UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's gymnastics team fell to Big Ten foe Illinois 196.350-195.475 at Rec Hall on Saturday.
"I was really excited to be able to host a Double Dual again," Head Coach Sarah Brown said. 'You could feel the energy in the building and I'm really thankful Penn State still hosts these events."
Sharing the stage with the Penn State men's gymnastics team as part of the Penn State Double Dual, the Nittany Lions produced several strong performances throughout the meet.
The day started on vault, with Penn State following their season-high score from a week ago with another 49+ score of 49.025. Fifth-year senior Kourtney Chinnery led the way with a career-high 9.900.
Penn State's run of success on bars continued Saturday, adding to it's season-opening streak of 49+ scores on bars with a 49.025. Alissa Bonsall matched her career-best from last year's NCAA Regional with a 9.950. She was named the Ann Carr Award winner as the meet's MVP. Freshman Elina Vihrova posted her highest bars score of her career as well, recording a 9.850.
Vihrova also had another strong day on floor, recording her second straight 9.875 score to match her career high. Also recording a career high to win the event was fellow freshman Isabella Salcedo, who recorded an event winning 9.925. Melissa Astarita closed out the night with a 9.875 as the Nittany Lions topped last week's score with a season-best 49.325 on floor. The score is the team's highest since January 2020.
"The crowd really carried us through today," Brown said. "It's so nice to be able to look up into the crowd and see familiar faces and packed stands. To close out the day the way we did with our highest floor score in a long time shows how much these athletes love what they do."
