Week 7 proved to be a tremendous week for Division 2 and 3 with tons of high scores. Seattle Pacific’s Maria Hundley scored a 9.875 on vault and a 39.2 in the all-around, Whitewater’s Destiny Patrick scored a 9.775 on vault (the highest so far in D3), West Chester’s Majesta Valentine scored a new school record in the all-around (39.075) as she led the Rams to tie their team school record, and La Crosse scored a HUGE 192.9, the new highest Division 3 score of the season!

Northern Illinois 194.9, Ball State 194.775, Seattle Pacific 193.9

Seattle Pacific held their own against two DI teams, posting a season high score of 193.9 led by an incredible performance by Maria Hundley, who tied her own school vault record (9.875), won beam with a 9.8, and won the all-around with a 39.2. Hundley tied with teammate Maryanna Peterson for a pair of 9.85s on bars, and Tracie Peterson contributed a 9.7 on bars and a 9.75 on beam. Ariana Harger led SPU on floor with a 9.875, followed by a 9.75 from Lauren Glover, and a pair of 9.7s from Brittany Atchison and Alex Okamura.

Eau Claire 183.875, Gustavus 181.95

This was a very close meet up until the final two rotations, where Eau Claire pulled ahead on floor. Eau Claire’s Julia Stedman won vault with a 9.5. Lauren Zurowski led the BluGolds on bars with a 9.425, followed closely by Jessica Dhaene with a 9.4. Liz Stubbs won beam with a 9.6, and Erin Olsen took 2nd with a 9.475. Eau Claire counted 3 scores of 9.45 or better from Stedman (9.45), Zurowski (9.45), and Stubbs (9.475). Gustavus outscored Eau Claire on vault and came within a tenth of tying them on bars. Gustavus’s queen of consistency, Alex Kopp led the team on vault (9.425), and floor (meet winning 9.6), while cruising her way to another all-around title with a 37.8. Samantha Ardy won bars with a 9.5, and Amanda Malo led the Gusties on beam with a 9.45, while taking second in the all-around with a 37.1.

Oshkosh 185.6, Stout 179.0

The Titans posted their second highest score of the season in their victory over Stout, who had some struggles on beam and floor. Oshkosh was led on vault by Kimberly Robertson with a 9.25, and the Titans swept the top 3 bar scores with a 9.425 from Kasandra Stamopoulos, a 9.4 from Emily Ryan, and a 9.375 from Krystal Walker. Oshkosh came up huge on beam and floor, scoring a 46.925 on each. Walker led on both events with a 9.5 on beam and a meet-winning 9.525 on floor, earning herself the all-around title with a 37.4. Dana LoCascio contributed a 9.45 on beam, and Bailey Finin scored a 9.5 on floor. Stout outscored Oshkosh on vault, led by a pair of 9.325s from Kelly Huseman and Kaylee Jondahl, and Sara Perez scored Stout’s highest bar score (9.35). Stout struggled on beam, but still counted two great routines from beam specialist Randi Schorzmann, who won the event with a 9.6, and Callie Counts, who scored a 9.475. Jondahl led the Blue Devils on floor with a 9.475, and took second in the all-around with a 36.3.

Winona State 186.175, Hamline 183.25

Both teams had super strong vault rotations, and Winona State counted 4 scores of 9.45 or better from Brooke Hiestand (9.45), Emily Goldman (9.5), Jade Donaldson (9.55), and Eboni Jackson (meet winning 9.65). Katie Pipp won bars with a 9.475, followed closely by Jackson’s 9.45. Winona swept the top 3 beam scores, led once again by Jackson (9.5), Natalie Koehler (9.35), and Miranda Saathoff (9.325). Jackson led Winona on floor with 9.65, followed by a 9.525 from Hiestand. Jackson’s stellar performances on all four events catapulted her to the all-around title with a 38.25. Hamline struggled considerably on beam but was able to put up some big scores on the other events. Hamline’s vaulters were led by Sela Fadness (9.55), Rosie Giese (9.45), and Danielle Dudley (9.4). Briana Bridgeford’s 9.325 on bars was a team high for the Pipers, while Megan Webb led Hamline on beam with a 9.25. Hamline was able to come back and kill it on floor, outscoring Winona by 1.25, and counting 3 scores of 9.5 or better from Dudley (9.5), Sydney Tribbet (9.525), and Fadness (9.625).

