Tribe Women Finish Third at UNC Meet

Jess Patterson and Kristen Gaidish set-career-highs in W&M's third meet of the season

01/31/03

CHAPEL HILL, NC - William and Mary’s women’s gymnastics squad achieved its highest team score of the season, with two performers setting career-highs in a three-team meet held at the University of North Carolina.

W&M’s team score of 188.625 was just behind second-place James Madison, which had a team mark of 188.700. The host of the meet, UNC, had outstanding performances on all four events as the Tar Heels scored a 195.275.

The Tribe started on the floor exercise, where senior co-captain Erin Skinner (Lumberton, NJ) got things started with a solid routine that earned a score of 9.800. Sophomore Emma Cross (Ashland, VA) had another consistent performance on floor, scoring a 9.625. Cross has been one of the Tribe’s top two finishers on the event in all three meets this season.

The next rotation, the vault, was once again a struggle for W&M. What was expected to be one of the squad’s best events has been tough early in the season. However, sophomore Jess Patterson (Westfield, NJ) came through with a nice vault, scoring a 9.650.

On the bars, W&M senior co-captain Amy Van Deusen (Concord, MA) was the team’s top finisher for the second-straight week, notching a 9.700. Junior Suzanne Chaves (Danvers, MA) had a 9.550, the second-best mark for W&M, while Skinner had a solid 9.450.

The final rotation was the balance beam, and W&M shined on the event, with three scores registering over 9.700. Patterson led the way with a career-high of 9.825, which was the second-highest beam score in the meet. In addition, the score tied for the 10th-best in school history. Cross had a 9.750 to add to W&M’s score, while freshman Kristen Gaidish (Abington, PA) set a personal record with a 9.725.

W&M’s beam score of 47.675 was its best mark on the apparatus this season.

In the all-around competition, Chaves was the Tribe’s lone competitor. Her mark of 37.675 was the fourth-best of any individual competitor.

The top individual performance belonged to UNC’s Anna Wilson, who recorded a perfect 10.000 on the floor exercise, as the Tar Heels earned a team mark of 49.550 on the event.

W&M is now 3-6 on the season. The Tribe will return to action next Friday at James Madison. The meet is slated to start at 7 p.m.

Top Three Finishers
Vault
1. Olivia Trusty (UNC), 9.900
2. Courtney Bumpers (UNC), 9.875
3. Mikel Hester (UNC), 9.725

Beam
1. Courtney Bumpers (UNC), 9.875
2. Jess Patterson, (W&M), 9.825
3. Elizabeth Alsop (UNC), 9.800

Bars
1. Anna Wilson (UNC), 9.800
2. Courtney Bumpers (UNC), 9.775
3. Nicole DiFilippo (JMU), 9.750

Floor
1. Anna Wilson (UNC), 10.000
2. Olivia Trusty (UNC), 9.925
3. Courtney Bumpers (UNC), 9.925

All-Around
1. Courtney Bumpers (UNC), 39.450
2. Anna Wilson (UNC), 39.250
3. Erin Fitzgerald (JMU), 38.300