UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 25 Penn State women's gymnastics team is set to host the Big Ten Championships on Saturday in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions will compete in the 5 p.m. session after the 12 p.m. session concludes. Both sessions will be broadcast on Big Ten Network with Dean Linke and Alina Weinstein on the call.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Sarah Brown, will compete in the evening session with No. 32 Illinois, No. 34 Iowa, No. 7 Michigan, No. 11 Minnesota and No. 17 Nebraska. Penn State fans are encouraged to wear white.
Competing in the 12 p.m. session is No. 32 Maryland, Michigan State, No. 22 Ohio State and Rutgers.
Penn State earned a 195.525 in its final meet of the regular season, the WVU Quad Meet. PSU secured wins over No. 22 Ohio State (194.925) and No. 27 NC State (195.300), but fell against No. 28 West Virginia (196.425).
The Nittany Lions finished Big Ten regular season action with three dual meet wins, including two at the Big Five Meet on February 22.
Penn State is hosting the Big Ten Championships for the first time since 2014.
Follow the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
SCOUTING THE BIG TEN OPPONENTS
Michigan is ranked highest in the Big Ten in the RoadToNationals rankings at No. 7. The Wolverines rank 5th in the nation on vault, eighth on bars, sixth on beam and ninth on floor.
Michigan is led by six All-Big Ten honorees, including five first-team selections: Abby Brenner, Lauren Farley, Olivia Karas, Emma McLean, Natalie Wojcik.
No. 11 Minnesota is 10th in the country on vault and bars, 11th on beam and 17th on floor.
The Gophers collected five All-Big Ten selections, including four first-team picks: Ona Loper, Ivy Lu, Lexy Ramler and Paige Williams.
No. 17 Nebraska sits 14th nationally on vault, 18th on bars, 17th on beam and 15th on floor.
The Cornhuskers earned four All-Big Ten picks, including three first-team honorees: Sienna Crouse, Sierra Hassel and Taylor Houchin.
No. 23 Ohio State ranks 28th on vault, 19th on bars, 24th on beam and 41st on floor.
Jamie Stone earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for the Buckeyes.
No. 27 Maryland holds 25th on vault, 21st on bars, 32nd on beam and 34th on floor. Audrey Barber was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree.
No. 32 Illinois sits 32nd on vault, 28th on bars, 19th on beam and 37th on floor. Mary Jane Otto was a first-team All-Big Ten pick.
No. 34 Iowa holds 35th on vault, 29th on bars, 38th on beam and 20th on floor. Among the league's first-team selections was Clair Kaji.
No. 40 Michigan State ranks 30th on vault, 41st on bars, 53rd on beam and 25th on floor, led by second-team All-Big Ten honorees Gabriella Douglas and Lea Mitchell.
No. 45 Rutgers sits 42nd on vault, 44th on bars, 51st on beam and 38th on floor. Belle Huang earned second-team All-Big Ten honors.
WVU QUAD MEET RECAP
The Nittany Lions totaled a 195.525 last Sunday at the West Virginia Quad Meet, knocking off No. 22 Ohio State and No. 27 NC State, but placed behind No. 28 West Virginia.
PSU tallied a 48.950 in its first rotation on floor, led by Lauren Bridgens and Sabrina Garcia's 9.825's.
The Nittany Lions followed with a 48.950 on vault, paced by Gianna LaGuardia's 9.850 and Melissa Astarita's career-best 9.800.
On bars, Penn State secured a 49.125. Bridgens won her third bars title this year, and the ninth of her career, with a 9.875. Alissa Bonsall added a 9.850 to place second.
PSU ended with a 48.500 on beam. Kristen Politz earned her first event title of the season with a career-high 9.900 and Ava Verdeflor recorded a career-best 9.850.
NATIONALLY RANKED NITS
As a team, Penn State currently ranks 15th in the nation on bars, with a 49.200 RQS, and ranks among the Top 30 on three events.
On bars, Bridgens is tied for 33rd in the nation, and ranks seventh in the Big Ten, with a 9.890 RQS. Garcia is tied for 45th in the country and ninth in the conference with a 9.875 RQS.
In all-around, Bridgens is fifth in the Big Ten and 21st in the nation with a 39.355 RQS, while Garcia is tied 60th nationally and sits 13th in the Big Ten with a 39.085 RQS.
BRIDGENS, GARCIA COLLECT B1G HONORS
Lauren Bridgens and Sabrina Garcia were named All-Big Ten selections on Monday.
Bridgens earned first-team honors for the second straight year, becoming the 56th first-team All-Big Ten selection in program history and the 15th athlete to earn multiple first-team nods.
She is currently 21st in the nation in all-around and No. 33 on bars. Bridgens owns seven event titles this season, while establishing career highs in all-around, beam and floor. She has four scores of 9.900 or higher on bars this year.
Garcia garnered her third career All-Big Ten selection, being named to the second team. She was a first-team selection in 2017 and second team in 2018. She was one of 25 nominees for the AAI Award, given to the nation's most outstanding senior.
She sits 45th in the country on bars, ninth in the Big Ten, while collecting five event titles. She has four bars of 9.900 or above this season.
SETTING THE BAR
Penn State has enjoyed a strong effort on bars this season, ranking 15th in the nation, with a 49.200 RQS.
The Nittany Lions have posted eight scores of 49.000 or above this year, led by its 49.300 in the Quad Meet. That followed a 49.250 at the Big Five Meet.
PSU has accomplished a 49.000 or above in four straight meets, including the Big Five Meet, the Quad Meet, a 49.200 at Florida and a 49.125 at the WVU Quad Meet.
Senior Sabrina Garcia has PSU's top score on bars, a career-high 9.950 against Ohio State, one of her four scores above a 9.900. Sophomore Lauren Bridgens had a season-best 9.925 against Florida and owns three 9.900's. Junior Tess McCracken had a career-high 9.900 vs. Ohio State and sophomore Alissa Bonsall matched Bridgens' 9.900 at the Big Five Meet.
STRONG ON FLOOR
The Nittany Lions have also enjoyed a solid year on floor, also achieving a 49.000 or above in seven meets, led by their 49.350 in their home quad meet.
Penn State also earned a 49.000 or above against Temple/Towson (49.025), Ohio State (49.000), Minnesota (49.275), Illinois (49.075), at the Big Five Meet (49.000) and at Florida (49.025).
Freshman Melissa Astarita holds the blue and white's top mark on floor with a 9.900 against Temple and Towson. She matched that score in the quad meet. Garcia's season-best 9.875 came against Illinois and at the Big Five Meet, while Alissa Bonsall and Lauren Bridgens each had a career-best 9.875 in the quad meet.
EVENT TITLES
As a team, Penn State has won 16 event titles this season. PSU has won five titles on floor, five on bars, four on beam and two on vault. The Nittany Lions have won 18 individual event titles, including five all-around.
Sophomore Lauren Bridgens has won seven individual titles: all-around against Ohio State (39.300), at the Big Five Meet (39.425) and in the quad meet (39.400), vault against Minnesota (9.900) and bars at the Big Five Meet (9.900), at Florida (9.925) and at the WVU Quad Meet (9.875).
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 against Illinois (39.250) and all-around at Rutgers (39.325).
Freshman Melissa Astarita has won two floor titles, while sophomore Alissa Bonsall owns two bars titles against Illinois (9.850) and at the Big Five Meet (9.900). Four Nittany Lions have at least one event title.
Senior Sabrina Garcia