At the USA Gymnastics national championship in Denton, Texas this weekend, the Cornell team capped off its 2018 season and replicated its finish from 2017 — fourth out of the four teams that qualified for the finals. Cornell finished behind Texas Women’s, Lindenwood and Air Force, respectively.
Cornell was able to find success in the semifinals on Friday evening when the Red set a school record in its team finish and also qualified three athletes for the individual finals on Sunday. Freshman Amy Shen, junior Kaitlin Green and freshman Izzy Herczeg all finished in the top five of their respective events.
Cornell’s final team score in the semifinal of 195.000 was a program-best and enough for the Red to finish second in a field that could only qualify two teams for the final round.
On Sunday, the Red got off to a slow start and ultimately posted a team score of 193.650, which was not enough to top any of the other three remaining teams in the field — solidifying Cornell’s spot at fourth overall.
Shen earned a spot as a first team All-American in the all-around and the Vault, and she also performed well enough to earn a second-team selection on bars. Green, the reigning national champion on the beam, was unable to repeat her title and settled for third in the event, earning her second consecutive All-American certificate to start her collegiate career.
Joining Shen and Green as All-Americans were Herczeg, junior Kelsy Kurfirst and freshman Madison Smith.