UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team (8-5, 2-3 Big Ten) fought hard but fell to No. 13 Ohio State (10-1, 5-1 Big Ten) by a final score of 196.725-196.125 on Friday night in Rec Hall.
"I thought we started the night really strong," said head coach Sarah Brown. "Obviously vault and bars are really strong events for us, and it showed tonight. We let up a little bit on beam and the scores got a little bit tight there, and so it was a little hard to get momentum going into floor. Overall, I think our performances are getting better each week and I'm really proud of the progress our team is making."
Sophomore Isabella Salcedo earned the Ann Carr Award for her excellent performance on both the vault and the balance beam. Salcedo tied her career-high with a 9.875 on beam and she also tied her season-best 9.85 on vault.
For the second week in a row, senior Cassidy Rushlow posted a huge bars score for the Nittany Lions. Her 9.95 tied her second-best score of the season and gave Penn State a massive boost in a very strong start to the meet. Elina Vihrova earned a career-high 9.85 on vault in one of the Nittany Lions' best starts of the season.
Despite taking its first home loss of the 2023 season, Penn State set or tied four career-best marks and added four more season-highs.
ROTATION RECAP
Penn State started off the night on vault. Ava Piedrahita led the way, tying her career high with a 9.925 score on the apparatus. Vihrova and Jessica Johanson each posted 9.85s, with Vihrova surpassing her previous career-high of 9.825 and Johanson tying her season-best score. Herring and tied Maddie Johnston tied their season-best efforts, each posting 9.8 scores. In the end, Penn State's vault squad finished with a season-high 49.275 for a fantastic start to the night.
The Nittany Lions moved over to the uneven bars in the second rotation. After recording the second-best score in program history (9.975) on the apparatus in last week's meet against Nebraska, Cassidy Rushlow followed it up with a team-high 9.95 score this week. Vihrova carried over her momentum from the vault by tying her season-best with a score of 9.825. Piedrahita also finished with a 9.825 as the Nittany Lions led Ohio State 98.400-98.150 through the first two events. Overall, the Nittany Lions finished with a 49.175 score.
In the third rotation of the night, Isabella Salcedo led the way for the Nittany Lions on the beam with a 9.875 score, which tied her career-best mark. Johnston and Herring finished with a 9.775 and 9.750 score, respectively, to round out the top-three scorers. Penn State finished with an overall score of 48.825.
On the floor for the final rotation, Johanson and Herring each recorded a team-high 9.85 score. The Nittany Lions scored a 9.75, and two 9.725s to finish with a 48.900 on the event.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Sarah Brown
WHAT'S NEXT
Penn State will travel to Lincoln, Neb. next Friday for the annual Big Five Meet where they will compete against Iowa, Maryland, Illinois, and Michigan. The meet will start at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
