The No. 16 Penn State women's gymnastics team turned in stellar individual and team performances to upset the No. 14 Arizona Wildcats on Friday night. The University of Kentucky and Texas Woman's University also competed in the quad meet in Tucson, Ariz.

Led by sophomore Katie Perret, who set a new school record with a 9.975 on the uneven bars, the Nittany Lions set season-bests on the vault, bars and balance beam. Overall, the Lions scored a 196.825, the highest team score since the 2001 season.

The win comes on the heels of a strong performance in Penn State's last dual meet against then-No. 6 LSU.

"It was important to come away with a solid score," Penn State coach Steve Shephard said. "We made a few mistakes but, luckily, none were counted."

Mistakes were few and far between, however, as the team performed very well under some challenging circumstances.

Many gymnasts were showing signs of sickness while the squad was traveling, according to coach Shephard.

"It sounded like we were in a TB ward," Shephard said.

Shephard added that antibiotics had been prescribed to those who were ill and that sickness should not limit the abilities of the girls for the remainder of the season.

The order of the events was also switched from the normal routine. The Lions opened the action on floor, which in the past has typically been the final event. They then moved to the vault, the bars and, finally, the beam to close out the meet.

According to Shephard, the change was a good chance for his gymnasts to become accustomed to what is ahead.

"The order of the rotations was similar to what we will see during championship time," Shephard said. "Arizona was performing well the entire time, and it was crucial for us to end well on beam."

Adjusting well to the changes, the Lions found solid scores in nearly every event.

For the seventh time this year, senior Stephanie Sullivan claimed the title on the beam with a 9.900 as three fellow Lions hung close behind with scores of 9.850. Freshman Alexandra Brockway took third place by securing a career-high 9.900 on the uneven bars.

On the vault, freshman Rosie Smith took second place with a 9.875 while freshman Brandi Personett taking third with a 9.850.

Personett completed all four events for the first time in five competitions scoring a career-high 39.375, good enough for second place.

"It feels amazing to get back into the all-around," Personett said. "I just love competing."

With just one regular season meet remaining, Personett also said her team might even be capable of better performances.

"There is always room to get better," Personett said. "We need to stick on floor and vault, but in the meet, we did what we've been working so hard for."