University Park, Pa. — The Penn State women's gymnastics team jumped eight spots in the latest GymInfo poll to No. 10. The Nittany Lions previously held the No. 18 spot. This is the first time Penn State has been ranked in the top 10 during the regular season since 2006. Penn State did finish at No. 9 in the final GymInfo National Rankings in 2009.
The Nittany Lions are also ranked among the top 25 on three of four events. Penn State ranks No. 7 on the uneven bars, No. 8 on beam, and No. 20 on vault.
Along with team rankings, two Nittany Lions are ranked in the top five on three events. Junior Natalie Ettl (Waukesha, Wis.) and sophomore Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) both moved up the rankings this week. Ettl garnered the No. 1 ranking for uneven bars, leading the nation with a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 9.895 and a season average of 9.786. Most recently in a quad meet at Maryland, Ettl scored a career-best 9.950 on the event to take first place.
Musser landed in the top five on vault, beam and in the all-around, and in the top 25 on bars. She ranks third in the nation on vault with a RQS of 9.895, while averaging 9.861 on the event so far this season. Musser leads the nation on beam with a RQS of 9.875 and ranks third nationally in the all-around with an RQS of 39.310. She's averaging 39.225 in the all-around for the season. In addition, Musser is tied for 25th in the nation with an RQS of 9.825 on bars and a season average of 9.821.
Penn State is one of two Big Ten teams to earn a spot in the top 10 and one of six in the top 25. Other Big Ten teams in the top 25 include, No. 8 Michigan, No. 14 Illinois, No. 15 Iowa, No. 17 Ohio State, and No. 21 Minnesota.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions return to Rec Hall for two straight weekends on Feb. 26 when they host Ohio State at 1 p.m. The meet will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network and is a double dual with the Nittany Lion men's team. Penn State remains at home to host N.C. State and Maryland on Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m.