UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State women’s gymnastics team will join head coach Randy Jepson and the men’s gymnastics team in a double dual meet with the Ohio State Buckeyes, this Saturday (Feb. 2) at Rec Hall.
PROMOTIONS: Saturday’s showdown will mark Penn State’s "Paint it Pink" meet. T-shirts will be available for purchase at the entrance to Rec Hall, with all fans buying or wearing their 2013 "Paint it Pink" t-shirts garnering free admission to the meet on Feb. 2. Fans can also purchase a "Paint it Pink" t-shirt on the west concourse of Rec Hall during the meet. T-shirts run in all sizes and cost $15. The men’s and women’s squads will be wearing pink during the meet to show their support for breast cancer awareness.
"We always look forward to the pink meet, especially this year against Ohio State," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "It will be a night where both women’s team will be wearing pink and do away with their school colors to support breast cancer awareness. The other fun thing is the guys will be wearing some pink too. I don’t know if it will be their shorts, socks or what, but everybody gets in the spirit to ‘Paint it Pink’ Saturday night in Rec Hall."
The Nittany Lions are coming off an excellent meet last weekend as they posted a season-best score of 195.500 on to take first place in a quad meet with Iowa, No. 20 Pittsburgh and Rutgers in Rec Hall. Finishing behind the Nittany Lions was Iowa at 195.325, followed by Pittsburgh at 193.575 and Rutgers at 193.225. Senior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was the all-around champion with a score of 39.525, a season-best for her. Musser was an individual event champion on the vault, bars and beam while finishing third on the floor exercise. Her efforts earned her Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the 12th time in her remarkable career.
The Nittany Lions are currently ranked 27th in the country with a 194.419 average according to the GymInfo rankings. The Nittany Lions are eighth on the uneven bars (48.9810) and 18th overall on vault (48.969). Individually, Musser ranks 20th in the country on vault, 22nd on the uneven bars and tied for 18th on balance beam.
The Buckeyes enter Happy Valley currently ranked 18th nationally in the GymInfo Top 25. As a team, Ohio State sits at 15th nationally on the vault with a 49.025 average and 21st on the uneven bars with a 48.763 mark. The Buckeyes’ Sarah Miller is in a tie for 12th in the country on the balance beam to go along with 14th on vault and 17th on floor.
For complete coverage of Penn State women’s gymnastics, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-gym.
Follow Penn State women’s gymnastics on Twitter: @PennStateWGYM.
Follow Penn State women’s gymnastics on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PSUWomensGymnastics.