UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team (10-8, 3-6 Big Ten) tied the ninth-highest score in program history with a 196.875 in a dominant victory over William & Mary on Friday night in Rec Hall.
"I'm really proud of everybody's performances tonight," said head coach Sarah Brown. "What a way to send out our seniors. It was senior night, alumni night, our double-dual, and we just had the most amazing energy here in Rec Hall. Our team has been working so hard to reach these high scores, and tonight, it just felt like the momentum started strong and finished stronger. I'm really proud of this team and I couldn't be more grateful for the work that our seniors have done, and to send them out the way that we did was amazing."
The Ann Carr Award was given to Ava Piedrahita for her incredible night where she achieved a career-high 39.425 all-around score. She also tallied career-highs on floor and beam with marks of 9.9 and 9.875, respectively. She also followed up her career-high 9.95 vault score in the Big Five Meet with a 9.925 tonight. The freshman won four event titles tonight, including tying for the all-around title with teammate Maddie Johnston.
While Piedrahita earned the hardware, Johnston matched her with a 39.425 in the all-around and surpassed her career-high on the beam and vault with 9.875s on each apparatus.
Piedrahita and Johnston's all-around scores are the highest any Nittany Lion gymnast has recorded in the combined effort since Lauren Bridgens put up a 39.525 on Feb. 26, 2022, against Maryland.
As a team the Nittany Lions achieved season-best scores on vault, beam, and floor exercise in a fantastic all-around outing.
ROTATION RECAP
Penn State started off the night on vault where Piedrahita led the way with a team-best 9.925 score to earn her first event title of the night. Elina Vihrova and Johnston kept the momentum going by each tallying a career-best 9.875. Jessica Johanson and Isabella Salcedo followed with 9.85s, each tying their own season-best score. Overall, the Nittany Lions finished with a season-best 49.375 score, the best vault mark the program has tallied since the 2015 campaign.
On bars, Gabbie Gallentine earned the event win with a 9.85, her second-highest score as a Nittany Lion. Johnston followed up her great performance on the vault with a solid 9.825 score on bars in rotation two. Isabella Salcedo also tallied a 9.825 score to round out the top three scorers. Penn State finished with a 49.100 overall.
In the third rotation of the night, three Nittany Lions tallied a 9.875 score on the beam. Piedrahita, after recording a career-high on the vault last Friday, achieved another career-best milestone, with the first of the three 9.875s. Cassidy Rushlow added on, setting a new season high with the second 9.875, and Johnston posted the third 9.875 with her second-best performance on the year as the Nittany Lions' beam anchor. As a team, Penn State finished with a season-best score of 49.225, recording the best score it has posted in the event since the Big Five Meet on February 27, 2021.
On the floor for the final rotation, Piedrahita continued to surpass career-highs earning her third event win of the night with a career-best 9.9. Vihrova and Johnston followed, each posting 9.85s. The team's 49.175 score was yet another season best.
Four Nittany Lions participated in the all-around tonight and three set or tied a career high score. Piedrahita and Johnston each posted 39.425 lifetime bests. Johanson tied her career-best effort with a 39.200 while Rushlow earned a season-high 39.275.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Sarah Brown
Senior Cassidy Rushlow
SENIOR NIGHT FESTIVITIES – PRESENTED BY THE PENN STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The Nittany Lions honored Amy Bladon, Bella Romagnano, and Rushlow in a special senior night ceremony following the meet.
WHAT'S NEXT
Penn State will travel to Auburn next Friday, March 10, for its final regular-season meet of the year before the Big Ten Meet on March 18. The Nittany Lions are set to take on the Tigers at 8 p.m.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
