DENVER, Colo. – The No. 35 Penn State women's gymnastics team (3-2, 0-0 Big Ten) finished in second place out of three squads at No. 13 Denver on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions improved on their season-opening score on Friday by posting a 195.875 at Denver.
Denver put up the top score of the meet with a 196.925, followed by the Nittany Lions at 195.875 and Texas Woman's University at 191.725. Penn State won two events on the evening, as Gabbie Gallentine's season-high 9.900 on bars and Jessica Johanson's career-high 39.200 in the all-around topped their respective events.
"Today was another solid meet for us," Head Coach Sarah Brown said. "I was really proud of how we handled the travel across the country and prepared for our second meet of the weekend. It was great to see Ava, Jessie, and Maddie in the all-around again and there were so many strong performances from each athlete throughout the night. I'm so proud of this team and I look forward to bringing this energy back to Rec Hall on Friday night!"
The Nittany Lions started out by posting a 49.150 on bars. Gabbie Gallentine posted an event-winning 9.900 on the apparatus to lead the squad. The score was Gallentine's first 9.900 in at Penn State and her highest score of the season. Maddie Johnston scored a season-high 9.850 and Cassidy Rushlow put up a 9.825 to lead Penn State to its highest scoring event of the evening.
On beam, Penn State scored its second consecutive 49.000 or better score. Freshmen Amani Herring posted a 9.875 and Haleigh Gibble recorded a season-best 9.850 for the Nittany Lions. Jessica Johanson posted a career-high 9.700 and Cassidy Rushlow scored a season-high 9.825 as well for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State received four 9.800 or better scores on the floor, en route to a 49.050 effort, its third 49.000 score of the evening. Jessica Johanson paced the squad with a 9.875 which tied her career high. Herring (9.800), Piedrahita (season-high 9.825), and Isabella Salcedo (9.825) rounded out the above-9.800 scorers for Penn State.
In the final event of the evening, Penn State scored a 48.675 on the vault to elevate its score to 195.875, its highest total of the young season. Johanson put up a season-high 9.825 on the event to lead the squad.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Nittany Lions return home after two straight road meets to start the season and will host their home opener in Rec Hall on Friday, Jan. 13 against Penn, LIU, and Southern Connecticut State at 6 pm.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
