Week two was exciting for Division III, with most teams improving on their previous week’s scores, even in the face of some serious D1 and D2 competition.

The Lauman transition on bars seems to be increasingly popular among D3 gymnasts (Rhode Island, Gustavus, and Stout so far are throwing them in their bar lineups), a refreshing change from the endless bails and toe hechts. Ithaca has two gymnasts on floor who open with double pikes and finish with double tucks, which is some pretty serious business! I’ll be keeping my eye out for more unique skills and hidden gems in Division III, but for now, here’s the week 2 recap.

Oregon State 196.35, Lindenwood 195.325, Bridgeport 194.15, Illinois State 190.725, Eau Claire 188.925

What a meet! Eau Claire improved by four whole points on last week’s score, putting up a HUGE 188.925, which is the highest D3 total so far. The Blugolds had a solid vault rotation, with Tori Erickson’s 9.5 being the top score. Bars, of all things, was their second strongest event, with three scores of 9.5 or better coming from Leah Robinette, Jessica Dhaene, and Lauren Zurowski. Beam was comparatively weaker, but still saw some strong performances from Lauralynn Anderson (9.525) and Clare Mascia (9.675). Finally, the Blugolds put up a huge floor rotation, led by Julia Stedman’s 9.725 and Zurowski’s 9.7, placing them 13th and 16th respectively, to beat several D1 and D2 gymnasts on that event.

Division II Lindenwood is proving to be a force to be reckoned with in its 4th season in existence, outscoring D2 powerhouse Bridgeport in this meet with a new regular season school record and boasting a higher seasonal average than several D1 programs. Valeri Ingui and Kiersten Sokolowski contributed two scores of 9.825 or better on vault, while the Lions counted 3 scores of 9.8 or better on bars from Ingui, Aubree Horn, and Trystien Charles. Katey Oswalt’s 9.85 on beam led the Lions in a 6-for-6 beam rotation, while Rachel Zabawa’s 9.85 on floor was the team’s highest score.

Bridgeport held their own in their first meet of the season, with Kim Stewart contributing a team high 9.825 on vault, while her 9.8 on bars was one of three scores in the 9.8 range (Maritza Futch had a 9.825 while Christine Liautaud scored a 9.85). Carol Chiles scored a 9.8 on beam, while Brianna Comport’s 9.875 on floor was the highest score of the day for the Purple Knights.

UW Whitewater 187.325, Winona State 184.325, UW-Stout 181.05, Gustavus 177.5

Winona State hosted the first annual Brooke Baures “Smile On” Invitational, in memory of the former WSU gymnast whose tragic death shocked the community last year.

Whitewater tacked another win on their season, dropping slightly from their last performance, but still staying consistently above a 187. Chloe Rehberg’s 9.675 won vault, Lisa O’Donnell led their bar rotation with a 9.575 as well as floor with a 9.425, and Franchesca Hutton’s 9.675 earned her the beam title.

Winona improved on their score by a point, with Ebony Jackson’s 9.65 leading the squad on vault, followed by 3 9.5s from Alyssa Carroll, Jade Donaldson, and Taylor Lewis. The Warriors struggled a bit on bars, scoring only a 44.75, though Katie Pipp won the event with a 9.625. Beam specialist Cassidy Klevin delivered a 9.6, while Brooke Hiestand led the squad on floor with a 9.475. Stout saw a two point decrease in their score from last week, competing only 8 gymnasts (with three in the all-around).

The Blue Devils put up a huge vault score, counting 3 9.575s from Kelly Huseman, Kenzie Hyde, and Kaylee Jondahl. Sara Perez led on bars with a 9.3, but Stout was forced to count a 7.9, giving them a bars total of 44.55. Callie Counts took second place on beam with a 9.625, while Jondahl led an otherwise low floor rotation (Stout had to count 2 scores in the low 8s) with a 9.45, and also placed second in the all-around (37.225).

Gustavus improved on their team score from last week by a point, led by Alex Kopp, who won the all-around with a 37.3 while posting the highest score for the Gusties on all four events. Her teammate, Amanda Malo, posted the second highest team scores on all four events and took 6th in the all-around with a 36.025.

Brockport 186.65, Ursinus 185.075

In this battle of the east coast NCGA top dogs, Brockport topped Ursinus by a point and a half. Bridgette Schaal’s 9.4 led the Eagles on vault, while also contributing the second highest floor score for the team (9.575). Maddie O’Braitis took second on bars with a 9.55, followed by a pair of 9.25s from Miranda Shaine and Marla Thomas. Lily Jagodzinski tied with teammate Alex Frakowski on beam with team-leading 9.525s. Jagodzinksi also contributed a huge meet-winning 9.75 on floor, while Frakowski scored a 9.55 on floor.

Though Ursinus edged Brockport on bars and floor, they struggled on beam (counting two 8.6s) and vault (counting two scores in the high 8s). Kristina Steffenhagen continues to be a rock for the team, tying with teammate Monique Brooks for the vault title with scores of 9.5. Lauren Chavis won bars with a 9.575, while Alexandra Puryear led the Bears on beam with a 9.6. Steffenhagen’s 9.625 on floor was good enough for second place, followed by a third place finish from Brooks with a 9.6.

