UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 27 Penn State women's gymnastics team is set to host No. 21 Arizona State, Cornell and Yale on Saturday for its regular season home finale at Rec Hall. The 4 p.m. meet will be streamed on LionVision.
The Nittany Lions will honor seniors Amber Autry, Sabrina Garcia, Mason Hosek, Jessica Jones and Gianna LaGuardia as part of its Senior Day festivities.
Penn State, led by Head Coach Sarah Brown, is coming off a 195.700 performance at the Big Five Meet in Toledo. PSU finished third in Friday's session, ahead of No. 32 Maryland (195.500) and Michigan State (194.525) and behind No. 40 Iowa (196.450) and No. 15 Nebraska (195.900). The Nittany Lions set a season-high on vault with a 49.125 to win the event. PSU also tied a season-high on bars with a 49.250 and scored a 49.000 on floor. Lauren Bridgens won the all-around title with a 39.425 and tied with teammate Alissa Bonsall for the bars title with a 9.900. Kourtney Chinnery won her first career event title on vault with a 9.875.
Single-meet tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth (12 and under).
Follow the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
SENIOR DAY
The Nittany Lions will honor five senior athletes on Saturday, including Amber Autry, Sabrina Garcia, Mason Hosek, Jessica Jones and Gianna LaGuardia. The group will compete in its final regular season meet at Rec Hall. The seniors have combined for 31 career event titles, including 23 by Garcia.
The meet will also feature a book drive. Fans who bring in a new or gently used book will get in with a $4 ticket. There will also be a raffle for a new bike, a face painter and a caricature artist.
SCOUTING THE QUAD MEET OPPONENTS
Arizona State is ranked 21st in the nation, with a 195.940 NQS with a 5-7 dual meet record (1-4 Pac-12).
The Sun Devils rank 21st on vault (48.940), 16th on bars (49.090), 20th on beam (48.975) and 27th on floor (48.995).
ASU's Cairo Leonard-Baker sits 18th in the nation in all-around with a 39.320 NQS. She is No. 10 in the country on bars, with a 9.910 NQS. She is also 34th on floor (9.875 NQS).
Anne Kuhm ranks 29th in all-around with a 39.125 NQS. She sits 43rd in the country with a 9.855 NQS on bars. Justine Callis is 24th on beam with a 9.855 NQS.
Cornell ranks 56th in the RoadToNationals standings, tallying a 192.400 NQS. Cornell is 7-11 in dual meets.
The Big Red is 57th in the nation on vault (48.215), 56th on bars (47.995), 61st on beam (47.855) and 53rd on floor (48.550).
Cornell is led on vault by Sara Maughan (9.650), paced on bars by Lyanda Dudley (9.730), topped on beam by Kaitlin Green (9.665) and led on floor by Claire Haklik (9.805).
Yale sits 49th in the RoadToNationals rankings with a 193.900 NQS. Yale is 10-5 in dual meets.
The Bulldogs rank 54th in the country on vault (48.315), 49th on bars (48.450), 44th on beam (48.460) and 48th on floor (48.655).
Yale's Jessica Wang is ranked 67th in the nation on bars (9.835), while its top performer on vault is Rebecca Chong (9.700), its top athlete on beam is Jacey Baldovino (9.780) and its top performer on floor is Kiarra Alleyne (9.780).
BIG FIVE MEET RECAP
The Nittany Lions totaled a 195.700 at the Big Five meet, placing third out of five teams. The 195.700 is PSU's third-highest this season.
Penn State started the meet with a 49.000 on floor, its fifth performance of 49 or higher this year. Sabrina Garcia placed third, tying her season high with a 9.875.
The Nittany Lions earned a season-high 49.125 on vault, its highest since March 4, 2018 at the Pitt Quad Meet. Kourtney Chinnery won her first career event title with a career-high 9.875.
The blue and white tied a season-best with a 49.250 on bars, led by Alissa Bonsall and Lauren Bridgens who shared the event title with 9.900's.
On beam, Bridgens finished second with a 9.850.
Bridgens won her second all-around title of the season, and fifth of her career, with a 39.425.
GARCIA NAMED AAI AWARD NOMINEE
Sabrina Garcia was selected as a nominee for the AAI Award, given to the nation's outstanding senior. She is one of 25 athletes, including five from the Big Ten.
She is currently ranked 34th in the nation in all-around, 39th on bars and 65th on floor.
In 2019, Garcia has won five event titles, including two all-around, two bars and one floor. She has earned PSU's top all-around score four times this season.
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.
With its top three finish in the Friday session of the Big Five meet, the Nittany Lions clinched a spot in the evening session. PSU will compete against Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska. In the noon session will be Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State and Rutgers.
EVENT TITLES
As a team, Penn State has won 12 event titles this season. PSU has won four titles on floor, winning four straight before the streak ended at Rutgers. The Nittany Lions also have three titles on bars and four titles on beam. PSU won vault at the Big Five Meet.
The Nittany Lions have won 15 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 four: all-around against Ohio State (39.300) and at the Big Five Meet (39.425), vault against Minnesota (9.900) and bars at the Big Five Meet (9.900).
Freshman Melissa Astarita won the floor title against Temple/Towson (9.900) and sophomore Alissa Bonsall won bars titles against Illinois (9.850) and at the Big Five Meet (9.900). Freshman Jessie Bastardi and junior Tess McCracken tied for the beam title at Rutgers (9.925). Sophomore Kourtney Chinnery won her first career event title on vault (9.875) at the Big Five Meet.
SETTING THE BAR
Penn State is off to a strong start on bars this season, ranking 14th in the nation.
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). The Nittany Lions scored a 49.100 against Illinois, its fourth straight week above a 49.000. PSU matched its season-high at the Big Five Meet on February 22.
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 and another at the Big Five Meet, while junior Tess McCracken had a career-high 9.900 vs. Ohio State and sophomore Alissa Bonsall matched Bridgens at the Big Five Meet.
BASTARDI HONORED BY BIG TEN
Jessie Bastardi was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on February 11 for her efforts at 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 9.754 on beam, good for 19th 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.
STRONG ON FLOOR
The Nittany Lions have enjoyed a solid year on floor, also achieving a 49.000 or above in five meets.
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 and at the Big Five Meet, while Alissa Bonsall, Lauren Bridgens and Kourtney Chinnery have all contributed a 9.850.
NATIONALLY RANKED NITS
As a team, Penn State currently ranks 14th in the nation on bars, with a 49.120 NQS, and ranks among the Top 30 on every event.
On bars, Bridgens ranks 25th in the nation and fifth in the Big Ten with a 9.875 NQS. Garcia is tied for 39th nationally and ninth in the league with a 9.860.
Garcia is also tied for 65th on floor (9.850) and ranks 34th in all-around (39.085). Bridgens is 27th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten in all-around (39.160).
Mason Hosek sits 71st in the country and 10th in the Big Ten on beam (9.815).
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 and 49.125 on vault, a five scores over 49.100 on bars, a 49.000, 49.225 and 49.350 on beam and five 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 and junior Tess McCracken share the team's top beam effort (9.925) 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.
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Heading into the weekend, the Nittany Lions are set to compete in 14 meets against opponents ranked 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, No. 34 Illinois, No. 8 Michigan, No. 15 Nebraska, No. 32 Maryland and No. 40 Iowa.
PSU is set to compete against No. 3 Florida, No. 21 Arizona State, No. 23 Ohio State, No. 24 West Virginia and No. 25 NC State.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions travels to No. 3 Florida on Friday, March 8 for a 6:45 p.m. meet at the Stephen O'Connell Center. It will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Women's Gymnastics Senior Class