Despite top-notch routines, gymwomen fail to top Utah

In late January and early February, Lady Lion coach Steve Shephard sensed his team, given a little more time to heal from its preseason injuries, would make serious strides in becoming a squad to be reckoned with.

In front of a fired up crowd, Penn State (6-6) gave No. 3 Utah (7-1) all it could handle but finished on the short end of a 194.850-193.975 final. The Lady Lions had nothing to hang their heads about, though, as they recorded their best score of the season.

In the all-around competition, Utah's Denise Jones took first place (38.9). The second and third spots went to Lady Lions in sophomore Janae Whittaker (38.675) and fellow sophomore Ellen Casey (38.625).

Numbers, however, were not the main topic of conversation after the meet. Shephard was happy with his team's performance throughout the competition.

"I'm very pleased," he said. "I think that the athletes demonstrated tonight that they can hang right with No. 3 ranked Utah."

In the early stages of the meet it look like Utah's rugged schedule had finally caught up to it. During the first rotation on bars, Kelley Delaney and Jenny Schmidt fell on the apparatus and registered a 9.2 and 9.1, respectively. Despite the early troubles, the rest of the Utah lineup picked it up and scored above 9.7 during the rest of the bar rotation.

Utah coach Greg Marsden said he thought his squad was flat in warm-up and the early falls served as a wake up call to bring it alive.

"The thing that was different is that I was really afraid that we were going to crash and burn tonight," he said. "It wasn't a spectacular performance. It wasn't at all what we were capable of, but it was a very good showing considering what we've been through the last couple of weeks."

The Lady Lions had no problem with their energy level during the meet. With the crowd cheering loudly after each routine, confidence was displayed with each move. On Penn State's first rotation, the Lady Lions showed they were ready for a break out. The gymnasts' vaults were followed by a pumped up Shephard congratulating them with high fives.

"I think we did really well," Whittaker said. "I think the energy was really high, and I think we did a great job of putting our energy for a good use and really pulling it out for the team."

The team saved its best performances for the last rotation on floor. Freshman Ashley Wilson began with a 9.75, and senior Bea Selz displayed elegance on the event with a 9.8. Sophomore Missy Leopoldus was next and, with the music of The Doors in the background, received a 9.75. Senior Leigh Cappello scored a 9.825 followed by Whittaker's 9.85.

Casey provided the highlight of the night for Lady Lions, as she performed a nearly flawless routine. The crowd went into a frenzy as she received a 9.925. She set the all-time Penn State record on the event, surpassing the 9.9 set by Cappello, April Polito and Janice Rogers. Casey said in addition to executing her routine she wanted to get the crowd into it.

"I was just having fun doing the routine," she said. "I just tried to smile and make sure everyone was involved in the routine."