In Division II news this week, Bridgeport holds a steady lead in the rankings over Lindenwood by almost a point. They were on a bye last week, but will face Brown again on January 27th.
Texas Women’s had the best D2 score this week with a 192.625 in their meet against D1 LSU, which is ranked second in the country. The Pioneers of TWU had an outstanding floor rotation, counting all scores of 9.7 or higher, including a pair of 9.825s from Erin Alderman and Schyler Jones. Bria Northrop took second in the all-around (behind LSU’s Sarah Finnegan) with a 38.875, and led the Pioneers on vault (9.675) and bars (9.725).
This week, we absolutely NEED to talk about Ursinus. Ursinus scored the highest Division III score so far this season (189.350) in their meet against Temple. Beam continues to be their strongest event, where they scored about eight tenths higher than what they scored on the other three events. Jillian Cassarella led the Bears with a 9.775, followed by a 9.6 from Autumn Snape. Alexandra Puryear contributed a 9.575 on beam, and led Ursinus on floor with a 9.65. Kelsey Stewart contributed strong performances on vault (9.5) and floor (9.575). Ursinus is so great on beam, they are ranked first in D3 on that event, where they have an eight-tenth lead over La Crosse in second. That is HUGE. Ursinus is also ranked first on bars, just two tenths above Whitewater.
With the Bears of Ursinus hitting 189, they are now tied in the rankings for the top D3 spot with Whitewater. What’s even crazier is that in the national rankings with all divisions counting, both teams are just three tenths behind Alaska, a D1 team. It’s awesome to see not one but TWO D3 programs on par with a D1 school. But not to be discounted is NCGA East Region powerhouse Brockport, which has been slowly creeping up the rankings and can challenge both of these teams.
Who will be the first D3 team to break 190 this season? Could it be the beam queens of Ursinus? The consistent Whitewater Warhawks? The rockstar Brockport Eagles? Or will the defending D3 national champions of La Crosse pull ahead?
D2 Standings
| Rank | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Bridgeport | 192.850 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Lindenwood | 192.167 | 2 | — |
| 3 | Texas Woman’s | 191.417 | 4 | +1 |
| 4 | West Chester | 190.725 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Seattle Pacific | 189.563 | 5 | — |
| 6 | Southern Connecticut | 188.050 | 6 | — |
D2 All-Around Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Majesta Valentine | West Chester | 38.717 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Schyler Jones | Texas Woman’s | 38.558 | 2 | — |
| 3 | Bria Northrup | Texas Woman’s | 38.150 | 4 | +1 |
| 4 | Kelsey Campbell | Bridgeport | 38.112 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Selena Swanger | West Chester | 37.783 | 5 | — |
D2 Vault Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Darian Burns | Seattle Pacific | 9.787 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Kimberly Stewart | Bridgeport | 9.775 | 1 | -1 |
| 3 | Katey Oswalt | Lindenwood | 9.763 | 3 | — |
| 4 | Kierstin Sokolowski | Lindenwood | 9.753 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Majesta Valentine | West Chester | 9.742 | 6 | +1 |
D2 Bars Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Christine Liautaud | Bridgeport | 9.713 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Aubree Horn | Lindenwood | 9.708 | 2 | — |
| Kierstin Sokolowski | Lindenwood | 9.708 | 4 | +2 | |
| 4 | Andy Alexander | Lindenwood | 9.692 | 2 | -2 |
| 5 | Jenna Cashmore | Texas Woman’s | 9.667 | 5 | — |
D2 Beam Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Brianna Comport | Bridgeport | 9.825 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Majesta Valentine | West Chester | 9.758 | 2 | — |
| 3 | Miyuki Matsune | Seattle Pacific | 9.725 | 3 | — |
| Kierstin Sokolowski | Lindenwood | 9.725 | 5 | +2 | |
| 5 | Hannah Rector | Lindenwood | 9.708 | — | — |
D2 Floor Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Brianna Comport | Bridgeport | 9.875 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Majesta Valentine | West Chester | 9.842 | 2 | — |
| 3 | Erin Alderman | Texas Woman’s | 9.808 | 3 | — |
| 4 | Randi Cutolo | Bridgeport | 9.800 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Maya Reimers | Bridgeport | 9.750 | 5 | — |
D3 Standings
| Rank | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Whitewater | 188.113 | 1 | — |
| Ursinus | 188.113 | 4 | +3 | |
| 3 | Brockport | 187.042 | 5 | +2 |
| 4 | La Crosse | 186.638 | 2 | -2 |
| 5 | Centenary | 186.300 | 6 | +1 |
| 6 | Eau Claire | 186.067 | 3 | -3 |
| 7 | Stout | 184.363 | 8 | +1 |
| 8 | Ithaca | 184.075 | 10 | +2 |
| 9 | Winona State | 183.850 | 7 | -2 |
| 10 | Hamline | 183.413 | 9 | -1 |
| 11 | Springfield | 183.050 | 11 | — |
| 12 | Cortland | 182.475 | 12 | — |
| 13 | Oshkosh | 180.308 | 13 | — |
| 14 | Gustavus | 179.892 | 14 | — |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 176.575 | 15 | — |
D3 All-Around Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Evelyn Harris | Centenary | 37.975 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Kaylee Jondahl | Stout | 37.700 | 2 | — |
| 3 | Jessica Clemens | Springfield | 37.575 | 3 | — |
| 4 | Alexandra Kopp | Gustavus | 37.375 | 7 | +3 |
| 5 | Baylee Tkaczuk | Oshkosh | 37.350 | — | — |
D3 Vault Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Lily Szafrariski | Cortland | 9.675 | — | — |
| 2 | Katie Fiorilli | Whitewater | 9.637 | 2 | — |
| 3 | Ashley White | Centenary | 9.625 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Kaylee Jondahl | Stout | 9.600 | 9 | +5 |
| Kari Willett | La Crosse | 9.600 | — | — | |
| Evelyn Harris | Centenary | 9.600 | 4 | — |
D3 Bars Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Allison Scates | Centenary | 9.625 | 3 | +2 |
| 2 | Jessica Clemens | Springfield | 9.600 | 4 | +2 |
| 3 | Amy Enright | La Crosse | 9.575 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Lauren Chavis | Ursinus | 9.525 | 7 | +3 |
| 5 | Maddie O’Braitis | Brockport | 9.500 | — | — |
| Meghan Cash | Brockport | 9.500 | — | — |
D3 Beam Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Kaelin Ruoss | Ursinus | 9.750 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Jillian Casarella | Ursinus | 9.688 | 7 | +5 |
| 3 | Ashley White | Centenary | 9.675 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Heather Gomes | Springfield | 9.650 | 5 | +1 |
| 5 | Candis Kowalik | Brockport | 9.637 | 12 | +7 |
D3 Floor Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Average | Week 2 | Change |
| 1 | Olivia Hirsch | Centenary | 9.750 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Navia Jordan | Centenary | 9.725 | 3 | +1 |
| 3 | Courtney Pickett | Whitewater | 9.688 | 5 | +2 |
| Kaylee Jondahl | Stout | 9.688 | 1 | -2 | |
| 5 | Erin Olson | Eau Claire | 9.617 | 4 | -1 |
Article by Sarah Keegan
The Gymternet 