Gymwomen shine in defeat

The final score of any competition sometimes tells only half the story. This was the case at the Penn State women's gymnastics meet at the Bruin Classic Sunday evening.

Without leading all-arounder junior Missy Leopoldus, junior Janae Whittaker and freshman Maria Taylor, the No. 7 Lady Lions finished third (190.8) behind No. 11 Oregon State (192.55) and No. 5 UCLA (194.55). Cal-State Fullerton took fourth in the meet with a 189.275.

What is lost in the result is that Penn State counted only one fall during the competition. Junior Ellen Casey finished fourth in the all-around with a 38.65 while freshman Gemma Cuff was seventh (38.525).

With only 1,189 in attendance at Pauley Pavilion, where the Bruin basketball teams play, the site resembled a mausoleum more than a rowdy auditorium. Cuff said she noticed the contrast between the atmosphere at the Pavilion and Rec. Hall.

"The crowd was small and they weren't enthusiastic," she said. "It was completely different from our home meets."

On Feb. 14 Ohio State, Penn State suffered three falls on beam and was determined not to let that happen again. On Sunday, the apparatus would be its first event of the evening.

The team went out and hit all six of its routines, earning a 47.925. Casey scored a 9.675, Cuff got a 9.6 and senior Joanna Knox received a 9.575.

The trend continued throughout the rest of the events. On floor, Cuff had a 9.7 while Casey finished with a 9.65.

"Everybody did great who competed," sophomore Nikki Smith said. "Besides vault, we did some of our best routines on the other events. We really pulled together and did great and we are proud of that."

The meet was a chance for the California native Smith to display her gymnastic talent before a crowd which consisted of her family and friends. And she did not disappoint. She received a 9.75 on bars and beam and a 9.625 on floor.

"It was great. I was happy to be back in California with my family," Smith said. "The last four meets I've been kind of down but this meet I was excited about it."

A main factor behind the lower scores Penn State received was due to the judging, said Smith. She said there were routines some gymnasts hit, did a successful dismount and only got a 9.3 or 9.4. She pointed out that if the same routine was judged at Rec Hall, it would be a 9.6 or 9.7.

Judging aside, the most important thing that came out of this meet was the ability of each gymnast to complete her routine cleanly. That was the objective coming into the Bruin Classic and Shephard said he was genuinely happy with their contributions.

"I'm just very pleased that everyone stepped it up and performed very well."