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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 17 Penn State women’s gymnastics (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) heads back to Rec Hall for week three of competition to take on the Maryland Terrapins (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) on Saturday, January 24 at 1 p.m. The home match up will be the first Big Ten meet the Nittany Lions will host in Rec Hall this season.
Due to the winter storm across the country affecting many Big Ten campuses, all live events on B1G+ scheduled for Friday, January 23 and Saturday, January 24 will be free to watch.
LAST TIME OUT
In the Big Ten opener against Illinois, Penn State recorded a 196.075 combined team score powered by a dominant showing on bars and beam. During the beam rotation, every Penn State gymnast who competed scored higher than every Illinois gymnast.
Senior Ava Piedrahita notched a team-high 9.925 on bars and the highest mark on bars of her illustrious career. Sophomore phenom Dani Latronica posted a pair of 9.875s on bars and beam, winning the event title for beam, along with a 9.775 on vault. Sophomore Elizabeth Leary followed up Latronica and Piedrahita on bars with a 9.850 while also recording a 9.775 on beam and 9.700 on vault. Graduate Jessica Johanson paced the Blue & White on vault with a 9.825 and Alyssa Kramer and Kalea McElligott both took a share of the floor event title with a 9.825. McElligott also showed out with a 9.850 on beam alongside Ashley Maul who also scored a 9.850 on the event.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State held steady in the rankings entering the third week of competition, staying put as the 17th-ranked team nationally. The Nittany Lions are the fourth-highest ranked team in the Big Ten behind only UCLA, Michigan and Minnesota. On bars, the Blue & White have the 13th-ranked rotation nationally, the third-best in the Big Ten, and on beam, the Nittany Lions are 15th in the country, ranked fourth in the Big Ten.
Piedrahita leads the Penn State bars rotation. The senior is tied for fifth nationally thanks to her 9.925 and second in the conference. Latronica and Leary are both tied at 50th nationally in their bars routines and tied at 13th in the Big Ten, with each averaging a 9.875. The Lake Worth native, Latronica, also found herself in the beam national rankings. Her 9.875 mark is tied for both the 43rd best in the NCAA and 11th in the Big Ten. McElligott and Kramer represent the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten rankings on floor, tied for 10th and 13th, respectively.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State holds a 26-4 advantage over Maryland in the all-time series between the two programs. In the two meetings the teams had last season, the Nittany Lions downed the Terrapins at the Lone Star Challenge, 196.100-195.400, and in College Park, 195.550-195.225. In both meets last year, the Blue & White outright won every event.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and X/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).