MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 24 Penn State Women's Gymnastics team finished second in the West Virginia Quad Meet on Sunday. The Nittany Lions totaled a 195.525, defeating No. 22 Ohio State (194.925) and No. 27 NC State (195.300), but falling to No. 28 West Virginia (196.425). Penn State finished the regular season with a 10-9 dual meet record.
"I thought, overall, today went really well," said Head Coach Sarah Brown. "We made some lineup adjustments and our team handled them really well and our athletes kept fighting through each routine. I'm really happy for Kristen and Ava. They really stepped up today with some great routines. We had a long week of training. I feel like we've been waiting for Big Ten's and we're fired up and ready to go for this week."
"We started with good energy on floor and had six great routines," said Brown. "We had a strong leadoff on vault and we're getting better each week. We made a lineup tweak on bars, which our team handled well and hit their routines. We had a great start on beam and Jess and Tess were really good to help us rebound from a fall."
The Nittany Lions began the meet on floor, posting a 48.950. Sophomore Lauren Bridgens and senior Sabrina Garcia tied for the team-lead with scores of 9.825. Freshman Melissa Astarita recorded a 9.800 and sophomore Alissa Bonsall collected a 9.775. Senior Mason Hosek registered a 9.725 and junior Tess McCracken had a 9.575.
The Mountaineers won the event with a 49.275, led by Kirah Koshinski's event-winning 9.900 and Jaquie Tun's 9.875. NC State posted a 48.950 behind Alexa Phillips' 9.875, while Ohio State had a 48.650, paced by Danica Abanto's 9.850.
Penn State matched its floor score with a 48.950 on vault in the second rotation. Senior Gianna LaGuardia led the blue and white with a 9.850, finishing third overall. Astarita and Bridgens each recorded a 9.800 with Astarita's setting a career-high. Garcia collected a 9.775 and Bonsall tallied a 9.725. Sophomore Kourtney Chinnery registered a 9.150.
West Virginia also won the vault event with a 49.150. Koshinski and Tun earned the top two scores in the competition with a 9.925 and 9.875, respectively. The Buckeyes totaled a 48.900, led by Sydney Jennings' 9.850. The Wolfpack collected a 48.750, paced by Drew Grantham's 9.825.
The Nittany Lions' strongest performance of the day came on bars, where they earned a 49.125. That was Penn State's eighth score above a 49.100 this season. Penn State earned its fifth bars team title of the season. Bridgens won her third bars title of the season, and the ninth of her career, with a 9.875. Bonsall was right behind, in second place, with a 9.850. Garcia came in fourth with a 9.825, while sophomore Ava Verdeflor tallied a 9.800. McCracken recorded a 9.775 and Politz recorded a 9.725.
NC State collected a 48.725, led by Caitlyn Fillard's 9.825. West Virginia recorded a 48.700, paced by Esperanza Abarca's 9.800. Ohio State registered a 48.425, led by Claire Gagliardi's 9.850.
Penn State ended the afternoon with a 48.500 on beam. The blue and white had two strong routines to leadoff the event. Politz scored a career-high 9.900, securing her first career event win on beam. Verdeflor also earned a career best, achieving a 9.850. Freshman Jessie Bastardi and McCracken matched each other with scores of 9.750. Hosek had a 9.250, while Bridgens recorded a 9.225.
The Mountaineers scored a season-best 49.300 on beam, led by Tun, who tied with Politz for the event win with a 9.900. The Buckeyes earned a 48.950 behind Abanto's 9.850. The Wolfpack registered a 48.875, paced by Lauren Kent's 9.825.
Bridgens ended the meet with a 38.725 in all-around. WVU's Tun won all-around with a 39.425.
Penn State hosts the 2019 Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 23 at Rec Hall. The first session will begin at noon featuring No. 34 Maryland, No. 39 Michigan State, No. 22 Ohio State and Rutgers.
The evening session, starting at 5 p.m., will feature the Nittany Lions, No. 36 Illinois, No. 31 Iowa, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Minnesota and No. 18 Nebraska.
Junior Kristen Politz won the beam title