UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's gymnastics team (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) welcomes No. 16 Michigan State (3-3, 0-0 Big Ten) to Rec Hall on Friday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.
The Nittany Lions seek to knock off their second ranked opponent in two weeks when the No. 16 Spartans come to town on Friday. Penn State is coming off its highest-scoring home opener since at least 2000 as it totaled a 196.625 last week against the No. 21 Cyclones of Iowa State.
Penn State received markedly improved performances on every apparatus last week, highlighted by outstanding efforts in the all-around by sophomore Ava Piedrahita and freshman Kalea McElligott. Piedrahita scored a 39.475 in the all-around, including a career-best-tying 9.9 on floor, a 9.875 on bars, and a pair of 9.85s on vault and beam. McElligott competed the all-around for the first time in her career, recording her first career 9.9 on floor while also posting a 9.85 on vault. Penn State scored 49+ points on each event against Iowa State and won four out of five event titles in its home opener last week.
The Spartans arrive in Happy Valley as the No. 16 team in the nation after two weekends of competition. Michigan State also has three events ranked inside the top 25 in the country. Historically, the Nittany Lions own a 23-7 advantage in the all-time series since the two programs first met in 1965 but enter Friday's meet looking for their first win against the Spartans since the 2020 campaign.
TUNE IN LIVE
Live Results | B1G+ Live Stream
PROMOTIONS – MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
- Winter Wonderland theme!
- Free hot chocolate for the first 100 fans!
- Winter-themed arts and crafts!
- Face painting
- Glitter temporary tattoos
- Kid-friendly gymnastics zone
- Post-meet autograph session with Penn State gymnasts!
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
- Admission is free for all Penn State women's gymnastics home events, unless otherwise noted.
- 5 p.m. – Doors open.
- 5:45 p.m. – March in begins.
- 6 p.m. – Competition begins!
- Spectators can find sport-by-sport parking information HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State moved to 4-0 on the young season when it took down No. 21 Iowa State last Friday in its home opener.
VAULT – No. 26
The Nittany Lions started strong in their home opener, totaling a 49.075 on vault, led by 9.85 scores by Piedrahita and McElligott.
BARS – No. 42
Piedrahita and Cassidy Rushlow earned the event win on bars, each scoring 9.875s to lead the Nittany Lions to a 49.100 event score.
BALANCE BEAM – No. 24
Maddie Johnston's 9.875 on beam won her the event title and helped Penn State collect a 49.150 on the event as the Nittany Lions continued to improve their scores as the meet progressed.
FLOOR – No. 32
In the fourth and final rotation, the Nittany Lions put on a show on floor. Piedrahita, McElligott, and Salcedo all received 9.9s to claim event crowns as Penn State put on a dominant performance to clinch the victory in the final rotation. Freshman Alyssa Kramer hit her career-best score with 9.825 to support Penn State's three 9.9 scorers as the Nittany Lions totaled a 49.300 on the event.
All-Around
McElligott competed the all-around for the first time in her career on Friday, scoring a 39.325 across all four events. Piedrahita earned the event win with a 39.475.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Nittany Lions travel to Rutgers on Thursday, Jan. 25 for a 6 p.m. meet against the Scarlet Knights. The competition will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and X/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).