BOSTON, Mass. – The No. 20 Penn State Women's Gymnastics Team won three events on the night as it defeated No. 32 Temple and Towson at the Little Boston Invitational on Saturday at the John B. Hynes Convention Center. The Nittany Lions earned a 195.150, bettering Temple's 194.700 and Towson's 190.225. Penn State improved to 2-1 in dual meets. Freshman Melissa Astarita won the individual floor title, while senior Sabrina Garcia won the bars title.
"We started off the meet really strong on bars, even better than last week," said Head Coach Sarah Brown. "We hit seven routines in a row on beam and that really showed the character of our team to have another great week on beam. Sabrina had a great night and built confidence on beam. It was great to see Melissa win on floor. We executed the details we talked about in practice on floor and we can still get better. It was a little different experience finishing on vault and we had some uncharacteristic mistakes there."
"The best thing about this team is the girls weren't satisfied. They're excited to get back in the gym and they're excited about the future ahead of us," said Brown. "All of our athletes improved from last week, even competing in a much different environment. We're excited to get back to Rec Hall and show our fans how we've improved since the last time they saw us."
The Nittany Lions earned a 49.125 on bars in its first rotation. Garcia earned an event win with a 9.900 as one of three Nittany Lions to finish with top three scores. Sophomore Lauren Bridgens recorded a 9.875, placing second, while fellow sophomore Alissa Bonsall posted a 9.850, placing third. Junior Tess McCracken had a 9.775, to finish fifth, and Erynne Allen contributed a 9.725, a new career best. Sophomore Ava Verdeflor tallied a 9.675.
Temple recorded a 48.775 on bars, led by Jazmyn Estrella's 9.850. Towson had a 47.400 on bars, paced by Ally Wesoly's 9.675.
Penn State recorded a 48.825 on beam, also winning that event. Sophomore Tess McCracken repeated her career-high performance from the season opener, posting a 9.800 to finish third. Freshman Jessie Bastardi, Garcia and senior Mason Hosek all tied for fourth in the vent, tallying a 9.775. Bridgens collected a 9.700, while junior Kristen Politz had a 9.650.
The Owls posted a 48.675 on beam as Monica Servidio placed second in the event with a 9.825. The Tigers recorded a 47.400 with Emerson Hurst tallying a 9.875 to win the event.
The blue and white picked up a third event win on floor, collecting a 49.025. Astarita earned her first career event win, recording a 9.900. Garcia finished just behind Astarita with a 9.850. Sophomore Kourtney Chinnery tied for fourth with a 9.825, while McCracken registered a 9.775. Bonsall scored a 9.675 and Bridgens had a 9.350.
Temple registered a 48.800 behind India Anderson's second-place finish with a 9.850. Towson was led by Cortni Baker's 9.800 as they totaled a 47.475.
The Nittany Lions finished the meet on vault, posting a 48.175. Chinnery led PSU for the second straight week on vault, recording a 9.800 to finish second overall. Senior Gianna LaGuardia tied for third in the event with a 9.775. Astarita collected a 9.750 to place fifth. Garcia had a 9.475, while Bastardi recorded a 9.375 and Bonsall had a 9.075.
Temple won vault with a 48.450, led by Ariana Castrence's event-winning 9.825. Towson registered a 47.95, led by Nicole Borkowski's 9.700.
Garcia tallied a 39.000 in the all-around, finishing in the top five of three events and the top three of two events. Astarita and Chinnery each had two top five finishes.
Penn State opens its home schedule next Saturday, January 19, against No. 15 Ohio State in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions take on the Buckeyes at 3:30 p.m. with a broadcast on Big Ten Network. It's the team's annual Pink Meet with free pink gymnastics pins given to the first 500 fans.
Season tickets and single-meet tickets are being sold. Season tickets are $24 for adults and $16 for youth. Single-meet tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth. For more info, please visit here.
Senior Sabrina Garcia won on bars as one of three top-three finishes