In an event dubbed “Tumble and Rumble,” Cornell gymnastics hosted a dual meet alongside Red wrestling, notching a second place finish in the Sunday contest.
Competing in Bartels Hall’s Newman Arena, the wrestling team competed against the University of North Carolina, while the gymnastics team faced Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland and the College at Brockport.
Gymnastics scored a 189.775 overall, narrowly falling behind Brockport, which scored 189.800. SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College earned 189.025 and 188.625, respectively, closely trailing the Red.
The team began on vault, where senior Samantha Henry notched fourth place and freshman Amy Krueger earned fifth.
From there, gymnastics hit its stride, earning three individual event titles in the following three events. While Cortland took the lead in bars and Ithaca placed first in vault, Cornell earned first place event titles on the beam and the floor.
The Red’s second rotation was on bars, where junior Amy Shen scored a 9.8, earning her a first place title. Junior Olivia Tometich also matched her personal record with 9.675, leading to a third place finish.
Moving onto beam, junior Izzy Herczeg and freshman Victoria DeMeo earned sixth and seventh place, respectively.
Associate head coach Melanie Hall highlighted Herczeg’s “great floor routine” as key to Cornell’s success, praising the competitor for “now coming back into her stride.”
The Red finally finished on the floor, with junior Madison Smith and senior Samantha Henry tying for first place with scores of 9.875. In the process, Smith matched her personal record to earn an individual title for the event, while sophomore Sara Maughan scored a 9.825 to take the second place title overall.
As the team turns towards conference competition, Hall stressed the need to “[focus on] the little stuff,” adding that improving bonuses and each gymnast’s specific skill set could boost the Red’s scores.
Next weekend, the Red will host Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University for the Ivy Classic Championship on Feb. 23.