Love was in the air for the women’s gymnastics team on Saturday as the team produced their second highest overall score of the season. At the Empire State Collegiate Championships, Cornell faced off against Cortland, Brockport, Ithaca, Long Island University and Utica.
With a total score of 192.850, the team had at least one gymnast place first in three out of four events (vault, bars, and floor).
Head coach Melanie Hall felt that overall it was a very clean performance all around.
“Overall it was a solid performance,” Hall said. “We had some personal bests, and our highest beam score of the season.”
Hall also felt that the team dealt with the pressure of the day very well.
“For those who made mistakes, they didn’t let them get in the way of finishing strong, nor did those who went after them let it get in their heads,” Hall said.
The Red started off the meet strong. With its first event on uneven bars, it went six-for-six, once again this season with a total score of 48.125. Senior captain Morgen Shambo walked away with the second highest score of the competition with a 9.750. Sophomore Sarah Goetter and junior captain Josie Moylan posted strong performances as well on the bars, recording scores of 9.70 and 9.625 respectively.
Though Sophomore Ava Schenck-Davis had a tumble during the two minute touch period,she did not let that distract her from her performance. Schenck-Davis had a fluid routine throughout her bars performance, finishing with a blind full to double back into a near-perfect landing.
Cornell moved on to the balance beam next. With the momentum still prominent from bars, the team recorded a total score of 48.275, the highest of the season thus far. This is only the second time that the Red has received a score over 48.00 on the balance beam.
Senior Mikayla Burton and junior captain Natalia Tehrani set the pace with scores of 9.850. Freshman Grace McLean and sophomore Anne MacKenzie also delivered strong performances, earning scores of 9.775 and 9.725, respectively.
However, the Red has needed more adjusting on beam compared to other events this season.
“I think it’s more that people are settling into the season and are feeling more comfortable with their routines, which makes competing not as nerve-wracking,” Hall said
Cornell’s third event was the floor exercise. The team had a total score of 48.300. Once again, Moylan led the team with a score of 9.875, the highest of the competition. Junior Addy Rothstein and Goetter tied for fifth with a score of 9.850.
Cornell finished off its meet on vault. Senior Cami Whitaker placed first with a season-high score of 9.850. McLean and freshman Noelle Wojcik added scores of 9.675 and 9.625 respectively.
Hall felt that everybody contributed fantastic performances to the solid score from the team.
“We had someone in the top spot on 3 events and 2nd place on bars, all fantastic standout performances!” Hall said.
Yet, somebody stood out even more to the head coach.
McLean has been crucial for the team on both the balance beam and vault, scoring over a 9.500 in the last six meets.
This seems to be the right amount of momentum the team was looking for heading into the Ivy Classic Championship next weekend, where it seeks to finish on top.
“Penn is the favorite going in, but if everyone on our team has a solid day, we could most definitely set some season highs and possibly new team records,” Hall said.
The last time the women’s gymnastics team won the Ivy Classic title was in 2017.
The Ivy Classic Championship will be on the road at 1 p.m. Sunday at Yale University. The Red will face off against Yale, Penn and Brown.
