PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 24, 2018) – The William & Mary women's gymnastics team placed second at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship hosted by Penn on Saturday afternoon.
 
Yale claimed the team title with a 195.325 and was followed by W&M (194.575), Brown (194.025), Penn (193.200), Cornell (193.150) and Temple (192.675).
 
The impressive effort tied for the sixth-best score in school history and marked the fourth time in the last five seasons that W&M has placed first or second at the league championship meet.
 
Freshman Katie Waldman highlighted the Tribe's individual performances by winning the all-around title with a 39.200 – the third-best score in school history and the best ever mark by a W&M gymnast at the conference championship meet. Waldman also tied for first on bars (9.800), tied for second on vault (9.800) and tied for third on beam (9.825), as she garnered all-league distinction in three of the four events.
 
Three other Tribe standouts also earned All-ECAC honors by placing among the top six in various events, as sophomore Evan Pakshong finished second on beam (9.850), sophomore Taylor White was third in all-around (38.950) and tied for fifth on floor (9.825), and sophomore Caroline Caponi placed fifth on bars (9.775).    
 
Junior Madison Dwyer was also recognized by the league, as she was one of four gymnasts to be selected as a Scholar Athlete of the Year for her exceptional efforts both in the gym and the classroom.
 
Event Recaps
Vault, 48.700 – Led by Waldman's second-place finish on vault (9.800), W&M recorded the eight-best score in school history in the event. Sophomore Erika Marr and freshman Mary Graceyn Gordon also came up big with a pair of 9.750's, while Caponi earned a 9.725. Gordon's score equaled her career high.  
 
Bars, 48.725 – A quartet of Tribe standouts finished among the top seven on bars to help W&M tie for the top team mark at the championship. Waldman tied for first with a 9.800, while Caponi finished fifth with a 9.775. Pakshong and White narrowly missed out on earning all-league accolades as they both posted a 9.725.
 
Beam, 48.550 – Pakshong's career-high 9.850 was the second-best score on beam and led the Tribe in the event, while Waldman also earned all-conference honors by tying for third with a career-best 9.825.
 
Floor, 48.600 – White's career-high 9.825 tied for fifth on floor, while Waldman tied for 10th with a 9.775.  
 
All-Around – In addition to the All-ECAC performances by Waldman and White, Caponi also competed in all four events and earned a 38.150.