Tribe Gymnastics Second at ECAC Tri-Meet

Sophomore Stevie Waldman Wins on Bars; Senior Brittany Gibbs in Top Three on Vault, Floor

03/18/06 9:15PM

Harrisonburg, VA - For the second time this week, the William and Mary women’s gymnastics team took on conference rivals Towson and James Madison, and although the venue changed, the result did not, as the Tribe finished second to the ECAC’s top-ranked team, Towson, and defeated its state-rival JMU Saturday night at Godwin Hall.

The Tigers posted a team score of 192.825 in the final tune-up for all three teams before next weekend’s ECAC Championship at Rhode Island. Just three days removed from scoring a season-high 193.000 against the same two opponents at Kaplan Arena on Wednesday, W&M grinded out a team score of 187.700 in its fourth meet in eight days to narrowly edge the Dukes (187.250).

Stevie Waldman (Downingtown, Pa.) continued to shine on bars for the Tribe, winning the individual title with a score of 9.775. Waldman also placed first on bars Wednesday, and the sophomore has now finished first in the event in four of the six meets she’s competed in this season. Senior Brittany Gibbs (West Chester, Pa.) was also strong again for the Tribe, placing second on floor (9.775) and third on vault (9.675).

W&M began the evening on bars and looked to carry over the momentum of Wednesday’s performance, which included a season-high 48.925 in the event, on the strength of Waldman’s performance. Junior Christina Padilla (Sterling, Va.) was sharp and placed fourth with a 9.700, and freshman Monica Goldblatt (McLean, Va.) returned from an injury to score a 9.425 in 11th. Sophomore Tricia Long (Humble, Texas) scored a 9.250, and junior Janelle Greene (Fairfax, Va.) rounded out the team total (47.375) with a 9.225. But, considering the Tribe’s recent success on bars, it was a rocky start for the squad, and W&M never did recover, failing to crack 47 in its final three rotations.

In the second rotation, the Tribe moved on to beam, and although the line-up performed admirably, the scores did not reflect it. Junior Jess Randall (West Hartford, Conn.) performed a near flawless routine to lead the way with a 9.500, tying for sixth place, and Waldman turned a terrific routine that drew only a 9.425 to place ninth. Long followed in 10th with a 9.375, and senior Kristen Gaidish’s (Abington, Pa.) elegant routine was scored at 9.275.

Gibbs and classmate Kate Magee (McLean, Va.) provided the highlights on floor, where W&M had to count multiple falls. Magee’s rousing routine scored a 9.625 to tie for fourth, while Gaidish bounced back and delivered a delightful performance to score a 9.500 and tie for 11th.

W&M was also a bit off average in the final rotation on vault overall, although Gibbs and Padilla turned in their usual rock solid efforts. Padilla was just behind Gibbs with a 9.525 which stood in seventh, while Long also cracked the top 10 with a 9.300. Freshman Ashley Lugo (Central Islip, N.Y.) contributed a key 9.200, stepping into the vault line-up when Randall was unable to go.

Long finished fifth in the all-around with a total of 36.750.

W&M and the eight other members of the ECAC will compete next Saturday at Rhode Island for the conference championship, which is scheduled to get underway at noon. For directions and championship information, please visit URI’s athletic’s web site at www.GoRhody.com.