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George Washington Edges Tribe in Women's Gymnastics
Gibbs, Long Capture Individual Titles as Team Scores Season-High
01/29/06 6:00PM
Williamsburg - William and Mary posted a season-high team score of 188.875, but it wasn’t quite enough, as George Washington edged the Tribe with a final count of 189.700 in a collegiate women’s gymnastics dual meet Sunday afternoon at Kaplan Arena.
“Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome this afternoon,” said W&M head coach Mary Lewis. “We still have some issues with consistency, but I thought our mental toughness and confidence were so much better today than in our previous two meets.”
The Tribe’s team score of 188.875 is better than a four-point improvement over its season average of 184.613 through two meets this season, which included a third-place finish at the George Washington Invitational (1/12) and a dual-meet loss at North Carolina last weekend. The team score was bolstered by an impressive season-best tally on floor (48.125), as well as season-highs on both bars (46.825) and vault (47.650).
“I think today’s scores are a good indication that we have continued to improve and that things are going to keep getting better,” added Lewis. “Again, I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort this afternoon.”
Leading the way for the Tribe was senior Brittany Gibbs (West Chester, Pa.) and sophomore Tricia Long (Humble, Texas), who captured individual titles in the floor exercise and all-around, respectively. Other individual highlights for the Tribe included a solid second-place finish on beam by senior Kristen Gaidish (Abington, Pa.), and a career-high score of 9.700 on floor by junior Jess Randall (West Hartford, Conn.), who tied for third in the event.
W&M began the meet on vault, and Long set the tone for the afternoon from the start with a strong 9.500. While Long led off with a great start, it was Gibbs who came through in the anchor spot with a team-best mark of 9.675 to tie for third place in the event. The team got another boost when junior Christina Padilla (Sterling, Va.) scored a 9.525, shaking off a slow start to the 2006 campaign to tie for fifth with Gaidish, who also notched a 9.525. Randall rounded out the team score with a steady 9.425, which placed ninth.
In the second rotation, the Tribe moved on to bars, and W&M showed progress in an event the team has struggled with so far this season, again reaching a season-high score with a 46.825. Gibbs once again set the team standard with a 9.650, but it was only good enough for a fourth-place tie, as the Colonials swept the top three spots in the event that proved to be the difference in George Washington’s narrow victory. Padilla again looked to be back on track on bars, tying for sixth-place with a season-high 9.625, and Long once again was clutch in the lead-off spot, scoring a 9.525, but from there the Tribe had to count two falls against the team tally in the event.
W&M was on beam in the third rotation, and with a line-up of only five competitors the team rallied to score a 46.275, after the temporary loss of Randall, who was scratched from the event after a tough fall on bars in the previous event. Long once again kick-started the team with a strong routine that garnered a 9.425, placing third outright and tying her season-high, but it was Gaidish who stepped up next and came through when the team needed it most, scoring a 9.500 to place second in the event. Senior Kate Magee (McLean, Va.) took fifth with a 9.150, while freshman Monica Goldblatt (McLean, Va.) and junior Andrea Dochney (Haddon Township, N.J.) followed with scores of 9.125 and 9.075, respectively, to round out the team score. Goldblatt captured sixth, and Dochney placed seventh, as W&M posted five of the top seven scores in the event.
In the final rotation, the Tribe made a serious run for the dual-meet victory, again notching a season-high score of 48.125, which also stands as the team’s best mark in any event this season. Gibbs again led the way with a brilliant performance to share the individual floor title (9.750), but it was Randall who bounced back to nail her routine in the anchor spot and score a career-high 9.700, which tied for third place in the event. Gaidish took sixth with a strong score of 9.675 to give W&M three in the top-six, while Long and freshman Sarah Jacobson (Brecksville, Ohio) shared eighth with solid scores of 9.500 to finish the team total.
Long was dazzling all afternoon leading off all four events for the Tribe, as she went on to score a season-high all-around total of 37.950, edging George Washington’s Erin Aiken (37.900), the only other all-around competitor this afternoon.
Aiken had a sound overall outing for the Colonials, sharing individual titles on both floor (9.750) and bars (9.725). George Washington’s Amy Stack matched Aiken for the title on bars, while Stack also shared the vault title with teammate Kristen Simpson (9.700). The Colonials’ Jess Guilbert took home the outright title on beam with a score of 9.550.
W&M returns to action later this week, traveling to state and ECAC-rival James Madison on Friday night. The dual conference meet is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at Godwin Hall.
Final Score: GWU 189.700, W&M 188.875
Complete Meet Results (.html)
William and Mary Team Scoring
Vault: 47.650
Bars: 46.825
Beam: 46.275
Floor: 48.125
Total: 188.875
Top W&M Individuals
Vault: Bittany Gibbs (9.675)
Bars: Brittany Gibbs (9.650)
Beam: Kristen Gaidish (9.500)
Floor: Brittany Gibbs (9.750)
All-Around: Tricia Long (37.950)
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Sophomore Tricia Long won the all-around title (37.950) in Sunday's meet vs. George Washington (1/29).
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