Jan. 15, 2008

Highlights vs. Penn State and Kenn State - FREE

PITTSBURGH - Pitt freshman Molly Moyer was named as the EAGL Rookie of the Week for her performance in last weekend's tri-meet with Penn State and Kent State. She led the Panthers to a third-place finish and a score of 190.450 in her first meet as a Panther.

Moyer (Telford, Pa./Homeschooled) placed in the top 10 of in each of the three of the events in which she competed last weekend, including a second place finish on the floor exercise. Her score of 9.850 on floor put her in 20th place in the nation for the event. She also scored a 9.600 on beam and 9.650 on vault, landing her in eighth place for both events during the tri-meet.

Dani Bryan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) scored a 9.800 on the vault in last weekend's tri-meet, landing her in 53rd place in the nation. Bryan also tied for sixth place in the floor exercise after scoring a 9.750. Both Bryan and Moyer will be key competitors in the floor exercise entering the team's next meet at Michigan State.

Several other Panthers enjoyed solid performances in the team's first action of the season and will look to build off those successes against the Spartans. Senior Samantha DeBone (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield), tied for fifth place last weekend on bars with a score of 9.750. DeBone is a two-time All-EAGL selection on bars who has anchored the Panther lineup at both the Blue and Gold meet and the tri-meet.

Redshirt freshman Sarah Thompson (Shokan, N.Y./Onteora) made her debut as a Panther last weekend and led Pitt on the balance beam. Thompson scored a 9.725, placing fourth and helping Pitt to a team score of 47.850, the second best beam score in the North East region.

Beam veteran Anya Chayka (Germantown, Md./Richard Montgomery) will also play a key role for Pitt against Michigan State after scoring a 9.650 last weekend. Her performance landed her in sixth place overall and second for the Panthers. DeBone, who earned the beam title at Pitt's intrasquad meet and was honored as a first team All-EAGL selection last season, will also be an integral part of the Panther rotation this weekend.

The Panthers non-conference match up with Michigan State is schedules for Saturday, Jan. 19, with action slated to begin at 7 p.m.