Pitt gymnasts tumble to dual meet loss at Penn State

Tracey Pearson’s dynamic floor performance continued a successful season for the senior, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Pitt gymnastics team to victory in a dual meet with the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday afternoon.  

Pitt (6-10 overall, 0-5 EAGL) fell to Penn State (6-6 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) by a 195.200-193.525 score in Saturday’s rivalry matchup in State College, Pennsylvania. The Panthers performed well on the vault, recording a 48.725 to top the Nittany Lions in the event. But Pitt came up short in the other three areas of the competition, bolstering the team’s narrow loss.

The Panthers began the meet by recording a score of 47.900 on the bars. Junior Dani Hall and sophomore Lucy Brett both recorded scores of 9.675, good enough for a share of sixth place in the event.

Pitt performed well on the vault in the second rotation of the meet, outscoring the Nittany Lions 48.725-48.575. Pearson scored a 9.775 to lead the way for Pitt, while first-year gymnast Deven Herbine also recorded a 9.775 in her first appearance as a Panther. Both scores were tied for fourth place in the competition.

Pearson turned in a superb floor performance, recording a score of 9.850 to place second in the event. First-year gymnast Alecia Petrikis finished fourth overall in the floor performance with a score of 9.775 for Pitt, while sophomore Brittany West competed on the floor for the first time this season and scored a 9.625.

The Panthers finished out the floor exercise with a score of 48.400.

Pitt closed out the meet on the beams. West dazzled, recording a season-high 9.850 to place second in the event. Her score matched her career-high on the beam. Meanwhile, Panthers junior Taylor Laymon placed fourth with a new career-high score of 9.750, and Pitt finished on the beam with a score of 48.450.

The Panthers will return home for a quad-meet Friday, March 3, where they will take on the Michigan State Spartans, Towson Tigers and the rival West Virginia Mountaineers. This is the final home meet of the 2017 season for Pitt and will serve as Senior Night.