Gymwomen upset Alabama

By GWENN MILLER
Collegian Staff Writer

Penn State women's gymnastics fans may have been feeling a bit of déją vu Friday night as the team hosted No. 2 Alabama.

There were several uncanny parallels to the Lady Lions' last two home meets. More perfect 10s were scored, personal bests were achieved and unfortunately for the Lions, a senior tri-captain was injured. And like the home meets against UCLA and Florida, No. 6 Penn State came through victorious.

But one major difference was the location. Due to the 1999 Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon being held at Rec Hall, the meet was moved to The Bryce Jordan Center. There was slight concern before the meet that the change of venue would be problematic, but all fears were laid to rest as the meet progressed.

Junior Nikki Smith led Penn State's uneven bars team with a score of 9.95 and broke teammates Ellen Casey and Missy Leopoldus' previous school record of 9.925. In the process, the bars team scored a 49.350, which eclipsed the previous record that was set at the Florida meet in January.

"We just kept rolling on bars and I did what I was capable of doing," said Smith.

While Casey's record was broken on one apparatus, the senior tri-captain set another and achieved perfection on the floor exercise. Although Casey performed her floor routine with ease, she had to do so under adverse circumstances.

During Leopoldus' floor routine, the senior tri-captain slipped on the landing of a tumbling pass and hit her head. She was carried out on a stretcher, which coach Steve Shephard explained was standard procedure when it comes to head injuries. The earliest indicators were that Leopoldus will be fine, but cautionary measures were taken nonetheless.

Watching what happened to her teammate and good friend could have been a serious detriment to Casey's performance. However, she blocked it out of her mind for the time being and came up with a 10, breaking her own school record and becoming the first Penn State women's gymnast to land a perfect score on the floor exercise.

"I thought it was incredible, especially after a teammate and fellow senior having a catastrophe on floor," said Shephard of Casey's performance.

Even though Leopoldus slipped on the floor exercise, she was as sure footed as ever on the balance beam. For the second time this season, she scored a perfect 10 in the event and led the beam team to a score of 48.950.

Before the final scores were announced, the three seniors -- Casey, Leopoldus and Janae Whittaker -- were honored for their athletic accomplishments at Penn State. The emotional ceremony was the foundation for celebration following the announcement of the scores.

A huge roar came from the crowd as the score was reported. Penn State had notched its second upset of the season, beating Alabama 197.025-196.825. The final score was also a new team record.

Alabama coach Sarah Patterson was pleased with her team's performance despite the loss, noting that it had counted only its second fall of the season Friday night. In her summary of the night, she praised the Lions and said her team could learn from the meet.

Said Patterson: "Penn State did a great job."