UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State women’s gymnastics is off to a hot start in 2025, entering the halfway point of February 8-3 in total and 4-0 at home.
The Nittany Lions find themselves ranked No. 25 in the most recent Road to Nationals college gymnastics rankings, with the teams only two losses coming to No. 11 Auburn and No. 13 Minnesota.
Penn State’s last meet was Friday, Jan. 31, against Illinois at Rec Hall. It was the Nittany Lions Women’s Empowerment Meet.
Penn State scored a 196.325 just barely eking out the win against Illinois’ 195.900. This was the first time Penn State defeated Illinois in a regular season bout since Feb. 2, 2019. Illinois comes in at No. 21 in the national rankings.
An elite floor performance helped the Nittany Lions top the Fighting Illini, with sophomores Alyssa Kramer and Kalea McElligott leading the way with 9.9 tallies in the event.
McElligott received the Ann Carr Award, given to the most inspirational gymnast of the meet in Penn State’s home competitions, for her highest individual score of the season with 39.275.
Penn State continued its hot streak with a win at No. 33 Maryland. One of the Nittany Lions closest meets ended 195.550-195.225.
Scoring a 39.050, freshman Elizabeth Leary earned her first all-around win of her career. Her 9.85 totals on vault, beam and floor led the Nittany Lions to their win.
The most recent meet on Friday, Feb. 14, was Penn State’s toughest challenge yet. The Nittany Lions were tasked with a 2,584 mile road trip to take on No. 2 UCLA.
McElligott did her best to help Penn State make an upset, scoring her career-best 39.275 all-around total. Despite this, the Nittany Lions went on to fall 195.450-197.675. Their 195.450 would have been enough to win nine of its 11 meets this year.
