Agony in defeat

Gymwomen lose to OSU, lose All-American Leopoldus to injury

As Missy Leopoldus charged down the runaway to perform her first vault attempt Saturday afternoon, the Rec Hall crowd clapped to urge her on. As she prepared for the dismount, her left leg landed awkwardly and she fell to the mat. A loud gasp reverberated throughout the gym.

As the trainers and physicians tended to Leopoldus, a hush fell over the hall. When the teams made their way to their next events, the energy that was felt during the first rotation was not there.

Even though No. 7 Penn State was defeated by No. 12 Ohio State, 193.075-192.15, the real theme during the meet was how the Lions fought back from adversity after Leopoldus went down and the determination of sophomore Nikki Smith as she competed in the final two events after injuring her toe on bars.

The news about Leopoldus' injury was not bad following the competition. Shephard said the early indications are that she suffered a sprain in her knee.

"It was a fight from the beginning to the end," Shephard said. "They really pulled it together and fought back. I told them after the meet, 'Regardless of the outcome of this meet, you guys were all winners because you showed a lot of heart, you showed a lot of character and that's what it's about.' "

The Lions were determined to get the excitement back after Leopoldus went down. Up first on bars was senior Carey Hoyt, competing in her first routine in almost two years.

After staying on the apparatus, her dismount was greeted with a resounding roar. A flood of emotions from Shephard and the rest of the team poured out and embraces were exchanged. She scored a 9.75.

"You couldn't even put it into words," Hoyt said. "It was amazing. It's been a long road. It's just great to be back."

For Hoyt, her bars routine was a culmination of two years of rehabilitation from a compound fracture in her lower leg and two surgeries. Her afternoon was made even more memorable as she was awarded the Ann Carr Award, for the most inspirational performance of the meet.

"It would be a really downer if I would have trouble on bars," she said. "I think by me hitting we picked it up a little bit enough to get on track."

The Buckeyes, however, dominated the all-around standings as Susan Eckman and Lindsey Vagedes tied for second with 39.05. Lion freshman Gemma Cuff took the all-around with a score of 39.25. She received a 9.9 on bars, a career high, and tied her career high on floor with a 9.875.

After being down 48.975-48.15 entering the second rotation, the Lions' scores on bars included a 9.825 by senior Joanna Knox, a season high, and a 9.825 by junior Ellen Casey.

Leopoldus' injury was felt on beam as all five scores had to be counted. The Lions counted three falls and had a score of 46.5 for the event. With the Buckeyes having a solid floor rotation, which included a 9.825 by Mindi Farmer, Penn State's hopes for a miraculous comeback were all but gone.

"We could have won this meet if we hit beam even without Missy," Shephard said, "so we just have to prepare a little better than that to be consistent on beam."

The Lions finished the day on a high note on floor as sophomore Ashley Wilson scored a 9.8, Smith finished with a 9.875 and Casey notched a season-high 9.9.

"I'm very happy with my floor routine," Casey said. "I changed my tumbling pass from what I've been doing the past two years so it felt good to hit a solid routine."

In her first competitive meet, redshirt freshman Heather Duggan scored a 9.6 on vault and a 9.0 on floor.