A Big 10 battle begins this Saturday, February 8th at 4:00 pm in Penn State’s legendary Rec Hall as the #8 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers take on the #23 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.

 

The Nittany Lions come into the contest with only a 194.98 average, significantly below their season high of 196.15 set last week against fellow Big 10 opponent Ohio State.

Nebraska comes in with a season average of 196.575, ranked 8^th in the nation and 2^nd in the Big 10. They look to improve upon that ranking with a win this weekend.

 

About The Teams So Far

Penn State began the season slowly, beginning at Iowa State then Kentucky, where they had to count low scores on both balance beam and uneven bars. This resulted in sub 194 scores currently plaguing their season average.

 
When they returned home, the Nittany Lions were able to smooth things out against Cornell, SE Missouri and University of Illinois-Chicago, nailing 22 out of 24 routines for a score of 196.025.

After a rough meet against Michigan State, Penn State rebounded again against Ohio State with season highs on Vault, Beam and Overall Team Score which included lots of stuck dismounts and high flying vaults.

 

Conversely, the Cornhuskers started their season off with a bang, earning a score of 196.625 against Northern Illinois including scores of 9.95 and 9.925 on Vault and Uneven Bars from Jessie DeZiel and a 9.95 from Emily Wong on Floor.

Their home opener is their second largest score of the season, bested only by their score this past weekend against another Big 10 team, Minnesota, with a score of 196.975. This meet included season highs from Emily Wong on Vault, Bars and Floor (9.925, 9.95 and 9.95 respectively) and Hollie Blanske on Floor (9.925).

 

Who Has The Edge

 

Vault:

Currently the Cornhuskers are ranked 8^th in the Nation and 2^nd in the Big 10 with a season average of 49.256 on Vault. With Senior Emily Wong currently ranked 24^th in the nation on Vault, this team sure brings power to the table.

Penn State is currently ranked 5^th in the Big 10 with a season average of 48.85. Freshman Emma Sibson is one to watch. She has a huge handspring front pike half vault that is quite often stuck, garnering large scores.

Expect Nebraska to be on top, but landings will be key to who will have the edge.

 

Bars:

Nebraska has been relatively clean on bars so far this year, averaging a 49.05, but it has proven to be their weak event this year. At every meet, the Cornhuskers have had to count a score of 9.775 or lower on bars, so look for that to change.

On the contrary, Penn State has been doing relatively well on bars. After sticking 5 of 6 dismounts at the last home meet, the Nittany Lions were ready to go scoring a season high of 49.175 on bars. Senior Kassidy Stauder leads the team with a season high of 9.875

Nebraska will most likely be leading after two rotations, but stuck dismounts and clean handstands will be key.

 

  

Beam:

Penn State has been hit and miss on balance beam this year. A couple of the meets they have had to count either falls, or routines with significant wobbles. However, when they hit, they have been beautiful and clean with stuck dismounts. Standouts on this event include senior Kassidy Stauder who is the highest ranked Nittany Lion on beam, ranked 6^th in the Big 10. Another one to watch is 2013 JO National Beam Champion, Freshman Nicole Medvitz. She is really coming into her own with beautiful, unique flexibility and big skills. Hitting 5 routines may pose a challenge for the Nittany Lions, but if they can hit, expect a big score.

Nebraska has quite a beam team of their own considering they are ranked #1 in the Big 10 and 6^th in the nation with a season average of 49.081. Junior Jennifer Lauer has helped them significantly as she is ranked #1 on beam in the Big 10 and 6^th in the national standings. Also providing large scores are sophomore Jessie DeZiel and senior Emily Wong.

Whoever is able to hit 5 routines, minimize wobbles and stick dismounts will have the edge.

 

Floor:

So far this year, Penn State’s highest scoring event has been floor. Their season average is a 49.131 which ranks them 13^th in the nation on floor. This score accentuated by a season high score of 49.4 at the last home meet. Standouts on this event for Penn State have been senior Lindsay Musgrove and junior Krystal Welsh who have both achieved the 9.9 mark this year. (9.9 and 9.925 respectively)

Nebraska is currently ranked 9^th on floor with a season average of 49.188. Senior Emily Wong has been particularly key in achieving this as she has scored a 9.95 in 3 of 4 meets Nebraska has competed in this year.

Floor will be a unique matchup with both teams neck in neck. Expect big tumbling and showy routines to garner large scores.

 

 

Overall it should be a close Big 10 matchup with Nebraska most likely taking it, but never discount home field advantage.

Keep following this page throughout the weekend as I (Amanda Reynolds) will be posting videos of both teams including post meet interviews Saturday evening.