Panthers Set for Final Home Meet of the Season
3/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 18, 2006
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt Panthers (11-9, 3-6 EAGL) will host No. 16 Penn State (9-5, 1-2) in their final home meet of the season. In the "Battle for the Keystone State," the Panthers are looking to close out a near-perfect home season with only one loss in the Field House this year. Seniors April Pearson (Jacksonville, Fla./Wolfson) and Lindsay Swan (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) will also be recognized for their commitment to Pitt gymnastics over the years.
"Penn State is always a big meet for us," said Head Coach Debbie Yohman. "It's good to go up against the best. This weekend will be a little different from in the past because we won't be using our usual lineup. We have a few minor but aggravating injuries right now, and as much as we would like to see how we stack up against the Nittany Lions, we need to be conservative and get our injuries healthy for EAGL's next weekend."
Anchoring the floor exercise for the Panthers will be junior Robyn Marszalek (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) who is averaging a 9.718 on the event this season and has put up scores of a 9.700 or better in her last three competitions. Sophomore Samantha DeBone (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) will be a leader on the balance beam. She scored a career-high 9.900 on the event at the Field House earlier this season. She'll also anchor the uneven bars for the team. With recent injuries, the Panthers will only have five competitors on that event. Pitt has seen major improvements on the vault this season, and with a regional qualifying score of 48.180, it's the team's second best event.