The Li-ons were forced to count two falls on beam and two low scores on floor for final scores of 47.425 and 47.400, respectively. The Lions finished with a 49.100 on bars and a 48.825 on vault.
Despite the disappointment, Shephard was happy with some of the individual efforts he saw, including Katie Rowland's 9.95 bar and floor routines, which helped her finish first in the all-around with a 39.600, her second highest all-around score of the season. Rowland scored a 9.900 on vault and a 9.800 on beam to round out her score Saturday.
Rowland was recently named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the week ending March 10 after she broke Penn State's record in the all-around, earning a score of 39.725 against Rhode Island and Maryland on March 9.
Rowland was happy with her performance Saturday as well.
"I've been trying all season to nail my vault, I still haven't achieved that one, but I'm still working on it," Rowland said about her performance Saturday. "And bars, I'm really happy about that. That's the first time I did a double layout off bars so that was really exciting. Beam, there are a few small errors I can fix, and floor just felt great."
Rowland was the only Lion to finish in the top three in the all-around. West Virginia's TeShawne Jackson and Dinorh Boyd finished second and third, respectively, with scores of 39.425 and 39.225.
The Lions could have had a second in the top three, but sometimes things happen when you least expect or want them to.
Just when the team thought it was healthy again, injury reared its ugly head once again. Junior all-arounder Katie McAvoy injured her left ankle at the end of her first tumbling pass on the floor exercise and was unable to finish her routine.
According to Shephard, McAvoy's initial status at the conclusion of the meet was that she had sprained the ankle. However, Shephard said that X-rays were going to be administered for a more definite answer. Going into the floor exercise, McAvoy had scored a 9.875 on vault, a 9.925 on bars, and a 9.85 on beam.
"It's just really hard to see her go down," Rowland said about watching McAvoy's fall. "I knew I had to step up and just kind of put that aside for a minute and do my routine and I wanted to do that for her."
Rowland followed McAvoy on the floor.
The Lions now begin preparing themselves for next Saturday's Big Ten Championships in light of McAvoy's injury. If McAvoy can't compete she will have to be replaced in all four events.
"We can deal with whatever comes our way," Rowland said about the team's preparation and confidence going into the championship. "With (Katie's) injury we don't know what's going to happen with her, but we can come back strong.
"We have a few girls that will be able to step up in her place if she's not going to be able to compete. It's mental mistakes mostly. We're ready for these meets we just have to put it together."
