Things just keep getting better for the gymnastics team as they recorded a season-high 191.750 in an outstanding victory over ECAC rival Temple this weekend.
“Our scores just keep getting better,” said senior Christina Baez. “This is the first match where we really did our best in all four competitions.”
The Red had the best team score in all four competitions including first place individual finishers in three of the four contests.
“Overall the team’s coming together really well,” said senior co-captain Kari Kucera. “There’s always room to improve but we’re peaking at the right time.”
Junior Colleen Davis placed first in the vault competition with a score 9.750 while sophomore Sari Tepper finished close behind placing 3rd with a 9.650. Junior Leslie Gregory rounded out the top five with a score of 9.525.
Freshman Molly Parker and sophomore Jennifer Yee shared the victory in the Bars competition with both girls scoring a 9.700.
The beam competition was particularly good for the Red with the team claiming each of the top four individual places. Sophomore Stacey O’Hara was victorious after attaining a score of 9.775. Junior Megan Gilbert finished close behind in second place and a 9.700. Freshman Amanda Chirlin finished in third with a 9.675 while senior co-captain Kari Kucera placed fourth with a score of 9.650.
“We pretty much hit every single event,” Kucera said. “This is a big step in the right direction.”
The Floor was the only competition where the Red did not have an individual champion, however, they still had the best team score in the event including placing three teammates in the top 5. Kucera and junior Leslie Gregory finished tied for second with a score of 9.725 while Gilbert round out the top 5 with a 9.600.
The Red was able to get Gilbert, who placed in the top five in both the Beam and Floor events, back to full strength against Temple after only being able to compete in Vault earlier in the season.
“This was the senior’s last home match and it couldn’t have gone much better,” Baez said. “All the seniors did really well and had some of the top performances.”
Some of the top senior performances included Baez in beam and Kucera, who placed second in floor and fourth in beam with scores of 9.725 and 9.650 respectively.
During Senior night all of the underclassmen paid tribute to the seniors on the team who have been terrific leaders and have led the Red through a remarkable performance all season.
“I love this team. It has impressed me so much this year.” Kucera said. “Our goal was to hit 190 once before Nationals this season and we’ve already done it three times.”
The Red has also missed senior Randi Bisbano who has been injured all season after tearing her achilles but is still there to support the team.
The team now has its eyes on Penn, the ECAC championships, and Nationals at the end of the season.
“If we stay focused and keep doing what we’re doing then we’ll definitely do well at ECAC and Nationals.” Baez said.