STATE COLLEGE, Pa., January 19, 2002 -- The Penn State women¡¯s gymnastics team (0-6) suffered a close loss to Denver in their home opener Saturday night at Rec Hall. Penn State finished with a final score of 192.750, but it was not enough to top Denver, as they posted a score of 193.250.

Penn State junior Katie McAvoy (Winnipeg, Manitoba) finished first in the all-around competition, posting a score of 39.15. She was the top scorer of the meet on uneven bars with a 9.825, and tied for first on the floor exercise, posting a 9.750.

The team¡¯s score of 48.375 is season high on the floor and they also posted a season high on the uneven bars with a score of 48.175.

Each of Penn State¡¯s five all-around gymnasts finished with scores which were higher than the gymnasts who competed in the all-around competition for Denver.

Junior Katie Rowland, (Georgetown, Ontario) who finished second at the Super Six challenge last weekend, suffered a fall on the balance beam, but still finished second in the all-around this week, posting a score of 38.850.

McAvoy was awarded the Ann Carr award for outstanding gymnast at Saturday¡¯s meet.

Penn State¡¯s next meet is at Pittsburgh next Sunday at 6 p.m.

The Lions competed at the Super Six challenge last week, which will be televised on ESPN next Sunday, January 27th at 5:30 p.m.

 Penn State Individual High Scorers All-Around- 192.750 Katie McAvoy-39.150 Vault- 48.375 Katie Rowland-9.875 Bars-48.175 Katie McAvoy-9.825 Beam-47.675 Katie McAvoy-9.750 Floor-48.525 Katie Rowland-9.875