UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Women's Gymnastics senior Ava Verdeflor was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week on Monday following her event winning performance on uneven bars at the Big Five Meet this weekend.
Verdeflor claimed her first career event title after posting a career high 9.950 score on the apparatus. The score helped propel the Nittany Lions to a season best 49.325 on bars. It marked the third consecutive meet in which the team recorded a season high on bars.
Ava Verdeflor closes out the day with a career high 9.950 on bars! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/DX4QWyW7gR
— Penn State Women's Gymnastics (@PennStateWGYM) February 27, 2021
2021 has been a season to remember for Verdeflor, who was honored with a Senior Day ceremony following last week's tri-meet at Rec Hall. The result on Saturday marks the fourth time this season in which Verdeflor set a career high on an apparatus. She recorded her personal best score on beam on Feb. 13 against Illinois with a 9.875.
The award is the first Big Ten weekly honor of Verdeflor's career and the first Specialist of the Week honor for the Nittany Lions since Alissa Bonsall claimed the honor on Jan. 7, 2020.
The Nittany Lions, led by head coach Sarah Brown, will look to continue their run of success on Sunday when the team travels to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State.