Tribe Gymnastics Fifth at North Carolina

Junior Tricia Long Turns In Another Strong All-Around

03/23/07 11:00PM

Chapel Hill, N.C. - William and Mary women’s gymnasts traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday night to take part in a competitive five-team meet at North Carolina, and the Tribe posted a decent team mark of 189.225 and finished fifth. The host Tar Heels claimed the team title with a total of 194.300, followed by Towson (193.500), George Washington (193.225) and Rhode Island (190.725).

The Tribe’s total marked the third this season and the third consecutive competition where W&M has scored above the 189 mark, which includes a season-best 190.000 in a victory over James Madison last week.

The highlight of the evening for W&M was the performance of the floor line-up, as the group put together a season-high total of 47.650 in an event that has been very challenging for the team this year. But, in a cruel twist indicative of the team’s up-and-down season, it was vault, which has been the squad’s most consistent event, that kept the team from cracking the 190 mark for the second-straight week.

W&M was still able to post a decent team score of 46.950 on vault, but the mark was below its season average and marked the first time since mid-February (six meets) that the Tribe failed to surpass 47.400 in the event. The Tribe continued to show improvement on beam with a total of 47.200, and the bars’ line-up enjoyed another solid outing with a total of 47.425, its third-straight competition at, or over, 47.400.

Highlighting the individual performances was another terrific all-around effort from junior Tricia Long (Humble, Texas), who is making a strong push to qualify for the NCAA Southeast Regional as an all-arounder. Long, who just posted a season-high total of 48.150 last week against JMU, placed fifth Friday night with a final tally of 48.135. It marked the third time this season Long cracked 48. She used another outstanding floor routine to notch a 9.650 and place 15th and also shined on beam, placing 12th with an identical 9.650.

Classmate Stevie Waldman (Downington, Pa.) was the team’s top individual finisher in two events, recording a fifth-place finish on floor with a season-high 9.750 and an eighth-place showing on uneven bars with a nice 9.725. Waldman, who carried the ECAC’s top Regional Qualifying Score on bars into tonight’s competition, is also on track to qualify for Regionals in the event.

Waldman’s fifth-place finish on floor paced the team, but the line-up also received a huge boost from senior Jess Randall (West Hartford, Conn.). Randall, who has been battling her way through a chronic wrist injury all season, stepped up and hit her routine to score a season-high 9.650 and place 15th with Long’s matching score. Freshman Stephanie Bevan (Bridgewater, N.J.) also came through big, scoring a 9.450.


Sophomore Becca Bacharach (Lancaster, Pa.) bounced back from a couple tough outings on beam to nail her routine and place 13th with a strong 9.625. Bevan contributed a solid 9.425 to finish 18th, and Waldman was also in the top-20 on beam for the College with a 9.300.

On bars, Waldman was also the team’s top scorer boosting her bid for Regionals with a 9.725. Freshman Ali Medeiros (Hudson, Ohio) continued her terrific rookie campaign and followed with a 9.525 to place 19th. Sophomore Sarah Jacobson (Brecksville, Ohio) also connected on her routine and posted a 9.425, while Long matched the mark to bolster her all-around total. Senior Christina Padilla (Sterling, Va.) cooled off a bit from her recent blistering streak on bars but was still solid with a 9.325 to round out the team total.

Jacobson was the team’s top scorer on vault, placing 17th with a solid 9.550. Padilla tallied a 9.425, and Long scored a 9.400. Medeiros chipped in with a 9.300.

W&M completed the regular season portion of the 2007 campaign this evening and will return to action at the ECAC Championship meet next weekend. The Tribe, along with the league’s other eight squads, will vie for the conference title on Saturday, March 31st at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.