Whitewater 188.325, Centenary 184.3

This was looking to be a pretty serious showdown between two of the best teams in Division 3, but Centenary struggled big time on bars and beam, allowing Whitewater to pull a 4 point victory. Vault specialist Destiny Patrick won the event with a HUGE 9.775, and a pair of 9.65s from Lisa O’Donnell and Hannah Lee helped Whitewater hit 48.025 on vault. Amanda Quinn led Whitewater on bars with a 9.4, followed by a pair of 9.375s from O’Donnell and Courtney Pickett. O’Donnell also led the team on beam (9.375), and floor (meet winning 9.725), as she took the all-around title with a 38.125. Noel Stubbs notched a big 9.75 to lead Centenary on vault, while Ashley White contributed a 9.675. Stubbs also led Centenary on bars with a 9.3. Megan Desjardins scored Centenary’s highest beam score, while Navia Jordan (9.6), and White (9.575) came up big on floor. White placed second in the all-around with a 37.85.

Brockport 189.175, Cortland 185.875

This was another close meet after the first two rotations, but Brockport pulled ahead after strong floor and beam rotations to earn the victory over rival Cortland. Brockport hit a 48.0 on vault, with Stephanie Mager winning the event with a 9.725, followed by teammate Candis Kowalik’s 9.7. Maddie O’Braitis won bars with a 9.575, and Miranda Shaine took second with a 9.525. Lily Jagodzinski won beam with a 9.725, followed by a pair of 9.55s from Kendal Hamer and Jennifer Sklenar. Jagodzinski also won floor with a 9.75, while Kowalik took 3rd with a 9.65. Cortland struggled on beam but remained strong on the other three events. Rachel Filipski and McKenna Passalacqua each scored 9.625 on vault, while Arianna Turso led the Red Dragons on bars with a 9.275. Amanda Scanlon took 2nd on beam with Cortland’s best beam score by far (9.6). Meghan Goyden led Cortland on floor with a 9.65, followed by Bailey Gildemeyer’s 9.625.

Pittsburgh 194.375, Texas Women’s 192.55

Another strong meet for TWU, with almost half their scores being a 9.7 or higher, and coming within 0.05 of tying Pitt on beam. Katie Simpson led the Pioneers on vault (9.8), and bars (9.8), and placed 3rd in the all-around (38.925). Mallory Moredock contributed a 9.775 on vault, 9.725 on beam, and 9.75 on floor. Abigail Versemann scored a 9.725 on bars, followed by Alyssa Kelly’s 9.7. Kelly also led TWU on beam with a 9.8. Schyler Jones scored a 9.75 on beam and took fourth in the all-around (38.35). Erin Alderman led the team on floor with a 9.825.

Rutgers 195.075, Penn 192.4, Temple 191.625, Ursinus 188.2

Ursinus was able to post a season high score against three DI teams. Monique Brooks led the Bears on vault (9.525) and floor (9.75). Jillian Casarella posted the best bar score (9.55), followed by a 9.45 from Vanessa Scalora. Ursinus continues to be rock solid on beam, as they outscored Temple there, (and came within two tenths of tying them on bars). Alexandra Puryear came up big on beam with a 9.725 and Casarella and Kristina Steffenhagen each contributed 9.625s. Steffenhagen also scored Ursinus’ second best floor score (9.5).

