RALEIGH, N.C. – No. 23 Penn State women's gymnastics posted a 197.000 at the NC State quad meet on Sunday, March 10, earning its tenth-best score ever to conclude its two-meet weekend.
After a solid start on beam, the Nittany Lions recorded season-best totals in each of the next three events, including the team's best floor exercise score since 2013.
Five 9.9-or-better scores highlighted action in Raleigh on Sunday for Penn State. Amani Herring's 9.95 on floor tied her career high and earned her the event title on the apparatus. The total is Herring's second 9.95 of her outstanding sophomore campaign. A pair of 9.9s on vault (event title) and bars for Ava Piedrahita fueled her 39.400 all-around score while Isabella Salcedo (floor) and Gabbie Gallentine (bars) each earned 9.9 tallies on their respective events.
The overwhelming success of the Nittany Lions led them to their third-best road total of the season as they took down Penn (196.050) and Texas Woman's (194.575) in their second-place finish to No. 21 NC State (197.375).
ROTATION RECAP
Penn State began on the balance beam, where Herring led the group with a 9.875 on the apparatus. Maddie Johnston and Kalea McElligott's 9.825 totals rounded out the Nittany Lions above 9.8 in the first rotation as the team earned a 49.000 score.
In rotation two, Penn State put up a 49.450 on floor, tying the sixth-best score on the event in school history. Led by Herring's 9.95 and Salcedo's 9.9, Penn State earned career-best 9.875 tallies from freshmen Alyssa Kramer and Ashley Maul. Kramer's score is her sixth 9.875 of her freshman campaign, while Maul's lifetime best came in just her third collegiate floor routine. Penn State's all-arounders took the final two spots on the list, with Piedrahita collecting a 9.85 and McElligott earning a 9.825.
On vault, Penn State tied its season-best mark with a 49.250, highlighted by Piedrahita's 9.9 that won the event. Johnston (9.875), McElligott, (9.85), Herring (9.825), and Jessica Johanson (9.8) all earned 9.8-or-better totals to complement Piedrahita.
The Nittany Lions' 49.300 on bars set a season-best mark for the squad in the fourth and final rotation. Gallentine and Piedrahita's 9.9 scores led the way while 9.85 tallies from McElligott and Johnston bolstered the Penn State group.
In the all-around, Piedrahita earned a 39.400, tying her fourth-best score of the season, and McElligott posted a 39.350, tying her second-best total of the campaign.
WHAT'S NEXT
The 23rd-ranked Nittany Lions travel to George Washington to wrap up their regular season on Sunday, March 17 in a 1 p.m. tri-meet with Towson.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and X/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
