UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 24 Penn State women's gymnastics team welcomes No. 8 Michigan to Rec Hall on Saturday for a key Big Ten meet. The contest is set to begin at 4 p.m. with a live stream through LionVision.
Last Saturday, the Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Sarah Brown, tallied a 195.825 at Rutgers, its second-highest score of the season, but dropped a tight meet, 196.050-195.825. It was PSU's highest score in a Big Ten road meet since 2016.
The Nittany Lions recorded a 49.350 on beam, a season-best which tied for the eighth-best beam score in program history.
Sabrina Garcia won her second straight all-around title, while Jessie Bastardi and Tess McCracken shared the beam title.
Michigan, coached by Bev Plocki, enters the meet with an 8-2 record, including 4-0 in the Big Ten, after a 197.350-195.375 win over Iowa last Sunday.
Single-meet tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth (12 and under). Season tickets are still available for $24 for adults and $16 for youth.
Follow the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
DAD & DAUGHTER DAY
On Saturday, the Nittany Lions will celebrate Dad & Daughter Day. Fans will receive Dad & Daughter autograph cards and stations. There will also be a photo booth with free take home and digital photos as well as a post-meet autograph session.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Michigan enters the meet with an 8-2 overall mark and shares the Big Ten lead with a 4-0 record. The Wolverines earned a 197.350-195.375 win over Iowa last week.
The Wolverines are averaging 196.383 points per meet after posting its season-high this past weekend.
Michigan ranks 11th in the nation on vault (49.071), No. 8 on bars (49.200), No. 8 on beam (49.050) and No. 16 on floor (49.063).
Freshman Natalie Wojcik leads Michigan and ranks 10th in the nation (2nd) in the Big Ten in all-around, averaging a 39.433. Senior Olivia Karas ranks 20th in the country with a 39.330 all-around average and leads Michigan with a 9.880 floor average.
Wojcik is also No. 4 in the country on beam (9.913) and No. 12 on bars (9.896).
Senior Emma McLean sits No. 7 in the nation on vault (9.883).
RUTGERS MEET RECAP
The Nittany Lions went on the road for the second straight Big Ten meet and earned its second-highest score of the season, a 195.825.
The Nittany Lions' 195.825 was its highest in a Big Ten road meet since February 22, 2016 at Maryland.
Penn State's top performance of the night came on beam, where it achieved a 49.350. Not only was that a season-high, but is tied for the eighth-best beam score in program history. It was PSU's highest beam score since the Big Five Meet on March 12, 2016.
Freshman Jessie Bastardi and junior Tess McCracken played a huge role on beam, tying for the event title with a 9.925, a career-high mark for both. Senior Mason Hosek added a 9.875, her season-best, while senior Sabrina Garcia recorded a season-high 9.825.
The Nittany Lions scored a 48.800 on vault, led by season-high efforts from Garcia (9.825) and sophomore Alissa Bonsall (9.775). Garcia finished second in the event.
On bars, Penn State registered a 48.875. Garcia and Lauren Bridgens tied for the team-lead with a 9.850, while Bonsall had a 9.825.
The blue and white recorded a 48.800 on floor, paced by Bridgens and Garcia, who scored a 9.825 to tie for third.
Garcia won her second straight all-around title, and the fourth of her career, with a season-high 39.325.
BASTARDI HONORED BY BIG TEN
Jessie Bastardi was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday for her efforts against Rutgers.
Bastardi earned a career-high 9.925 on beam against the Scarlet Knights to tie with McCracken to win the event title on beam, her first career event title. Bastardi and McCracken are tied for PSU's highest score on beam this season.
Bastardi is currently averaging a 9.771 on beam, good for 15th in the Big Ten. Her score of 9.925 is tied for the fourth-best in the Big Ten this year. She also had a 9.900 on beam against Minnesota on January 26.
SETTING THE BAR
Penn State is off to a strong start on bars this season, ranking 12th in the nation.
The Nittany Lions scored a 49.100 against Illinois, its fourth straight week above a 49.000, before snapping the streak at Rutgers.
PSU had a season-best 49.250 against Minnesota on January 26, a 49.175 vs. Ohio State (1/19) and a 49.125 against Temple and Towson (1/12).
Senior Sabrina Garcia has PSU's top score on bars, a career-high 9.950 against Ohio State. Sophomore Lauren Bridgens had a season-best 9.900 against Minnesota, while junior Tess McCracken had a career-high 9.900 vs. Ohio State.
