February 18, 2002

Red Tumblers Finish First At H. Marranca Invitational

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The tumblers took first place out of six teams at the Hariett Marranca Invitational yesterday at Ithaca College behind impressive performances by freshmen Larissa Calka and Shellen Goltz. Cornell claimed the top spots in all events except for vault to compile a score of 188.125, topping Ithaca, Cortland, Brockport, Rhode Island and Wilson.

Magic Number

“The kids did really well,” said head coach Paul Beckwith, “we’re still trying to pass the magic 190 mark but scoring a 188 with four falls is pretty good.”

Calka (37.850) and Goltz (37.500) finished first and second respectively in the all-around. Calka also placed first in the floor exercise with an average score of 9.750, and Goltz took the top position on the balance beam with a 9.800.

Classmate Meghan Miller also turned in a strong performance, taking first place on the uneven bars with a score of 9.675, which tied her with classmate Allison Betof.

The Red swept the top five spots on that apparatus, with freshmen Andrea Mavro and Calka taking third and fourth, and senior Laura DeForest placing fifth. Miller also took second on the balance beam, and third on the floor exercise behind Calka and second-place finisher Goltz.

The tumblers placed first as a team in all events except for the floor exercise, in which the cross-town rival Bombers edged Cornell 47.525-47.325 despite the Red claiming the top three spots in the event.

“We’re happy when we can beat five other teams,” said Beckwith, “that’s always a good thing.”

Archived article by Owen Bochner