IOWA CITY, Iowa – The No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions secured the program’s 12th consecutive score of 196.000 or higher on Saturday night in a loss to the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 196.525-197.075. Penn State falls to 4-4 and 3-3 in the Big Ten, while Iowa moves to 7-4 and 4-2 in conference play.
Dani Latronica led the way for Penn State with the team’s only score above 9.900 of the night, tallying a 9.925 on beam. Kalea McElligott notched a pair of 9.875s on beam and floor with Alyssa Kramer and Ava Cash also securing 9.875s on the evening.
VAULT (49.000; NQS 48.995)
Cash, the freshman, led the way for Penn State on the vault with a 9.850. Ava Piedrahita, the anchor for the Nittany Lions on vault, followed her namesake with a 9.825 on the apparatus. Elizabeth Leary continued her momentum from her Ann Carr Award showing against Minnesota with a 9.800, her third score of 9.800 or higher on the vault this season. Latronica scored a 9.775 on her routine while freshman Kayla Bender made her collegiate debut on the vault lineup with a 9.750. Graduate student Jessica Johanson rounded out the Penn State vault lineup with a 9.725.
BARS (49.200; NQS 49.220)
Piedrahita and Cash led the way for the Nittany Lions. The pair of Ava’s each scored a 9.875 on Penn State’s highest-ranked event. Leary followed Cash and Piedrahita with a 9.850 with Latronica not far behind, scoring a 9.825. Johanson scored a 9.775 on the apparatus and Ellie Monahan rounded out the event as the second gymnast in the lineup.
BEAM (49.100; NQS 49.100)
Latronica continued her hot streak on the four-inch apparatus as she scored a 9.925, good for the event title. The sophomore’s routine was her fourth consecutive routine on the balance beam that scored at or above a 9.900 and tied her season and career-high that she originally set against Michigan State. Alongside Latronica, McElligott tallied a 9.875 for her new season-high, bouncing back from last week’s score. Monahan and Kramer both recorded a 9.775 and Ashley Maul notched a 9.750. Leary rounded out the event with a 9.725.
FLOOR (49.225; NQS 49.095)
Kramer and McElligott led the way for what turned out to be the shining event of the night for Penn State. The pair who anchor the floor lineup scored 9.875s with Johanson setting a new season-high of 9.850. Amani Herring, in her return to the floor, tallied a 9.825 while Monahan and Leary totaled a 9.800 and 9.750, respectively.
UP NEXT
Penn State will host Michigan, Nebraska and Washington for the Big 4 Meet on Saturday, February 28th at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. Admission is free and the meet will be streamed on the Big Ten Network.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and X/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).