Although there were many tears and regrets at the end of the NCAA regional gymnastics championship, the women of the Penn State gymnastics team promised each other one thing: They will never close out a season like this again.

Seeded No. 2 in the region and No. 11 in the country going into the meet, Penn State placed third overall with a 195.775, just missing second place to No. 14 University of Denver by .05. Two-time defending NCAA champion University of Georgia took the crown with a 197.275.

Because Penn State placed third, it will not be compete in the NCAA championships as a team. Only the top two spots at regionals are awarded an automatic berth to NCAAs.

Going into the last rotation, Penn State was in third, behind

Denver by .25 and was assigned to compete on the floor exercise while Denver competed on the balance beam. Although there were no falls, Penn State coach Steve Shephard said Denver handled the pressure better and pulled through when it was important.

Both the gymnasts and Shephard said they will use this experience as motivation for next year.

"We gave it a run and we just came up short," Shephard said. "We didn't have a bad meet, we just made a couple mistakes in each event that cost us the meet. It was very heartbreaking to be that close and then coming away without a qualifying spot."

With four strict judges on the panel, Penn State had many scores in the 9.7s and low 9.8s, a group of scores that were lower than the team was used to receiving.

Shephard said any small mistake that was made by any gymnast was quickly noted and deducted by the judges, which is normal for a regional competition.

Even with the tight standards, Big Ten all-around champion Brandi Personett managed to shine through once again placing second overall in the floor, vault and the all-around with a career-high-tying score of 39.425. By taking the silver medal in the all-around, Personett claimed a spot in the all-around at NCAA championships that will be held at the University of Utah in two weeks.

Also highlighting the team performances was sophomore Katie Perret, taking fifth in the uneven bars with a 9.850 and eighth in the beam. Freshman Rosie Smith also took eighth in the vault, recording a 9.825. Smith said she was happy to make an impact in her first regional performance but was disappointed with the unexpected ending.

"We just wanted it so bad," Smith said. "We had it in the palm of our hand but just couldn't grasp it. I'm proud of our team and our seniors because we put up such a good fight and we can use this loss as motivation to get to nationals next year."

In the next two weeks, the gymnasts will train for next season and help boost Personett's morale, since she is the only team member participating at nationals. With Personett's exceptional rookie season and consistency, Shephard believes she has the potential to do very well in the competitive all-around pool.

"She beat some really good kids at [regionals]," Shephard said. "She's the real deal."