UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No.16-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) fell to the No. 15 Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) on Senior Night and Pink Zone, 196.000-197.075. The Blue and White, despite the loss, continue the program’s streak of seven straight meets this season with a score of 196.000 or better, one of three programs in the Big Ten who can make that claim.
Penn State had a spectacular day on the bars event. With three scores of 9.900 or better, the Nittany Lions secured the fifth-highest bars score in program history with a 49.375, just shy of the mark set during the Maryland meet. The Blue and White also performed well on the floor exercise, securing the team’s fifth straight 49.000 or higher. After the meet, Penn State honored Jessica Johanson, Amani Herring and Ava Piedrahita and managers Camryn Longenecker and Kate Leary for their time with the gymnastics program.
The Ann Carr award, given to the athlete who achieves the most inspirational performance of each meet, was given to Elizabeth Leary after season-high all-around score of 39.175, while securing a career-high on uneven bars.
VAULT (48.950)
Ava Cash continued her strong start to her freshman season by leading the Nittany Lions with a 9.825 on the vault. Johanson had a strong effort on the apparatus with a 9.800, her fourth 9.800 in a row. Piedrahita, Leary and Allison Kaempfer had efforts of 9.775 while Dani Latronica closed out the rotation with 9.725.
BARS (49.375)
The Blue and White had an outstanding bars routine that tied the school record for the fifth-highest bars score in program history. This is the second time this year that Penn State has set a new record on the bars routine with the first coming from a 49.450 point performance against Maryland. Three Penn State gymnasts, Latronica, Cash and Leary, all scored at a 9.900 or higher with Latronica leading the way with a 9.925. Ellie Monahan and Piedrahita secured 9.825s and Johanson rounded out the event for the Nittany Lions.
BEAM (48.675)
Latronica had another spectacular day on beam. The sophomore secured her third straight 9.900 on the apparatus and tied for her second-highest score on the balance beam so far this year to close out the event for Penn State. Right before her, Alyssa Kramer secured a 9.775 and Herring scored at 9.750. Leary notched a 9.700 with Ashley Maul and Kalea McElligott rounding out the event for Penn State.
FLOOR (49.000)
The Nittany Lions had a very consistent day on the floor exercise. Kramer led the Blue and White with a 9.850 with Johanson not far behind her at 9.825. Following her, McElligott and Leary secured a pair of 9.800s with Monahan not far behind, scoring a 9.725. Kaempfer, a last minute addition to the floor line up, notched a 9.700.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions head out to Iowa City, Iowa to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, February 21st at 6 p.m. Fans can stream the meet on B1G+. The next Penn State women’s gymnastics meet is on Saturday, February 28 for the B1G 4 Meet against Michigan, Nebraska and Washington. Admission, as always, is free.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and X/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).