UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team heads on the road Friday to take on Iowa in a Big Ten matchup.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a solid performance in their double dual meet against Illinois where they posted a team score of 195.475.
The Penn State double dual will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus beginning at 7:30 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live Stream | Live Results
SERIES HISTORY
The sides have met 12 times since their first meeting in 1990, with the Nittany Lions holding an 8-4-0 advantage over their Big Ten foe.
A LOOK BACK AT ILLINOIS
The Nittany Lions (3-2) hosted Illinois last Saturday for the Penn State double dual 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.
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
The Penn State gymnastics program saw many career highs in the Big Ten matchup. Alissa Bonsall matched her career-high from last year's NCAA Morgantown Regional with a 9.950 on bars. Fellow Senior+ Kourtney Chinnery recorded her first 9.9 score of her career with a 9.90 on vault. Freshmen Isabella Salcedo and Elina Vihrova continued their strong starts to their careers, with Salsedo recording a 9.925 on floor and Vihrova recording 9.875 scores on floor and beam and a 9.850 on bars.
NEW FACES
Penn State added eight athletes to the roster for the 2022 season. Isabella Salcedo and Elina Vihrova were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch ahead of their first meet as Nittany Lions. The duo is among seven gymnasts in Penn State's freshman class. Penn State also welcomed sophomore Sarah Duhe, a transfer from the University of Alabama.
