UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's gymnastics coach Sarah Brown has announced the hiring of Ralph Rosso as an assistant coach.
Rosso joins the Nittany Lions after four seasons at the University of Washington.
"I couldn't be more excited to add Ralph to our staff!" Brown said. "From the moment we first spoke, I knew his values aligned with our program philosophy and it was going to be a perfect fit. Ralph brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that we will benefit from right away and I can't wait for him to begin working with our team!"
Rosso served as the head coach of the Huskies for the 2021 season after three years as an assistant coach of the program. His tenure was highlighted by a NCAA Nationals appearance in 2018, the seventh in program history.
In 2020, Rosso helped the GymDawgs finish 12th in the nation on bars, its highest finish on that event since 2004. Washington gymnasts would earn All-American honors on bars for just the third time in program history and earned their second All-Pac-12 honor on bars under Rosso.
He coached Washington's highest-ranked event in 2019, helping the GymDawgs finish 13th in the country on bars. Twice Washington broke 49.400 on bars, putting up the highest bars score since 2004 with a 49.425 before besting that with a 49.575 later in the year. The team won five individual bars event titles.
The Huskies finished the regular season ranked eighth in the country in 2018, their highest regular-season finish ever. That season included Washington's first NCAA Regional event championship since 2012 as Kristyn Hoffa, Zoey Schaefer, and Maya Washington combined to take home a floor championship en route to NCAA Nationals. The GymDawgs recorded four scores of 197 or higher in 2018, tying the program record.
Prior to Washington, Rosso spent time coaching at George Washington, Arizona State and Western Michigan. He also spent two seasons as a team manager at Arkansas.
In 2017 at GW, Rosso helped the Colonials to the East Atlantic Gymnastics League championship and a berth in the NCAA Regionals, where a GW gymnast won the program's first-ever NCAA Regional individual title, on the vault. Two individuals earned individual berths to nationals, the most ever at GW. A total of eight gymnasts earned All-EAGL honors.
At Arizona State, Rosso aided in the development of nine Academic All-Pac-12 gymnasts, three All-Pac-12 selections and five NCAA qualifiers, including an individual regional champion.
A standout gymnast at the University of Michigan, Rosso lettered from 2006-09, helping the Wolverines to the Big Ten title as a senior. He competed at NCAA Championships all four years and finished ninth on still rings in 2007. He also made it to the Big Ten finals on pommel horse and rings in 2007, and to two more finals in 2009, on rings and floor.
He will guide a Nittany Lions' bars group that ranked among the best in the nation in 2021. Penn State's 49.231 NQS on the apparatus ranked second in the northeast region. The team recorded scores of 49+ on eight different occasions in 2021. Individually, Penn State had three gymnasts ranked in the top six in the region on bars, as Ava Verdeflor ranked fourth, Alissa Bonsall ranked fifth and Cassidy Rushlow ranked sixth. Nationally, Penn State ranked 19th on bars. He has also helped lead the Penn State vault unit to a fourth place ranking in the northeast division, led by Cassidy Rushlow's 9.850 NQS.
