No. 15 'U' to Compete at No. 16 Penn State Saturday

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The No. 15 University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team (4-3, 2-2 B1G) is getting set to compete with the No. 16 Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2, 3-1 B1G) on Saturday afternoon at Rec Hall. The meet is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT and B1G+ will stream.

The Gophers are coming off a loss in their highest scoring meet of the season (197.275) last Saturday against No. 5 UCLA. No. 16 Penn State competed twice last weekend, dropping matchups to No. 3 LSU and No. 11 Michigan State.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 15 Minnesota vs. No. 16 Penn State
Saturday, Feb. 14
1 p.m. CT
Rec Hall
State College, Pa.
TV/Stream: B1G+
Commentators: Michael Siroty (Play-By-Play)
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

2026 SO FAR

The Minnesota gymnastics team enters Saturday's meet with a 4-3 (2-2 B1G) record. They've competed against a difficult schedule so far, but have posted a 3-2 record against top-25 ranked teams.
After going 1-1 in their first meet at No. 5 Utah and vs. Iowa, Minnesota took down consecutive top-10 ranked opponents in No. 10 Arkansas and No. 5 Michigan at home.
Following a setback at Nebraska on Jan. 24, Minnesota reeled off consecutive 197+ performances with a 197.050 win over Iowa and a season-best 197.275 in a defeat to No. 5 UCLA.
The 'U' holds 15 event titles this year across six meets, led by freshman Arianna Ostrum with four.
Minnesota ranks 15th overall in the Road to Nationals rankings, placing 16th on vault, 22nd on bars, 15th on beam and 10th on the floor.
The 'U' is 3-1 at home this year, 0-2 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites. In Big Ten competitions, they're 2-1 at home and 0-1 on the road thus far.
Picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll, Jordyn Lyden and Gianna Gerdes were picked as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch.

WEEK SIX RECAP VS. UCLA

The No. 17 Minnesota gymnastics team fell to the No. 5 UCLA Bruins in a Big Ten matchup on Saturday night at Maturi Pavilion. The final score was 197.550-197.275, Minnesota's best score of the season. A program-record 5,081 fans attended the meet.
Minnesota moved to 4-3 (2-2 B1G) on the year while UCLA advanced to 8-2 (4-0 B1G). Two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles stole the show for the Bruins, going a meet-best 39.625 all-around, including a perfect 10 on the floor.
The Gophers posted scores of 49.425 on vault, 49.175 on bars, 49.325 on beam and 49.350 on the floor. UCLA went 49.400 on vault, 49.300 on bars, 49.425 on beam and 49.425 on the floor.
Individually, Arianna Ostrum led the 'U' on vault (9.950) and Emma Slevin (9.900) led Minnesota on bars. Lauren Pearl (9.925) led on beam and Jordyn Lyden led on the floor with a career-best 9.950.
Arianna Ostrum won her fourth career event title with her career-best 9.950 on vault. Pearl tied for her second beam title with her 9.925.

SCOUTING PENN STATE

No. 16 Penn State (4-2, 3-1 Big Ten) is led by ninth-year head coach Sarah Brown. She's led PSU to three straight NCAA Regionals Appearances and last year hosted a regional at Rec Hall. The team finished with an 11-7 record, including a 5-0 mark at home.
Last Friday, Penn State secured the team's fifth-straight score of 196.000 or above as the team fell to the No. 3 LSU Tigers (5-1-1), 197.525-196.125. They hit their sixth-straight in a 196.725-197.125 loss to No. 11 Michigan State. They hold wins over Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers and Yale so in 2026.
In the Big Ten Preseason Poll, the Nittany Lions were picked to finish eighth. Sophomores Dani Latronica and Elizabeth Leary were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch. PSU ranks 23rd on vault, 13th on bars, 13th on beam and 19th on the floor so far in 2026.
PSU has 11 returners in 2026, including 2024 B1G Freshman of the Year Kalea McElligott and 2024 First Team All-Big 10 honoree Ava Piedrahita.

LAST TIME THEY COMPETED AT PENN STATE

In 2024, the then No. 16 University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team (7-0, 3-0 B1G) delivered a season-best performance in a win at Penn State (5-2, 1-2 B1G). The Gophers totaled a score of 197.525 to PSU's 197.025.
The victory was Minnesota's second-ever at Rec Hall. It's score of 49.575 was the program's fifth-best beam score ever. It was Minnesota's best outing on the beam since March 5, 2021 (49.600) against Illinois.
The all-around crown went to Gianna Gerdes with a score of 39.525. Then-freshman Jordyn Lyden delivered a 9.975 on bars. The score tied for the program record on the event.

