UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team (10-9, 3-6 Big Ten) will travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the preliminary round of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Pittsburgh Regional on Thursday, March 30. The Nittany Lions are set to take on the Towson Tigers at 2 p.m. for a chance to move on to Friday's regional semifinals.
Penn State is coming off its highest team score at the Big Ten Championships since the 2015 season, posting a 196.200 at the conference meet on March 18. The Nittany Lions had been building momentum for weeks beforehand as well, with their final home meet score (196.875) and their final regular-season total (197.025) each entering the top ten marks in school history.
SCOUTING TOWSON
The Nittany Lions will seek to carry their momentum into a dual with Towson in the opening round of competition. Historically, Penn State is 11-3 against the Tigers, with the first meeting between the two squads coming back in the 1969 season. The two squads have met just three times since 2000, with the Nittany Lions taking all three matchups.
This season, the Tigers (No. 31) are ranked just one spot above the Nittany Lions (No. 32) in the RoadToNationals NQS rankings. Towson's team NQS (196.450) is just .025 points higher than Penn State's (196.415), despite the Nittany Lions possessing a higher average score (196.131 to 196.104).
PENN STATE IN THE NCAA REGIONALS
Last year: The Nittany Lions qualified four members of its squad as individual competitors in the 2022 NCAA Regional. Lauren Bridgens, Alissa Bonsall, Cassidy Rushlow, and Isabella Salcedo all represented the blue and white at regionals last season.
High Scores:
- All-Around: Team – 196.725 (April 5, 2014) Individual – 39.550 (Personett, 2010)
- Vault: Team – 49.500 (April 3, 2004) Individual – 9.95 (Personett, 2010)
- Bars: Team – 49.200 (April 1, 2000) Individual – 9.95 (Bonsall, 2021)
- Beam: Team – 49.125 (April 5, 2019) Individual – 9.9 (Bastardi, 2019)
- Floor: Team – 49.450: (April 12, 2003) Individual – 9.95 (Rowland, 2003)
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State earned a 196.200 at the Big Ten Championships in its last meet before regionals. The Nittany Lions took down No. 22 Maryland, No. 25 Iowa, and Rutgers to finish seventh in the conference.
VAULT – No. 26
Penn State began the meet on vault, scoring a 49.000 and securing their fifth 49+ in a row as a team on the apparatus. A pair of 9.85s from Ava Piedrahita and Jessica Johanson (matched season-best) led the way, followed by a 9.825 from Maddie Johnston, her fourth 9.825+ of the year.
According to the RoadToNationals NQS rankings, Piedrahita is tied for the No. 23 spot on the vault in the NCAA this week and stayed even at No. 8 in the Big Ten on the apparatus.
BARS – No. 27
With a 9.925, bars anchor and senior leader Cassidy Rushlow earned her fifth 9.925 of the season on the apparatus to lead her team. Rushlow pushed Penn State to a 49.250, its highest bars score in the Big Ten Championships since 2019 and its third-best of the 2023 season. Gabbie Gallentine's 9.875 and a 9.85 from Johnston bolstered a fantastic rotation for the Nittany Lions.
Rushlow enters regionals weekend tied for No. 21 in the NCAA on the apparatus and is tied now for the No. 3 spot in the Big Ten in the RoadToNationals NQS rankings.
BALANCE BEAM – No. 34
On the balance beam, the Nittany Lions posted a 48.925, good for the team's best beam score in the Big Ten Championships since 2016. The Nittany Lions were led by a 9.875 from Isabella Salcedo, her fourth 9.875+ of the season. Maddie Johnston (9.825) and Haleigh Gibble (9.8) rounded out Penn State's top three scorers on the apparatus.
FLOOR – No. 47
The Nittany Lions closed out the Big Ten Championships with a 49.025 on the floor. Salcedo and Johanson each posted 9.85s, followed by a 9.8 from Piedrahita.
All-Around
The Nittany Lions had four all-arounders once again, with Johnston and Piedrahita leading the way with a 39.250 and a 39.175, respectively.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).