UTICA, NY - The Utica University gymnastics team is back in action this week as the team travels to take on the Rhode Island College Tri Meet, hosted by Rhode Island College. Start time on Saturday, January 18 in Providence, RI is set for 4pm. Gustavus Adolphus College will also be in attendance.
Last Time Out: The team picked up a program best 2nd place finish at the Cortland Quad meet, hosted by Cortland on Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers took second place with a combined team score of 186.650. Ursinus College took first place, followed by the Pioneers, Cortland took third place, Rhode Island College took fourth place, and Springfield College took fifth place. In the All-Around, freshman
Emmy Graff (Boulder, CO/Connections) walked away with the top score, combining her efforts in each event for a total score of 38.100.
Grace Marra (St. James, NY/Smithtown East) took second place with a score of 37.675. In the vault, Marra was the team's top finisher with a score of 9.500 tying Marra for fifth place.
Jenna DiPalo (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) was the second top Pioneer finisher with a score of 9.450 tying for 12th place. In the uneven bars, Graff was the team's top finisher with a score of 9.525 tying for first place. Freshman
Alyssa Langston (Pearland, TX/Pearland) took home third place in the uneven bars with a score of 9.425.In the balance beam, Marra was the top Pioneer finish with a score of 9.575, taking home third place. Graff landed a 9.550 on the beam taking home fourth place. In the floor exercise, Marra was once again the team's top finisher with a score of 9.800 to take home first place. Graff tied for fifth place with a score of 9.675.
Gymnast of the Week: Emmy Graff (Boulder, CO/Connections) has been named NCGA East All Around Gymnast of the Week, as announced by the league on Wednesday. Graff led the Pioneers to a program best second place finish (186.650) at the Cortland Quad. Graff took first place in the All Around at the Cortland Quad with a score of 38.100. Graff tied for first place in the uneven bars with a score of 9.525. On the balance beam, Graff took fourth place with a score of 9.550. In the floor exercise, Graff scored a 9.675 which was good enough to tie for fifth place. In the vault, Graff notched a score of 9.325.
Top Finishers: The Pioneers had a plethora of top finishers last time out. In the vault,
Jenna DiPalo (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) tied for 12th place with a score of 9.450.
Madison Villani (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) tied for 15th place in the vault with a score of 9.425. In the uneven bars,
Kaitlyn Vaz (Salem, OR/Baker Early College) tied for eighth place with a score of 9.200. Marra took home 14th place with a score of 8.800, while
Olivia Rosen (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge) and
Camille Lindley (Herndon, VA/Bishop O'Connell) rounded out the scorecard for the Pioneers with scores of 8.375 and 8.350, respectively. On the balance beam,
Abigail Walters (Lake Grove, NY/The Stony Brook School) tied for sixth place with a score of 9.400.
Alyssa Langston (Pearland, TX/Pearland) and
Haley Miller (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) fell just outside the top ten with scores of 9.300 and 9.250, respectively. In the floor exercise,
Ryli McGorry (Orefield, PA/Parkland) scored a 9.375 and both
Christina Troche (Manalapan, NJ/Saint John Vianney) and
Julia Pecora (Drums, PA/Hazleton Area) each scored a 9.250.
A Look at Rhode Island: At the Cortland Quad, the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen took fourth place out of five teams. Olivia Keyes tied for first on floor with a score of 9.800. Keyes was 20th on vault with a 9.375, 35th on bars with a 6.950 and second on beam with a 9.625 to finish fourth in the all-around with a total combined score of 35.750. Aaliyah Krause was second on vault with a 9.575, 23rd on bars with an 8.425, seventh on beam with a 9.400 and tied for seventh on floor with a 9.650 to finish fourth in the all-around with a combined total score of 37.050. Payton Greene was third on vault with a 9.550 and tied for eighth on bars with a score of 9.200. Emma Tucker finished fourth on floor with a 9.700. Madeline Brandt finished sixth on beam with a score of 9.475 and tied for ninth on floor with a score of 9.625. Presley Cuen tied for seventh on floor with a 9.650. Last season, the Pioneers squared off against the Anchorwomen twice in dual meets with RIC taking both meets.
Scouting Gustavus: Last time out for the Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties, the seventh ranked vault team in the nation broke its team vault record with a combined team score of 47.650. Currently, the Gusties are 1-1 on the season after taking home a win versus UW-Eau Claire and a loss versus UW-Oshkosh. In the first rotation against UW-Oshkosh for the Gusties, Maddox Lee led the squad with a 9.525 on bars, a season-high. Lee finished tied for sixth, followed by Lily Horsch, who took ninth with a 9.050. The team finished with a 43.925 on the uneven bars. On vault Lili Guy claimed a career-high 9.750 to tie for second in the event and lead her team to a new program record. Lindsay Bangs added a 9.550 to the total, while Kaye Clairmont, Marley Michaud, and Lee each posted a 9.450. In the third rotation, Michaud and the Gusties posted a season-high 47.975 on floor, with Michaud taking seventh with a 9.675. On the final rotation, Olivia Jahnke took fourth on the beam with a 9.700 to lead the Gusties. Lee added a 9.500 as the next highest Gustie. The Gusties claimed the top two spots in the All-Around competition, as Lee claimed first with a 38.050 and Michaud second with a 36.750. This is the first time that the Pioneers will square off against the Golden Gusties in program history.
Up Next: The Pioneers host its second home meet in program history; a tri-meet including Cortland and Ithaca. Start time on January 26 on Miga Court inside the Clark Athletic Center is set for 1pm.
