In a near repeat of last weekend’s fourth-place finish at the Ivy championships, the gymnastics team performed well on the uneven bars and floor exercise while struggling on the beam and vault. In posting a score of 187.800, the Red lost by a narrow .075 margin to the visiting Temple Owls in a dual meet.
“To lose by less than a tenth of a point, its tough,” said head coach Paul Beckwith. “We had a worse-than-usual vault and beam. We need to get it together.”
After setting a school record with a team score of 48.350 at the Ivies, Cornell once again starred on the bars. Sophomore Meghan Miller was the team’s top performer on the apparatus, scoring a 9.8. Just one week after setting the school record with a 9.9 at Penn, freshman Cathy Schnell turned in her second straight sterling routine, nailing a 9.7. Sophomore Shellen Goltz turned in Cornell’s third strongest score of the event, notching a 9.75.
Miller carried her strong performance from the bars over to the floor exercise, where she scored a 9.7.
“She had a really good day,” said Beckwith. “She’s about where she averaged last year, and we need that. We need her leadership as well.”
Junior Denise Hurd posted the Red’s second highest finish with a 9.65, while Schnell came in with a 9.625.
However, the tumblers had trouble on the beam and vault. Miller posted another fine performance, with a team-high 9.525 on the beam. Goltz and senior Shannon Weiman were the next highest Cornell finishers, with each earning 9.15. On the vault, junior Rachel Goldberg led the way with a 9.45.
“We lost some of our top people,” said Beckwith, “but the people who are performing are not meeting expectations, not performing the way they should be.”
Cornell will next compete on Sunday against West Virginia and Florida in Morgantown, W.V.
Archived article by Alex Ip