UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team earned two All-Big Ten selections, announced by the conference on Thursday. Junior Lauren Bridgens garnered first-team honors, while freshman Cassidy Rushlow collected second-team accolades. Sophomore Dymiana Cox received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Bridgens was named an All-Big Ten first team selection for the third straight season. She becomes the ninth Penn State gymnast to earn at least three career All-Big Ten first team selections, joining April Polito (1992-94), Missy Leopoldus (1997-99), Ellen Casey (1997-99), Gemma Cuff (1998-01), Katie Rowland (2001-03), Brandi Personett (2007-10), Sharaya Musser (2010-13) and Briannah Tsang (2016-18).
"Lauren has been such a steady competitor for us over the last three years, but this year she really took her gymnastics to another level," said Head Coach Sarah Brown. "She is more polished, stronger and more consistent than she's ever been. She works hard on the details of her routines every day and she is such a positive example for her teammates."
As a junior, Bridgens set or tied career highs on beam (9.900) and floor (9.950). She captured 13 event titles this season, including four in all-around, two on vault, three on bars and four on floor.
Bridgens finished the season ranked 28th in the nation, according to RoadToNationals, with a 39.250 National Qualifying Score (NQS). The Maryland native earned seven all-around scores above a 39.000, including a season-best 39.475 in the Nittany Lions' quad meet vs. NC State, Cornell and Towson.
On bars, Bridgens sat 47th in the country holding a 9.865 NQS. Bridgens secured a 9.925 on bars in the Big Five Meet and the Quad Meet. She claimed the event title during the quad meet as well as bars titles against Rutgers and Illinois. On floor, she ranked 51st in the nation with a 9.800 NQS. Bridgens won four straight event titles against Nebraska, Iowa, Rutgers and Illinois, including a 9.925 at Nebraska and a career-high 9.950 vs. Iowa. Bridgens also earned a 9.900 at the Big Five Meet.
Rushlow made an immediate impact in her first year in Happy Valley. She became the first Nittany Lion freshman to receive All-Big Ten honors since Bridgens in 2018.
"Cassidy has impacted this program in so many ways in such a short period of time," said Brown. "Her gymnastics is dynamic and clean. She's polished and disciplined in all that she does. She has competed in the all-around in nearly every meet and the best is yet to come for her."
The Massachusetts native earned five event titles with two on vault, one each bars and beam and an all-around title. She earned season-high scores of 39.300 in all-around, 9.925 on bars, 9.900 on vault and beam and 9.825 on floor.
Rushlow concluded the 2020 season with a No. 39 ranking in all-around, with a 39.130 NQS. She earned five all-around scores above a 39.000, including a career-high 39.300 at the Big Five Meet and a 39.250 to win the event title against West Virginia.
On vault, Rushlow captured event titles against Illinois (9.825) and in the Quad Meet (9.850), while earning a season-best 9.900 at the Big Five Meet. She also won a bars title with a career-high 9.925 vs. West Virginia.
The freshman ranked 63rd in the country on beam with a 9.855 NQS. She earned back-to-back 9.900 scores on beam against Iowa and Rutgers, claiming the beam title against the Hawkeyes.
Though she has not been able to compete, due to injury, Cox has remained a positive influence for the program.
"Dymiana has been such an influential member of our team since she stepped on campus," said Brown. "She was set to make a contribution on multiple events during her freshman year and, unfortunately, has been sidelined due to injury. However, her dedication to the team has never wavered and her impact on the team is unmatched. Dymi is a great teammate, friend and student and we wouldn't have been able to accomplish our goals this season without her."
The Nittany Lions ended the season ranked 30th in the RoadToNationals standings. Penn State earned eight dual-meet wins, including four victories over ranked opponents. The Nittany Lions notched five scores above a 196.000, its most since 2015. The Nittany Lions averaged a 196.230 in five home meets, its highest at Rec Hall since 2015.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
Junior Lauren Bridgens earned first-team All-Big Ten honors