BY TUCKER MAGGIO-HUCEK
One week before the Ivy League Classic, Cornell gymnastics posted its best team score of the season. The Red finished in second with a 191.925, just short of first place, while Temple claimed the top spot at the Shelli Calloway Invitational with a 192.325. In addition to scoring a team high, the Red had two gymnasts win first place in bars and vault respectively.
Senior captain Lexi Schupp spoke about the team finding its rhythm in competition.
“Now that we are in the middle of our season, the team has really started to put everything together. Our performance at Towson proved that we have high skill quality and are now able to perform on every event,”she said.
Despite scoring a point higher on the beam this week, the event hurt the Red’s chances to catch Temple. Junior Maia Vernacchia was the only Top-5 finisher for Cornell, with her score of 9.675 on the beam earning a tie for fifth place. Vernacchia was the only member of the Red to finish in the Top-10 spots.
Yet again, the Red shone on the bars, winning the event as a team and having three Top-5 finishers. With a lineup that has seen success for most of the season, the women continued their run of form. Schupp won the bars event for the second meet in a row with a 9.800, closely followed by freshman Elana Molotsky, the third place finisher with a 9.725. In a tie for fourth place was senior Melanie Jorgensen, whose routine earned her a 9.700. The trio of Schupp, Molotsky and Jorgensen continued to shine for the Red, having finished in the top three spots on the bars last week at the Big Red Invitational.
RYAN LANDVATER/ SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERFlying High | Senior Lexi Schupp took first on bars for the second meet in a row.