Individually, Lauren Bridgens set the school record on the uneven bars (10.0) and Briannah Tsang has tied the No. 5 score on the floor exercise (9.950) twice.
TRENDING UP
Prior to the Big Five Meet, Penn State recorded season-best scores in three-straight meets. Heading into the Big Five Meet, the Nittany Lions recorded a 196.150 (Feb. 24), a 196.650 (March 4), and a 196.675 (March 9).
PERFECT 10
On March 9, freshman Lauren Bridgens recorded the first perfect 10 on the uneven bars in program history. Bridgens' perfect 10 is also the 10th perfect 10 in program history and the first since Feb. 13, 2010.
#Squad54
The 2018 season marks the 54th season of women's gymnastics as a varsity sport at Penn State.
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.
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.
SMART LIONS
Six members of the Penn State women's gymnastics team have been named Academic All-Big Ten.
For the Nittany Lions, Mason Hosek, Jessica Jones, Tess McCracken, Kristen Politz, Peyton Schuller, and Briannah Tsang were honored for their hard work in the classroom.
To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled full-time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
NEXT UP
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors who are not on an advancing team from each regional site will receive an automatic berth to the national championships.
The top two teams from the Columbus, Raleigh and Tuscaloosa regionals will compete in the first semifinal, and the top two teams from the Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and University Park regionals will compete in the second semifinal in the NCAA Championship field on April 20-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
In addition, the event winners at each regional site will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier.