UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team (10-9, 3-6 Big Ten) will travel to Coralville, Iowa to take part in the 2023 Big Ten Championships. The Nittany Lions will compete in session I, beginning at noon, ET.
Penn State is coming off its two best scores of the season in its last two meets. Its 197.025 tied the sixth-highest score in program history and put the Nittany Lions in an excellent position to perform well at the conference meet on Saturday.
SESSION I SCHEDULE
Penn State will compete against Rutgers, Minnesota, Nebraska, Maryland, and Illinois in session I on Saturday at noon.
The Nittany Lions will rotate as follows:
- Rotation 1: Vault
- Rotation 2: BYE 1
- Rotation 3: Bars
- Rotation 4: Beam
- Rotation 5: BYE 2
- Rotation 6: Floor
PENN STATE AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Last year: The Nittany Lions scored a 194.700 as a team at the championship meet last season in a tough end to the campaign as a team.
High Score: 196.725 during the 2015 season.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State posted its sixth-highest score in school history last time out at No. 9 Auburn in their regular season finale. The Nittany Lions also hit their third-highest balance beam score and 10th-highest bars score in program history during the meet against the Tigers.
VAULT – No. 25
Penn State posted a mark of 49.075 on the vault, led by a 9.875 from Ava Piedrahita. Jessica Johanson and Maddie Johnston were able to each put together 9.825 performances, while Vihrova also earned a 9.8.
According to the RoadToNationals NQS rankings, Piedrahita is tied for the No. 21 spot on the vault in the NCAA this week and stayed even at No. 8 in the Big Ten on the apparatus.
BARS – No. 29
The Nittany Lions posted a team score of 49.350 on bars at Auburn, its best in five years. Each Nittany Lion competing posted a 9.8 or higher, including four 9.875s from Gabbie Gallentine, Johnston, Cassidy Rushlow and Piedrahita (matched career-high). Johanson was able to land a 9.850 as well, which tied her career high. Elina Vihrova recorded a 9.8 to help the Nittany Lions get off to a strong start on the evening.
Rushlow finished the regular season tied for No. 27 in the NCAA on the apparatus and is tied now for the No. 4 spot in the Big Ten in the RoadToNationals NQS rankings.
BALANCE BEAM – No. 33
On the balance beam, Penn State's 49.425 performance tied the third-best score on the apparatus in program history, and was highlighted by Isabella Salcedo's career-high 9.95, which tied for the 10th-best score in school history. Johnston and Haleigh Gibble each posted impressive 9.9 scores, which marked a career-best for Gibble and tied a personal-best for Johnston. Johanson (9.825) also turned in a career-best tying performance while Rushlow (9.85) capped off an incredible effort for Penn State.
FLOOR – No. 46
On floor, Penn State finished at 49.175, earning five performances of 9.8 or better, tying its season-best score. Elina Vihrova led the way for the Nittany Lions with a 9.875, while Johanson and Piedrahita each posted a 9.85. Salcedo and Johnston rounded out the event with a pair of 9.8s for Penn State.
All-Around
Penn State competed four all-arounders for the third meet in a row, with Piedrahita, Johnston, Johanson, and Rushlow all competing in all four events. Johnston finished with 39.400 points, reaching the 39.4+ mark for the second week in a row, building momentum at the right time as the team heads into the postseason.
Piedrahita finished the regular season as the No. 50 all-arounder in the country in her first collegiate campaign.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Nittany Lions await the results of Monday's selection show to determine their NCAA Regional qualification.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).