Brown 188.95, Southern Connecticut 187.75, Ithaca 185.925, Springfield 185.275

Video playlist courtesy of David F. Pendrys

This meet was an interesting one, with all three NCAA divisions represented, yet with all four teams being within 3 points of one another. Brown only put up 5 vaulters, with Corey Holman posting the team’s best score of 9.65, followed by a pair of 9.625s from Jorden Mitchell and Gabrielle Hechtman, but with several falls across the other 3 events, vault ended up being their best event as a team. Diana Walters won bars with a 9.625, Regan Butchness won beam with a 9.675, and Brooke Williams tied with SCSU’s Nicole Pruchnik for the floor title with a score of 9.7. Mitchell edged Springfield’s Marissa DeAngelo out by .15 for the AA title with a 37.15.

SCSU came on strong in their first meet of the season. Pruchnik snagged the vault title with a 9.675 in addition to her floor win. Kathleen Aberger led the Owls on bars with a 9.575, while Jennifer Rochefort’s 9.625 was the highest in their beam lineup.

Ithaca totally killed their opening meet, with a team almost completely composed of freshmen and sophomores. Redshirt senior Valerie Cohen contributed the team’s highest score on vault (9.55) and second highest on floor (9.4). Ithaca’s weakest event was bars, though they all put up an incredible fight to stay on the bar. Kelly Nash posted the highest bar score for the bombers (9.225). Ithaca’s beam queens put up the highest beam total of the meet, led by freshman Nina Bustamente-Nadeau’s 9.625 in her very first college meet, followed by a 9.55 from Kendra Balcerak. Freshman Carolyn Nichols anchored the floor lineup and posted a team best of 9.425 in her first meet.

The Springfield Pride continue to absolutely slay vault, coming within .1 of SCSU and .2 of Brown, counting 4 scores of 9.55 or better with a handful of textbook, gorgeous layout yurchenkos. Briana Kerr led the team on bars with a 9.5, while Nicole Silva’s 9.5 was the team’s leading score on beam. Springfield continues to struggle to stay on their feet and in bounds on floor, posting their lowest event total of the day, led by DeAngelo’s 9.4.

West Chester 191.45, Cortland 186.775, Rhode Island 175.825

There’s no denying that the West Chester golden rams are on a mission this year, improving on last week’s total by nearly 3 full points, passing the 190 mark (breaking 48 on beam and floor), and closing in on Lindenwood and Bridgeport. Majesta Valentine took the all-around title with a 38.9, posting winning scores on beam (9.825) and floor (9.8), and second place finishes on vault (9.625) and bars (9.65). Teammate Selena Swanger took 2nd in the all-around, tying Valentine on vault, and also contributing a 9.675 on beam and 9.775 on floor.

WCU’s Meghan Brannon won bars (9.675). Cortland made a huge improvement on last week’s meet, increasing their team score by 5 points. Rachel Filipski won vault with a 9.65, and despite only putting up 5 vaulters again, still counted 4 scores of 9.5 or better. Maddy Scozzie’s 9.525 was the highest on bars for the Red Dragons, while Arianna Turso, Emily Nagy, and Meghan Goyden all posted scores of 9.5 or better on beam. Bailey Gildemeyer led on floor with a 9.5.

Despite making slight improvements on bars and floor, RIC’s team score went down from last week by about .3, as the team was rattled when floor anchor Cherise Lee injured her knee on her opening tumbling pass. Erin Shea and Allie DiBiase scored a pair of 9.275s to lead the team on vault, Courtney Osborne led on bars (8.95), freshman Alexis DaFonseca anchored the beam lineup and scored a team high of 9.1, while DiBiase’s 9.1 was the highest floor score for the Anchorwomen.

UW LaCrosse 185.625, UW Oshkosh 183.0, Hamline 177.825

Lacrosse added another win to their season despite dropping about a point from last week’s score. Samantha Wiekamp won vault with a 9.625, posted LaCrosse’s best beam score (9.45), and took second in the all-around (36.7). Amy Enright posted a huge 9.7 on bars to win the title by a landslide, and also contributed a 9.5 on floor. Lacrosse floor specialist Chelsie Richards won the event with a 9.55.

Oshkosh wins the “most improved” award of the week, besting their total last week by over 6 points. Krystal Walker won the all-around with a 37.575, and led the Titans on vault (9.425), and bars (9.325). Dana LoCascio won beam with a 9.6, while Danielle Turner’s 9.475 was the Oshkosh’s top floor score.

Hamline had some struggles this meet, and saw a two point decrease in their score from last week. Vault was very strong for the Pipers, coming .05 away from tying Oshkosh. The Pipers had to count three scores in the low 8s on bars, but saw solid performances from Briana Bridgeford (9.175) and Madison Couves (9.075). Sydney Tribbet led the team on beam (9.025), while Sela Fadness posted a 9.45 on floor, the highest of all Hamline’s scores for the day.

Gustavus Adolphus 180.775, Winona State 180.2

In the second meet of the week for both programs, Gustavus upset Winona State, earning their first win since 2013. Alex Kopp delivered another huge performance for the Gusties, winning vault (9.55), beam (9.425), floor (9.475), and the all-around (37.15). Lauren Kershner led Gustavus on bars with an 8.775, while placing second in the all-around behind Kopp with a 36.05. Amanda Malo also made major contributions on vault (9.4) and floor (9.325), while taking third in the all-around (35.525).

Winona had a huge vault rotation that bested that of Gustavus by about .7, which included a pair of 9.5s from Eboni Jackson and Taylor Lewis. The Warriors also proved to be very strong on bars, sweeping the top four scores of the meet (led by a 9.375 from Katie Pipp). Unfortunately, they had some major struggles on beam, with only one score in the 9s (Jackson’s 9.425) and the rest in the low 8s. Katie Carling had Winona’s highest floor score of 9.45, which earned her a second place finish.

Article by Sarah Chrane
Photo thanks to Gustavus Adolphus