STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Jan. 31, 2003 - The 20th-ranked Penn State women's gymnastics team plays host to Pittsburgh beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions are coming off upset wins over eighth-ranked Denver and 11th-ranked Iowa State last weekend.

Senior Katie Rowland (Georgetown, Ontario), who was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week by the conference this week, comes into the meet after producing her highest all-around score of the season (39.400) last weekend at Denver. Freshman Meredith Hoover (Dublin, Ohio) earned her first collegiate event title by posting a 9.850 on the balance beam, helping Penn State to its highest all-around score of the season (195.075). The Nittany Lions posted season-highs in all four events, recording a 49.100 on the vault, a 48.875 on the bars, a 48.850 on the beam and a 49.050 on the floor.

Several Nittany Lion gymnasts set season highs while competing in Denver. Hoover bested her vault score while tying her beam and floor scores. Freshman Michelle Ilg (Colonia, N.J.) competed for the first time on bars, scoring a 9.600 while also setting personal bests on the vault (9.800) and floor (9.825). Rowland set season highs on the bars, beam and in the all-around while sophomore Kate Stopper (Reinholds, Pa.) set a career- and season-high on the vault with a 9.800. Junior Kelly Streicher (Colorado Springs, Colo.) also set a season-high in her home state, posting a 9.800 on the bars.

Pittsburgh fell to New Hampshire last weekend, 194.7 to 194.275. Diandra O'Conner set a personal best in the all-around with a score of 39.175, which also placed her third in the all-around for the meet. Alyse Zeffiro set her career high on the vault with a 9.825. Last week, Pitt freshman Roslyn Singleton earned EAGL conference Specialist of the Week honors for her performance against 27th-ranked Missouri. She finished first on the floor with a 9.875, which was also the first floor routine of her collegiate career. The Panthers upset Mizzou in that meet, 195.4 to 194.1, a point total that ranked second in program history.

Visit Penn State's official athletics website, www.GoPSUsports.com for more information on the Nittany Lion women's gymnastics team.