Rhode Island 179.275, Ithaca 164.05

The Anchorwomen of RIC scored a season high, even despite having some serious beam struggles. Ithaca, who was resting some gymnasts due to injuries, unfortunately suffered two more injuries during warm-ups, and was only able to field 4 gymnasts on vault and bars. RIC continues to be rock solid on vault, and freshmen Kyndel Yett won her 2nd meet in a row on the event with a 9.425. Freshman Miranda Murphy led RIC on bars with a 9.2 and second place finish, while Courtney Osborn was the top beam scorer with a 9.225. Yett also contributed RIC’s best floor score (9.325). RIC’s bars and floor scores were season highs. Despite the odds, Ithaca competed with their heads held high. Megan Harrington led the Bombers on vault (9.35) and won floor with a 9.45. Danielle Maffuid won bars with a 9.45, and Lynley Choate won beam with a 9.575. Victoria Gery contributed a 9.2 on vault and 9.375 on floor, and Melissa Hollrigl scored a 9.3 on vault and 9.2 on floor. The Bombers have received an outpouring of support on twitter from fellow D3 teams Brockport, Springfield, and RIC. We wish them all a speedy recovery!

West Chester 191.825, Springfield 186.85

Watch our video coverage here! 

West Chester tied their school record in their win over Springfield. Majesta Valentine had one heck of a day, winning all four events (9.725 on vault, 9.725 on bars, 9.8 on beam, and 9.825 on floor) and scoring a new school all-around record of 39.075. Can you say ROCK STAR? Majesta has a pretty sweet beam dismount too. WCU scored a season high on vault and a new school record on beam. In addition to Valentine, the Rams were led by strong performances from Selena Swanger (9.675 on vault, 9.625 on beam, and 9.625 on floor), Meghan Brannon (9.625 on bars), and Lindsay Knapp (9.775 on beam, 9.725 on floor). West Chester swept the top 4 vault scores, top 5 beam scores, and top 3 floor scores. Springfield tied their season best team score and scored a season high on bars. Despite only putting up 5 vaulters, Springfield still killed it and counted 3 scores of 9.5 or better from Madi Bowen (9.5), Nicole Silva (9.5), and Heather Gomes (9.55). Briana Kerr led a stellar bars rotation with a huge 9.675, followed by a 9.4 from Ashley Parchinski and a 9.375 from Marissa DeAngelo. Parchinski led the Pride on beam with a 9.4, followed closely by DeAngelo’s 9.375. Silva anchored the floor lineup with a 9.625, just edging out DeAngelo’s 9.6. DeAngelo took second in the all-around with a 37.825.

NC State 195.45, Nebraska 195.35, Iowa State 194.9, La Crosse 192.9

Um, holy crap, La Crosse scored a new school record and the new season high for Division 3! They also scored D3 season highs on vault (48.325), bars (48.275), and floor (48.775). The Eagles were led by Samantha Wiekamp (9.75) and Dani Barmore (9.725) on vault, where they also broke a school team record. Amy Enright tied several DI gymnasts for the third highest bar score of the day (9.825). Barmore (9.725) and Wiekamp (9.625) made strong contributions on bars as well. Leah Spankowski led the beam team with a 9.675, followed by Barmore’s 9.65, and a 9.55 from Kari Willett. Finally, LaCrosse counted 4 9.725s on floor from Enright, Savana Kettner, Chelsie Richards, and Wiekamp, and a HUGE 9.875 from Elsa Spitzmueller, tying her for third place. What a meet!

UIC 192.225, Lindenwood 191.95

Lindenwood outscored the DI’s UIC on vault and floor, but trouble with beam ended up costing them the meet. Kayla McMullan won vault with a 9.825, with Rachel Zabawa taking 2nd with a 9.775, and Samantha Borges and Aubree Horn tying for fourth with a pair of 9.7s. Courtney Heise took second on bars with a 9.775, and Horn took third with a 9.75. Lauren Cartmell had the highest beam score for Lindenwood with a 9.55, followed by a 9.5 from Hannah Rector. McMullan won floor with a 9.8, and Zabawa and Katey Oswalt tied for third with a pair of 9.75s.

Article by Sarah Chrane