STRONG ON FLOOR
The Nittany Lions have also enjoyed a solid year on floor, also achieving a 49.000 or above in four consecutive weeks before breaking the streak against Rutgers.
Freshman Melissa Astarita holds the blue and white's top mark on floor with a 9.900 against Temple and Towson. Garcia's season-best 9.875 came against Illinois, while Alissa Bonsall, Lauren Bridgens and Kourtney Chinnery have all contributed a 9.850.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST SCORES
The Nittany Lions' 196.775 against Minnesota is one of the top scores in the nation this season and in the history of the program.
The 196.775 is tied for the 11th-best overall score in program history. It was also the Nittany Lions' highest score within the first four meets of the season, bettering a 196.300 against Maryland in 2005.
PSU is tied for the 14th-best season high in the nation and the fourth-best in the Big Ten behind only Nebraska (197.250), Minnesota (196.925) and Michigan (197.350).
The Nittany Lions' 49.250 on bars in the 18th-best season-high on bars in the nation and its 49.275 on floor is tied for the 20th-best season-high in the country. Their 49.350 on beam, at Rutgers, is tied for the 12th-best season-high.
NATIONALLY RANKED NITS
As a team, Penn State currently ranks 12th in the nation on bars, with a 49.079 average, and 20th on beam, with a 48.829 average.
On bars, Garcia ranks 26th in the nation and seventh in the Big Ten (9.871 average), while Bridgens is tied for 29th in the nation and sits eighth in the league (9.867). Sophomore Alissa Bonsall sits 71st in the country (9.810).
Garcia is tied for seventh in the conference and 64th in the country on floor (9.846).
In all-around, Bridgens is ranked 39th in the country and sits eighth in the Big Ten with a 39.180 average, while Garcia holds 46th in the nation and ninth in the conference (39.060).
BALANCED EFFORT
Penn State has achieved a 49.000 or higher in all four events so far this season.
The Nittany Lions have a 49.025 on vault, a four scores over 49.100 on bars, a 49.000, 49.225 and 49.350 on beam and four 49.000 or above scores on floor.
The Nittany Lions also have a different high-scoring athlete for each event.
Sophomore Lauren Bridgens has the team's top vault (9.900), while senior Sabrina Garcia owns the team's top bars performance (9.950).
Freshman Jessie Bastardi has the team's top beam effort (9.9925) and freshman Melissa Astarita has the team's top floor score (9.900).
Sophomore Lauren Bridgens has the top all-around score with a 39.525.
EVENT TITLES
As a team, Penn State has won 11 event titles this season. PSU won four straight titles on floor, before falling short against Rutgers. The Nittany Lions also have three titles on bars and four titles on beam. The Nittany Lions have won 11 individual event titles.
Senior Sabrina Garcia has earned five individual titles this year, including bars against Temple/Towson (9.900) and Ohio State (9.950) as well as a floor title (9.875) and all-around title (39.250) against Illinois (39.250) and all-around at Rutgers (39.325).
Sophomore Lauren Bridgens has won two; all-around against Ohio State (39.300) and vault against Minnesota (9.900).
Freshman Melissa Astarita won the floor title against Temple/Towson (9.900) and sophomore Alissa Bonsall won a bars title against Illinois (9.850). Freshman Jessie Bastardi and junior Tess McCracken tied for the beam title at Rutgers (9.925)
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Heading into the weekend, the Nittany Lions are set to compete in meets against 13 opponents among the Top 40 of the RoadToNationals standings during the 2019 season. The Nittany Lions already competed against No. 5 Utah, No. 32 Temple, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 22 Minnesota and No. 34 Illinois.
PSU is set to compete against No. 2 Florida, No. 8 Michigan, No. 17 Nebraska, No. 19 Arizona State, No. 22 Ohio State, No. 27 West Virginia, No. 28 NC State, No. 31 Maryland and No. 39 Iowa.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
For the first time since 2014, the Nittany Lions will host the Big Ten Championships at Rec Hall.
On March 23, Penn State will welcome the rest of the Big Ten for two sessions, with the first at noon and the second at 5 p.m.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions will finish its Big Ten regular season slate at the Big Five Meet. For the first time ever, the meet will be at a neutral site. The meet is on Friday, February 22 at 7 p.m. in Toledo, Ohio.
Sophomore Lauren Bridgens