The Gustavus women’s gymnastics team put on a show in front of an enthusiastic crowd as it defeated UW-Stout 179.750 to 178.745 in the last home dual meet of the season on Thursday night in the Lund Center Forum. The Gusties posted season-best scores of 45.950 on the floor exercise and 43.775 on the uneven bars. Laura Hansen (Sr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored 9.400 on the uneven bars to capture first place on the apparatus, while fellow senior Aryn Bell (Eden Prairie, Minn.) turned in a score of 9.475 on the vault to tie for first.
Gustavus set the tone for the competition on its first rotation when it compiled a score of 46.025 on the vault as four out of the five scores were above 9.0. The momentum carried over onto the uneven bars where the Gusties separated themselves from UW-Stout with a team score of 43.775. Gustavus faltered slightly on balance beam at 44.000, but hit its floor exercise routines to stay in front of the Blue Devils as the lowest score counted was 8.950.
In addition to Hansen’s performance on the uneven bars, she posted the top Gustie score on balance beam with a 9.100. Catherine Osterhaus (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) and Christine Askham (Sr., Arvada, Colo.) each earned scores of 9.350 on floor exercise to garner the high scores for Gustavus in the event.
Meghan Hargens of UW-Stout won the all-around competition with a compiled score of 38.000 as she earned 9.475 on vault, 9.300 on uneven bars, 9.625 on balance beam, and 9.600 on floor exercise. Askham finished second in the all-around with a score of 36.200 as she turned in a 9.075 on vault, 9.125 on uneven bars, 8.650 on balance beam, and 9.350 on floor exercise.
Gustavus has one remaining dual meet of the season at UW-Eau Claire on Friday, February 27 before competing at the WIAC Championships in Winona, Minn. on March 6.