Tribe Defeats James Madison on Senior Night

Long, Magee Set Career Marks as Team Posts Season-High Score

03/09/05 10:45PM

Williamsburg - The College of William and Mary set season highs in two events, had an individual title winner in each event and posted a season-high team score of 191.750 to defeat James Madison (188.200) Wednesday night in an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s gymnastics meet at William and Mary Hall.

On senior night, the Tribe got outstanding efforts from its veteran corps of performers, as well as a huge contribution from its lone competing rookie in what was easily the squad’s best all-around meet of the season. Highlighting a few of the evenings triumphs were senior Emma Cross (Ashland, VA), who, competing in her final home meet, recorded a season-high score of 9.800 on floor to take first place, junior Kate Magee (McLean, VA), who established a personal best on beam with a first-place score of 9.800 and freshman Tricia Long (Humble, TX), who set a personal standard in the all-around with a mark of 38.300.

W&M began the night on vault and set the tone early, as all six competitors hit on their vault for a strong team score of 47.950. Long got things started with a solid 9.450, before Magee continued her late-season surge with an impressive 9.550. Senior Jaci Lynn (Copley, OH), also in her final home meet, was smooth and steady as usual, coming through with a 9.650, which was the second-best score of the evening. Junior Annie Carroll (Virginia Beach, VA) added a strong 9.575 to the team total, and with what has become the norm this season, sophomore Christina Padilla (Sterling, VA) pulled through as the anchor and took top honors with a team-high mark of 9.725. Padilla has now notched a 9.700 or better on vault in six of the Tribe’s nine meets this season, and tonight’s effort was her first career individual title.

The success carried into the second rotation, where the College went on to set a season high with a score of 48.250, claiming the top-five marks in the event. Once again, it was Padilla leading the way, as she executed a brilliant routine for a first-place mark of 9.750. Following Padilla in second was sophomore Janelle Green (Chantilly, VA), who also carried out an excellent routine for a 9.650. Sophomore Andrea Dochney (Westmont, NJ) led off the event with a solid 9.625, while junior Brittany Gibbs (West Chester, PA) matched Dochney for third. Long registered a career-high score of 9.600, which was only good enough for fifth place on this night, when the Tribe’s bar lineup was outstanding.

Up next for W&M was beam, where the College’s lineup has been hit hardest this season, including the loss of standout freshman Stevie Waldman (Downingtown, PA), who went down just last weekend with a knee injury. But, facing yet another obstacle, the Tribe prevailed on this night with a respectable score of 47.475, sparked by the magnificent performance from Magee. With her first-place mark of 9.800, Magee also matched the highest individual score in the event this season for W&M, a standard Waldman set back on January 21st against UNC. Junior Kristen Gaidish (Abington, PA) was also on top of her game, as she scored a season-high 9.725 to take third. Long was solid with a 9.575, while Dochney and Cross, who both had to count falls, rounded out the team score with marks of 9.250 and 9.125, respectively.

In the final event, W&M finished strong with a season-high score of 48.075 behind Cross, who showed up the skills that made her an NCAA Regional participant in 2004. Battling an ankle injury throughout the season, Cross was nearly flawless on the floor and claimed her first individual title of the season. Long rounded out her all-around score with another personal best, as she gracefully executed a 9.675 to take third. Senior Jess Patterson (Westfield, NJ) made her final home meet a memorable one with a solid 9.575 in fifth, while sophomore Jess Randall (West Hartford, CT) and Magee closed out the team score with marks of 9.525 and 9.500, respectively.
Randall finished second in the all-around competition, just her second of the season, with a total score of 36.575.

The Tribe is off this weekend and returns to action on Saturday, March 19th at Penn State, the final regular season meet before the ECAC Championship at JMU on March 26th.

Final Score: W&M 191.750, JMU 188.200

Complete Results (.html)

William and Mary Team Scoring
Vault: 47.950
Bars: 48.250
Beam: 47.475
Floor: 48.075
Total: 191.750

Top W&M Individuals
Vault: Christina Padilla (9.725)
Bars: Christina Padilla (9.750)
Beam: Kate Magee (9.800)
Floor: Emma Cross (9.800)