PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 30 Penn State women's gymnastics team was defeated by Big Ten foe Rutgers 195.525-195.325 in the team's final regular season meet on Saturday.
"I continue to be impressed with our team's resiliency and fight each weekend," Head Coach Sarah Brown said. "We still have some kinks to work out before the conference championship, but in general I am proud of the work this team has put in."
Three Nittany Lions claimed event victories on the day, with Cassidy Rushlow winning the all-around and beam, Alissa Bonsall winning on floor and Ava Verdeflor winning on bars.
The Nittany Lions' day was highlighted by a season best vault rotation, as the team posted a season high score of 48.975 on the apparatus. Senior Alissa Bonsall and sophomore Cassidy Rushlow recorded matching scores of 9.825 to lead the team.
Penn State continues to produce on bars, outpointing Rutgers 48.900 to 48.750 on the apparatus. Penn State entered the meet ranked 17th in the nation on bars. Ava Verdeflor claimed her second career event win, topping the leaderboards with a 9.850.
Bonsall was the individual champion on floor, tying a career high with a score of 9.875. The victory was Bonsall's third of the season and her first career win on floor.
Rushlow tied for the event win on beam with a strong 9.900 score, and also tied for the all-around victory with a 39.300 overall score on the day. The score was her third best all-around total of the season. Bella Romagnano tied her career high with a 9.825 on beam.
Penn State will now turn its attention to postseason competition, as the team is set to compete at the Big Ten Championships a week from today. The meet will be held in Minneapolis, Minn., and will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.