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

MIT at SC (2-24-08)

A solid day for MIT who picked up a 180.575 without Sophia Harrison in the lineup. Alison Barnard led the team on vault with a 9.3, Rebecca Stavely flew to a 9.275 season high, and Sarah Trowbridge had a 9.2. On the bars Julia Zimmerman swung to a 9.25 to lead the team. On the Beam, Sarah Trowbridge scored a season high 9.425, Katie Mingo had a 9.2, and Zimmerman a 9.175. Zimmerman led the team on the FX with a 9.6, Mingo was second with a 9.475, Laura Kelly flipped to a season high and Elizabeth Stavely had a season high of her own with a 9.05. Sarah Trowbridge and Laura Kelly each set season highs in the all around with a 36.225, and 35.525 respectively.

Maryland at UNH (2-24-08)

UMD pulled out a close win over host New Hampshire with a 192.875 to 192.625 win. The two EAGL conference members put up a lot of solid scores in the effort.

On the Vault it was Helena Diodati topping the team’s scoring with a 9.775. Not far behind was Justine Turner with a 9.75, and rounding out the scoring was Chelsea Steinberg’s 9.65, and 9.6s from Taryn Archambault, Katie Caliendo, and Rebekah Porter. Obviously frequent starters Diane Grey and Katelyn Schenkel were not in the lineup for whatever reason there might be.

On the bars the Wildcats had a season high and it was Diodati again with the team lead of 9.85. Porter was next with her 9.775, and Kelsey Alwin and Beth Bronson swung to 9.725s. Melissa Cesar had a 9.65 to contribute to the team score.

Over on the Beam, Steinberg had a 9.875, the team’s best beam and overall score of the meet, and Keeley Smith snagged a 9.75, Taryn LaFountain had a 9.7, Turner a 9.625, and Caliendo added to the team’s scoring.

Finally on Floor, Turner lead the way, flipping to a 9.8, Porter had a 9.725, Andie Sablosky a 9.425, and Smith and LaFountain finished up the counted scores for the blue and white.

For the visiting Maryland Terrapins, Brandi George had a team leading 9.825 on the Vault, Gretchen Kittelberger was second among the black and red with a 9.65, Margaux Meeks had a 9.575, Candice King a 9.525, and Abigail Adams had the fifth counted score. UNH outscore the visitors by .6 on this event.

UMD would pick up a season high of their own, also on Bars when they had a 48.45, a little under .3 behind the Wildcats. This was constructed of Allison Dama’s team leading 9.875, George’s 9.8, Lisa Reifschneider’s 9.65, Meeks’ 9.625, and Michelle Brenner’s 9.45.

Both teams had an equal score on Beam of 48.1. Talia Tossone had the meet’s highest score of any team on any event with her 9.9. George had a 9.825, and Kittelberger, Kelsey McDermind, and Adams filled in the rest of the five counted scores.

Floor would be the difference in this meet, as the visitors put up a 48.575, 1.1 more than UNH had. This would come from a 9.825 from Brenner, and the same score from George. Kittelberger’s 9.675, Lindsey Bonomo’s 9.65, and Adams 9.6 all contributed to the event score and the victory.

George put up a 39.275 in the All Around composed of her event scores all at 9.8 or above.

It was a close meet between two very talented teams. It will be interesting to see how EAGLs plays out with these two teams involved. Both teams are also fighting for a regionals spot. As of this week Maryland is at 34th, and UNH at 40th, but as the scoring in the past has shown, UNH is capable of scoring well and pulling that ranking up. A close meet like the one today illustrates how competitive the race for regionals can be.

Ivy Classic (2-24-08)

When the four Ivy League gymnastics teams get together it is often a fun event, and this year it would seem no different as Cornell put together a 191.8 to win the Ivy Classic defeating Yale who had a 189.05, defending champ Penn who put up a 188.05, and Brown who mustered a 186.725. While the value of wins and losses is debated in collegiate gymnastics, the Ivy Classic no doubt means something to those involved.

New champion Cornell had a season high of 191.8. Their top scoring event was floor, followed by Vault. Highlights from the Big Red’s day included Brittany Howse’s 9.725 on Vault, followed by Emily Santoro and Sari Tepper’s 9.675, as well as Maddie Pearsall’s 9.65, and Megan Gilbert’s 9.575. Gabriella Sanguineti led the team on Bars with a 9.65, and Jennifer Yee and Maddie Pearsall reached or topped 9.6. On the beam, which was the relatively lowest scoring event, Gilbert, Km O’Donnell, Howse, Stacey Ohara, and Amanda Chirlin put up the contributing scores. The team ended with a bang on floor with Pearsall flipping to a 9.8, 9.75s coming Gilbert and Howse’s way and Tepper’s 9.725, as well as Emily Lenk’s 9.65.

Yale had some ups and downs on their way to second place which included setting a new season high of 189.05. Alina Liao scored a 38.675 in the all around thanks to a 9.7 on Vault, 9.5 on Bars, 9.675 on the Beam, and 9.8 on Floor. In every event but the Uneven bars, she was the team’s leading scoring. The Bars top scorer was Laura Lombardi with her 9.55. Brigitte Kivisto returned to all around competition with a 9.575 on Vault, 9.525, on Bars, and 9.675 on Floor. Allison Mak vaulted to a 9.65, and also had a 9.6 on Beam, and a 9.5 on Floor. Kristen Campbell picked up a 9.625 on Floor in addition to contributing to the team’s Vault and Beam scores. Cynthia Leung made an appearance on Bars good enough for fourth among Bulldogs with a 9.375. Lauren Tatsuno had a 9.525 on Vault, and a 9.6 on beam.

Penn had the smallest lineup in the meet with only seven gymnasts competing. Nonetheless, they posted their highest score of the season with a 188.025. On the Vault the Quakers only had five competitors, Marissa Rosen led the team with a 9.75, Jordan Brewer had a 9.625, Kerri Lutfey a 9.55, Elise Bowe a 9.375, and Lucy laCour wrapped up the scoring. On the bars, the team’s relative low scoring event which also only had five competitors, Rosen had a 9.65, Stephanie Ortiz a 9.5, and Bowe, Brewer, and Kimberly Chin were the other contributors. The Blue and Red had six in the Beam lineup, and Brewer led the way with her 9.575, Bowe, Chin, and Rosen had 9.45s, and Lutfey put up the fifth highest score. On the team’s best scoring event of all the Floor Exercise the Quakers only had five in the lineup again but Brewer and Ortiz posted 9.7s, Bowe a 9.6, Lutfey a 9.4, and Rosen had the fifth team score.

Brown completed the season high four for four among Ivy League teams when they picked up a 186.725. On the Vault, Jennifer Sobuta had a 9.575 to lead the Bears, Chelsea Binkey had a 9.475, Vicki Zanelli a 9.375, Melissa Bowe a 9.325, and Stephanie Albert a 9.3 to complete the solid scoring compilation. Over on the Bars, Sobuta picked up another team leading score with a 9.775, Vida Rivera scored a 9.65, Binkley had a 9.45, Albert a 9.4, and Zanelli a 9.275. On the Beam, it was relative tough going, but Albert scored a 9.475, and Sobuta, Zanelli, Binkley and Bowe had the other counted scores. Finally on Floor, Hannah Goldstein and Binkley topped team scoring with their 9.475s, Sobuta had a 9.45, Albert a 9.425, and Whitney Diederich a 9.35.