University Park, Pa.- Penn State's current senior class competed at NCAA Regionals in Michigan as freshmen in 2016. They will full circle today when they compete at the 2019 NCAA Regionals, once again in Ann Arbor.
A lot has changed since 2016.
Penn State has a different coaching staff, student-athletes have come and gone, and the NCAA regional format has changed.
For the first time this year, there will be four regional sites instead of six and only four teams will compete on the floor at the same time.
While Penn State has had to adapt to the new changes, the team has been preparing for this competition throughout the season.
"We know it's obviously gonna be a really tough competition but we've been preparing all year to be ready to compete two days in a row in hopes that we'll do well enough Friday to advance to Saturday's competition," Penn State head coach Sarah Brown said.
In preparation for regionals Penn State has been refining its routines in practice. Following the Big Ten Championships in late March, the team returned to practice the following week and broke down its routines. They also found time to have fun in practice to take some of the pressure off, physically and mentally.
"I felt like from a mental perspective that was really good for the athletes and it also didn't hurt that the weather seemed to get a little better, it was warmer and it was a good vibe in the gym all week," Brown said on the week off from competition.
After that week of practice, Penn State had its first two-day weekend since Christmas where it did not have to travel, compete or return from a trip.
Coming off the break, the team focused on its mentality at practice to get into a rhythm ahead of regionals, where senior Mason Hosek has a lot of experience competing.
Hosek was on the team that competed at regionals in Michigan three seasons ago. The senior has competed at regionals each year since coming to Penn State and said that the event is a bit more fun compared to the Big Five meet and Big Ten Championships.
"I feel like you get to show off a little bit more and I think this is one of the (meets) you don't really hold back on, you just give it your all and see what happens," Hosek said.
Hosek has competed at Michigan multiple times throughout her career and said that the atmosphere in the arena is good. Although she is "humbled" that it could be her last time competing for Penn State, she is also excited to go back to Ann Arbor and try to help Penn State advance.
"The fact that there's a possibility that there's more, it's also great but I'm excited, I think it's been a pretty good senior year and I feel like we're gonna finish off on a really good note," Hosek said.
Penn State is set to compete against Michigan, Alabama and Ohio State at the Ann Arbor regional and is the third seed going into the competition. Despite being an underdog, anything can happen once the event begins.
"We know that at regional championships and in the postseason on any given night anybody can make a mistake or have the best meet of their life so I feel like we're in a really great spot mentally going into this meet," Brown said.
