Gymwomen finish in third at Big Tens

The Penn State women's gymnastics team knew it had a better squad than its predecessors which produced less than stellar performances at the last two Big Ten Championships.

Its younger gymnasts had grown during those seasons and now have become proven veterans. This year, the Lady Lions also included a couple freshmen who have shown they could handle pressure situations and have complemented their upperclassmen teammates in meets.

The Lions were leading the competition after two events, however, their last event, vault, only earned them a 48.35. That was the difference in the tightly contested meet.

"We were overall pretty pleased but getting so close to winning, we wanted to get it done," Lion assistant coach Jessica Bastardi said.

"It's good going into regionals knowing that we beat Ohio State even though they beat us earlier in the season," she said.

Several Lions left Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday night with individual honors. Junior Missy Leopoldus added to her wealth of awards by being named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and being selected to the 1998 All-Big Ten team.

She ended the meet with a fifth-place finish in the all-around (38.85). Leopoldus received a 9.7 on vault and bars and was in a third-place tie with teammates junior Ellen Casey and freshman Gemma Cuff on floor (9.85).

"She fought through a couple things that could have been big mistakes," Casey said. "I think her floor routine was the best I've seen."

Casey saved her best performance of the season for the Big Tens. After battling cold and flu-like symptoms a few days prior to the championships, she won the all-around title with a career-high score of 39.25, placed fourth on beam with another career high of 9.8 and was fifth on bars (9.9).

The night was made even better as Casey received All-Big Ten honors. This caught her by surprise.

"It's definitely a great honor," Casey said. "I had no idea that I had won until they had announced it. It was a shock."

For Bastardi, the final result in the all-around was not surprising for her. She said Casey has worked hard from her freshman year, overcoming nervousness on beam, and developed into one of the top gymnasts on the team.

"She maxed out her potential and I'm really excited that she won," Bastardi said. "This is definitely one of the best meets I saw her have."

The two other Penn State all-arounders, Knox and Cuff, were also rewarded for their efforts. Knox was fourth in the all-around with a season high of 38.9 and posted solid scores on bars (9.825) and beam (9.775). Along with Cuff, Knox was a recipient of All-Big Ten status. Although Cuff got a 9.25 on beam, she was strong on the other events, receiving a 9.85 on floor and a 9.8 on bars.