By David F.P.
(Scores from Troester.)

URI at Illinois State

For the New England teams, the week began February 8th, on a Friday night in Normal, Illinois as the URI Rams were on the road to take on the Redbirds of Illinois State. The home team would pick up the victory with a season high 193.975, but the Resilient Rams of Rhode Island had a season high of their own with a 190.625.

On the scoring front, URI had good contributions from everyone in the lineup in one way or another in order to make the score happen. Ananda Fraser lead the team on the vault with a 9.675, followed by Danielle Riportella’s 9.575, Lindsay Diamond, Kara Machado, Lauren Wasilewski, and Erica Heaney all putting up good contributions.
On the Uneven Bars, Emily Rinaldo continued to excel on this event with a 9.75, right behind her was Heaney had a 9.725, the all arounding Riportella had a 9.65 as well, and Fraser a 9.625, with Jamie Reyell, and Thompson scoring well as well to lead t a 48.05 team score.

The Beam would be another big event for Rhody when Danielle Lee picked up a 9.725, and Jordana Ginsburg had a 9.7, with Alex Tirado picking up a 9.65, and Riportella a 9.6, as well as Casey Pereira and Kerry Cutler’s solid scoring contributions to put the team at 48.025 for the event. Finally on Floor, Riportella was the team leader with a 9.725, Lee had a 9.6, and Machado, Diamond, and Fraser’s score rounded out the five counted scores. Riportella would finish with a solid 38.55 on Floor. I don’t have a lot in the way of analysis except, that just a glance at the scores indicates, there is very likely plenty of room for team scoring to increase as well from this season high.

For the host Illinois State, Meaghan Koshman and Erica Schick competed in four events and Koshman acquired a 39.1, and Schick a 38.825. Koshman’s score was built a round a 9.9 on Vault, 9.825 on Bars, 9.775 on Beam, and 9.6 on Floor. Schick’s top score of 9.775 came on Bars, but along with a 9.75 on Beam, 9.725 on Floor, and 9.575 on Vault composed her score.

Hannah Deutsch lead the team on the Beam with a 9.85 in addition to a team leading 9.775 on Floor, and a 9.625 on Vault good for second on that event. Amanda Candler’s 9.8 was second on the team in the Uneven Bars, and her 9.725 was third among Redbirds on the floor. She also had a contributing 9.525 on Vault.

Andrea Orris had a 9.675 put toward the Illinois State Beam total, and Cheryl Berezan had a 9.6 to contribute to the team’s Bars score. Emily Matko put her 9.625 towards the team Floor score, and also competed on the Vault. Stacie Morris made appearances on Beam and Floor. Jessica Prousa put up a 9.825 on beam good for second among the home team and also appeared on the Uneven Bars. Robin Weissman put a 9.7 towards the team 48.7 Bars total, and also counted her vault towards the team score.

Following this meet, Illinois State is now ranked 38th in the country, two spots out of a regionals slot currently.

Cornell Invite
(While I hope to discuss the other three ECAC teams as well, I am focusing on Bridgeport in the interests of time, and will discuss the other teams as soon as possible.)

Off of a season high last week, the Purple Knights put up a solid 186.775 filled with some highs and lows. Loraine Gallow and Stephanie Morgan both put in all around performances, with Gallow reaching 38.3, and Morgan a 37.15. Gallow would lead the team on three of four events with a 9.75 on floor, 9.425 on Bars (along with Leila Behbahani), and a 9.8 on Beam, as well as a 9.325 on vault good for second place among her teammates. Morgan’s 9.525 on Beam was good for third, and her 9.325 on Bars was the second highest team score in addition to solid Vault and Floor scores.

Yvette Mirando had a 9.7 for second on Floor, and 9.725 for second place among the knights on Beam her 9.375 was a team leading score on Vault, which she shared with Ravin Iasiello. Iasiello also put up a 9.425 on Floor good for the third highest score for UB. Breanna Collins had a 9.5 on Beam which was 4th on the team but a very good fourth score to bring to the table. Hannah Forti picked up a pair of 9s on Vault and Bars and Carissa Huggins just missed a 9 on bars. Taylor Rut rounded out the Beam scoring with a 9.0

Fox Run Invitational: Penn State, William & Mary, Yale at New Hampshire
(In the interests of time I will be focusing on UNH and Yale and hopefully be able to come back to discuss the other teams soon.)

While Penn State would win the meet, UNH picked up a season high 194.225, in its quest to make the top 36. This score consisted of a ton of great individual scores. Helena Diodati continued to be on fire, with a 9.9 on vault, to lead the team, in addition to a 9.7 on Bars, and a 9.725 on Beam. Taryn LaFountain had a 9.875 on Floor to lead the Wildcats, and a 9.775 on Beam. Continuing the scoring train, Justine Turner took a 9.8 in both events she competed in (Vault and Floor), and Andie Sablosky also had a 9.8 on Floor, with Kelsey Alwin achieving that score on Bars as well.

Diane Grey had a 9.75 on Vault and Bars, and Beth Bronson picked up the same score on the Unevens, while Lindsay Kovary flipped to that score on the FX as well. Chelsea Steinberg continued to score well with a 9.7 on vault, and a 9.725 on the Beam. Melissa Cesar was on the Board with a 9.7 on Beam, and a Bars appearance as well. Keeley Smith contributed to the team Beam score with a 9.625 and also competed on Floor, and Katelyn Schenkel’s 9.65 rounded out the team’s vault counting score. Rebekah Porter contributed to the Bars score, and she also appeared on Floor, and posted a solid score on Vault.

Yale nearly matched their season high of last week, with a 189.1 putting forward a lineup with just a few changes. Brigitte Kivisto also returned to competing in four events and picked up a 37.575, behind Alina Liao’s 37.8 and ahead of Kristen Campbell’s 37.375.

Lauren Tatsuno led the team on the Vault with a 9.625, Allison Mak placed second among the Bulldogs with a 9.525, then came the all arounders with Liao’s 9.45, Kivisto’s 9.425, and Campbell’s 9.35.

On the Bars, Yale had its lowest score of the meet, but Liao still picked up a 9.64, Kivisto a 9.425, and Cynthia Leung had a 9.3. The team would put together a 48.325 on Beam though led by Campbell and Tatsuno both scoring a 9.725, and Mak having a 9.65, Liao a 9.625, and Laura Lombardi a 9.6.

Finally on Floor, Liao would contribute to the team score, Mak would pick up the team’s fourth highest mark with a 9.45, Campbell snagged a 9.625, Kivisto a 9.675, and Tatsuno had the top score of the blue and white with a 9.725.