Jan. 28, 2002

PITTSBURGH-Although the Pittsburgh gymnastics team dropped a 193.5-191.0 decision to No. 25 Penn State at Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday evening, sophomore Diandra O'Connor was able to lead the Panthers to a season high in scoring with four individual season highs and two career highs.

O'Connor (Owasso, Okla./Owasso) performed in all four events for the third consecutive meet and her 38.525 all-around points were enough to give the Panthers a season-high 191 points.

She posted a 9.85 on the floor exercise, which was also a team-high score for the 2002 season, and the second of her two career highs. Her first came on the balance beam, when she received a 9.725 from the judges. Her scores were good enough to place her fourth in the all-around, fourth on beam and in a tie for second place on the floor.

Fellow sophomore Marcy Blitz (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) also posted two career highs with a 9.75 on the uneven parallel bars and a 9.6 on the floor exercise and that was after receiving a tenth of a point deduction for stepping out of bounds.

In all, the Panthers earned or tied 14 season highs in 24 routines. Of the four event scores, the Panthers had season highs on the bars with 47.3 points and on the floor with 48.6 points.

The meet was close after two events with the 25th-ranked Nittany Lions (1-6) holding just a four-tenths of a point lead. The Panthers had to count two falls on beam, however, and Penn State had three near-flawless floor routines to open the lead considerably after the third rotation.

Pittsburgh's vault team has been at its best through the first three meets of the season. All 18 scores thus far have been between a 9.525 and 9.75. On Sunday evening, sophomore Alyse Zeffiro (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem) led the Panthers with a 9.675, but finished in fourth place overall behind three Nittany Lions. Katie Rowland, the all-around winner with 39.475 points, earned a 9.9 from the judges and was followed by teammates Katie McAvoy (9.825) and Leslie Bair (9.775).

Blitz's 9.75 on the bars was good enough for third place overall behind McAvoy (9.825) and Rowland (9.775). Penn State also had the top three scores on the balance beam with Rowland's near-perfect 9.925 leading the way. She was followed by Lisa Campagnolo with a 9.8 and Kelly Streicher with a 9.75.

On floor, Rowland again took first place with a 9.875 and O'Connor tied McAvoy and Bair for second place with a 9.85 from the judges.

The Panthers (1-3) will compete at Missouri on Feb. 1-2 with Auburn and Brigham Young. They will return home to face Rutgers, James Madison and Wilson College on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.