EVENT TITLES APLENTY

So far in 2026, the 'U' holds 15 event titles. Teryn Crump (9.900) won on vault, Jordyn Lyden (9.925) won on bars and Leah Gonsiorowski (9.900) won on the floor vs. Michigan. Arianna Ostrum and Sophie Swartzmiller (9.875) tied for the floor title vs. Arkansas.
On Jan. 31 vs. Iowa, Minnesota won four more titles. Arianna Ostrum tallied a career-best 9.900 on vault for her third title of the season, including first on the event. Jordyn Lyden won her second bars title of the year with a 9.900 while Lauren Pearl won on beam with a 9.900, her first event title of the year. Sophie Swartzmiller won her second floor title of 2026 with a 9.900, tying a career-best.
On Feb. 7 vs. UCLA, Arianna Ostrum (9.950) won on vault and Lauren Pearl (9.925) tied for the beam title.
Overall in 2025, Minnesota won 47 event titles in 14 meets. That included 11 vault (by four individuals), 13 bars (three individuals), 12 beam (five individuals) and 11 floor (two individuals).

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

After week six, Minnesota comes in at No. 15 (196.467 avg.) in the Road to Nationals rankings. The Gophers rank 16th on vault (49.075 avg.), 22nd on bars (49.004 avg.), 15th on beam (49.113 avg.), and 10th on floor (49.275 avg.).
Minnesota began 2026 ranked No. 15 in the WCGA Preseason poll. They ranked behind only No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan St. and No. 14 Michigan in the Big Ten. Currently, UCLA is 5th, Michigan is 8th and Michigan State is 11th.

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

Nationally, Minnesota has three gymnasts ranked in the top-50 of events this season.
Jordyn Lyden ranks 43rd on bars (9.858 avg.) and 30th on beam (9.867 avg.).
Arianna Ostrum is 25th on all-around (39.292 avg.).
Isabella Nguyen ranks 15th on vault after debuting with a 9.875 last week vs. UCLA.

TOP SCORES PER EVENT

Minnesota's top vault performance of the year came on Feb. 7 vs. UCLA, as the Gophers totaled 49.250. On bars, their top outing came on Jan. 31 vs. Iowa with a 49.399.
For the beam team, their 49.425 on Jan. 10 vs. Arkansas took the cake. They improved from just a 48.775 team score just eight days prior.
On the floor, Minnesota tallied a 49.350 Jan. 24 at Nebraska. They've gone 49.300-or-higher the last three meets.
Minnesota's team score of 197.150 on Jan. 17 was the earliest in a season the Gophers recorded a 197-or-higher since totaling a 197.025 on Jan. 15, 2021. The 'U' also went over 107 on Jan. 31, tallying a 197.050 vs. Iowa. It's best score came on Feb. 7 vs. UCLA with a 197.275.

OSTRUM MAKING IMPACT AS A ROOKIE

Named one of College Gym News' Freshmen to Watch, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., native Arianna Ostrum has stood out early for the Maroon and Gold. She competed all-around in her second career meet Jan. 10 earning a 39.075 score. She posted a 9.850 on beam and tied for an event title with a 9.875 floor score. Her and teammate Sophie Swartzmiller split the honor.
Ostrum won her second event title at Nebraska Jan. 24, going a career-best 9.900 on the floor. She leads MN in event titles with four.
Ostrum went all-around for the second time in her career on Jan. 31, posting a career-best 39.375. She hit a career-best 9.900 on vault to win her first title on the event. She followed that up with 9.775 on bars, 9.850 on beam and floor. She missed the all-around title by .025.
She continued to change her best with a 39.475 all-around score against UCLA, trailing only Jordan Chiles. She won the vault title outright with a career-best 9.950. She also earned a career-best on the floor with a 9.925.

UP NEXT
The 'U' travels to Washington for a meet on Friday, Feb. 20. B1G+ will stream the event, which starts at 8:30 p.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Teryn Crump

Gianna Gerdes

Leah Gonsiorowski

Jordyn Lyden

Isabella Nguyen

Arianna Ostrum

Lauren Pearl

Emma Slevin

Sophie Swartzmiller