The Gustavus Adolphus gymnastics team opened their season Monday with a 167.450-167.000 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dual win over University of Wisconsin-Stout. The Gusties led by nearly four points after the first rotation but survived a pair of 9+ scores by the Blue Devils on the balance beam to secure the win. Gustavus will take part in the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Invitational Friday night.
Opening on the vault, the Gusties jumped out to a 42.725-39.100 lead after the first rotation. Brittany Moore (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) scored a 9.000, the evening’s best mark on the apparatus. Kathleen Ozbun (Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.) was next for the Gusties with an 8.900, followed by Emily Pickford (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) with a 8.725. UW-Stout opened on the uneven bars, with Ashley Timm scoring a team-high 8.500.
The Blue Devils began to make up ground as the teams switched apparatus. Angela Blankenship posted a team-high vault of 8.875, while Timm and Meghan Hargens each added scores of 8.650. On the uneven bars, the Gusties were led by Ozbun’s meet-high score of 8.750, followed by scores of 8.200 and 8.150 from Laurel Urquhart (Fy., Great Falls, Mont.) and Audrey Schenewerk (Sr., Lawrence, Kan.), respectively.
The Gusties moved to the balance beam in the third rotation, while UW-Stout shifted to the floor exercise. Urquhart posted the best Gustavus score with a 8.550, followed closely by Nicole Gergen (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) with an 8.500. Dana Ryerson (Sr., Ames, Iowa) added an 8.400. The Blue Devils picked up a score of 8.850 from Hargens on the floor to lead their effort as they closed to 125.375-123.900 heading to the final rotation.
On the floor exercise, the Gusties were led by an 8.875 from Kelsie Droogsma (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) and a 8.750 from Gergen. UW-Stout responded with a pair of 9+ scores from their final two competitors on the balance beam. Hargens scored a meet-high 9.150 and Timm concluded the Blue Devil effort with a 9.125, but UW-Stout could not close the gap.
UW-Stout took the top three spots in the all-around competition with Timm posting a 34.825 total, just ahead of Morgan Trumble (33.100) and Blankenship (32.875). Gustavus’ lone all-around competitor, Emily Pickford, accumulated a 32.750 total.
The Gusties return to action this Friday night when they participate in the UW-Eau Claire Invitational.