Stevie Waldman Wins ECAC Uneven Bars Title

Tribe Finishes Fourth at Conference Championships

03/29/08 9:17PM

WILLIAMSBURG - William and Mary earned 11 All-ECAC accolades Saturday at the ECAC Women’s Gymnastics Championships, including seven first-team honors, to finish fourth out of eight teams with 191.325 points. Towson University won its fourth-straight ECAC title, 193.95-192.225 over Rhode Island.

Complete Championship Results

Senior Stevie Waldman (Downington, Pa.) made the most of her final appearance at Kaplan Arena, winning the ECAC Uneven Bars title and setting two career-high scores en route to a total of three first-team All-ECAC certificates. She was one of only three athletes in the entire meet to surpass 9.8 points in the bars, taking gold with a score of 9.825. On the balance beam, Waldman scored a career-high 9.85 to place third, and her career-best all-around score of 38.85 was good for fourth. Those two performance also ranked in William and Mary’s all-time top-10 performances, in a tie for 10th and a tie for sixth, respectively. At the conclusion of the meet, Waldman was also honored for her prowess in the classroom as one of four Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

Sophomore Jennifer Stack (Enfield, Conn.) was extremely efficient on the afternoon, competing in only two events but earning first-team all-conference honors on both. On the vault, Stack scored 9.725 for sixth place, and she tied for second on the uneven bars with a career-best score of 9.8. Classmate Alison Medeiros (Hudson, Ohio) also set a career-high of 9.8 on the bars, giving the Tribe a sweep of the top three spots. Sophomore Stephanie Bevan (Bridgewater, N.J.) rounded out the College’s first-team all-conference representatives, scoring a career-best 9.775 on the balance beam to tie for sixth.

Senior Tricia Long (Humble, Texas) earned a pair of second-team All-ECAC awards, tying for ninth in the all-around with 37.975 points and tying for 11th on the floor exercise with 9.7 points. Junior Sarah Jacobson (Brecksville, Ohio) tied for ninth on the vault with her career-best score of 9.625, and also scored a career-high 9.65 on the balance beam, tying for 17th. Freshman Melissa Cream (West Windsor, N.J.) started what promises to be a large collection of all-conference awards with her second-team effort of 9.725 on the balance beam.

As a team, the College scored a season-high 48.775 points on the uneven bars, which was also the best score of the meet on any individual event, for any team. The showing ranks as the seventh-greatest aggregate on the uneven bars in school history.

The Tribe will now await word on selections to both the NCAA Region Championships, April 12 at 6 p.m. in Gainesville, Florida; as well as the USAG Collegiate Championships, April 17-19 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

2008 ECAC Division I Women’s Gymnastics Championships
Gymnast of the Year: Decelia Willacy, Towson
Specialist of the Year: Christine McNeil, Temple
Rookie of the Year: Maddie Pearsall, Cornell
Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Laura Lombardi, Yale; Hannah Goldstein, Brown; Lizzie Lowe, Pennsylvania; Stevie Waldman, W&M
Assistant Coach of the Year: Craig Ballard, Rhode Island
Coach of the Year: Chelle Kassabian, Rhode Island

Team Standings
1. Towson 193.95
2. Rhode Island 192.225
3. Cornell 192.075
4. WILLIAM AND MARY 191.325
5. Temple 190.825
6. Pennsylvania 188.575
7. Yale 186.65
8. Brown 183.05

Event Champions
All Around: Annukka Almenoksa (TOW) 39.15
Vault: Alise McDonald (TOW) 9.85
Uneven Bars: Stevie Waldman (W&M) 9.825
Balance Beam: Annukka Almenoksa (TOW) 9.925
Floor: Marissa Rosen (UPENN) 9.9

William and Mary All-Conference Performers
All-Around: Stevie Waldman (1), Tricia Long (2)
Vault: Jennifer Stack (1), Sarah Jacobson (2)
Uneven Bars: Stevie Waldman (1), Jennifer Stack (1), Alison Medeiros (1)
Balance Beam: Stevie Waldman (1), Stephanie Bevan (1), Melissa Cream (2)
Floor: Tricia Long (2)