Penn State women's gymnastics head coach Steve Shephard was named the Northeast Region Coach of the Year and assistant coach Jessica Bastardi earned Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors as the Nittany Lions advanced to their first NCAA Championships since 2000. In addition, the Nittany Lions drew the early competition session at the NCAA Championship Preliminaries on April 21 in Auburn, Ala.

Shephard, in his 13th season, and Bastardi, in her 14th year, along with first-year assistant Aladine Naamou, led the No. 11 Lions to their first NCAA Championships berth in five years.

The Lions will compete in the early session at the NCAA Championships, beginning at 2 p.m. on April 21 in Auburn, Ala. Penn State will face Louisiana State, Utah, Oklahoma, Michigan and Nebraska in the first session.

The top three teams from each session advance to the Super Six on April 22, which will determine the national champion. Event finals will take place on April 23.