UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team (8-4, 2-2 Big Ten) will host No. 13 Ohio State (9-1, 4-1 Big Ten) on Friday night at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 196.350-196.325 victory against Nebraska on Friday night, the squad's first regular season win over the Cornhuskers since the 2006 campaign. Penn State received a season-best four scores of 9.9-or-better on the night, including a huge 9.975 on bars from senior Cassidy Rushlow.
Rushlow's stellar bars score ranks as the second-best bars score in Penn State history and is tied for the top score on the event in the Big Ten so far this season. Penn State's upperclassmen shined on Friday night, as junior Maddie Johnston posted 9.9s on both bars and beam en-route to a career-best 39.375 all-around score.
Penn State was supported by strong performances by its freshman class as well, with career-bests from Haleigh Gibble on balance beam (9.875) and Amani Herring on floor (9.925).
The Buckeyes present a tough challenge for the Nittany Lions this week. With no. 13 Ohio State entering competition on Friday evening with all four events ranked inside the top 20 in the nation, Penn State will expect significant contributions from every athlete to try and remain perfect at home this season.
LEOTARD DECORATING CONTEST
This week, the team will be hosting a leotard-decorating contest. Fans will be presented with a blank paper leotard layout and will have the opportunity to show off their creative side and decorate their own Penn State leo! All entries will be collected and judged by the team. The winner, which will be announced at the William & Mary meet on March 3, will receive a framed Penn State gymnastics leotard!
Our third of four class posters will be available for collection this week as well. After the junior class poster is collected, come on out to our meet on March 3 against William & Mary to collect the senior class poster and complete the set!
The team will also host a post-meet autograph session on the west mezzanine area of Rec Hall.
As always, kids 12-and-under are free admission.
TUNE IN LIVE
Live Results | Live Stream
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions own two top-30 event rankings heading into the meet against the no. 13 Buckeyes. Penn State set its season-best score on the balance beam against Nebraska last week. A season-high four scores of 9.9-or-better fueled Penn State's victory over the Cornhuskers.
VAULT – No. 34
Penn State started on vault last Friday against the Cornhuskers, finishing with a 48.975 as a team. Jessica Johanson and Ava Piedrahita led the lions in the event, both earning 9.825s on the apparatus. Maddie Johnston tied her season best for the third time this season with a 9.800.
BARS – No. 22
In the second rotation of the night for the Nittany Lions' 22nd-ranked bars squad, Rushlow turned in one of the best routines in Penn State history. Her 9.975 tied the second-best bars score ever at Penn State, set a new career high, and earned the event win in the process. Johnston followed right behind with Penn State's second 9.900 of the night, earning a career best mark. Penn State wrapped up with a team score of 49.225, which became the Nittany Lions' second-highest score on the apparatus this season.
BALANCE BEAM – No. 27
Next up for Penn State was beam, where Johnston tied her second career best of the night with another 9.900. Freshman Haleigh Gibble set a new career best with a score of 9.875 and Isabella Salcedo tallied a 9.825 to wrap up the third event of the evening. The Nittany Lions set a new season-best in the event with a 49.175.
FLOOR – No. 42
Penn State kept up the momentum and the career-best-setting trend on the floor for their final rotation. Rushlow set a new season high with a 9.800. In a similar fashion, Johnston tied yet another career best with a 9.775 performance. Finally, in the last routine of the night when Penn State needed a 9.000 to tie Nebraska at 196.325, Herring went to work and set a 9.925 career best on floor to lift the lions to a Big Ten victory. The extra 0.025 points were all the Nittany Lions needed to take home the win.
All-Around
Johnston's career-best 39.375, including two 9.9s, earned her the all-around win. Piedrahita competed in the all-around for the seventh time this season and earned a 39.175 across all four events against the Cornhuskers.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
The Nittany Lions will wrap up Big Ten competition with the Big Five meet next weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska. Penn State will compete in session one on Friday night, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m against Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, and Michigan.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
