St. Paul – The Gustavus Adolphus gymnastics team concluded its season with an eighth place finish at the 2015 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships/National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Midwest Regional held Sunday, March 15 in Hutton Arena. In what was their final team performance of the season, the Golden Gusties turned in their second-best score of the year with a 180.025.
UW-Whitewater was crowned champion after scoring a 191.750. UW-La Crosse finished runner-up with a 190.875, and UW-Stout took third with a 187.825.
Gustavus’s team score this afternoon was it’s best since a 180.200 showing at the Best of Minnesota Invite back on Feb. 22. It is only the second time since the WIAC Championships on March 22, 2005 that the Gusties have posted a team score over the 180.000 mark.
Head Coach Aryn Bell’s club recorded individual event scores of 46.600 on the vault, 43.725 on the uneven parallel bars, 44.600 on the balance beam, and 45.100 on the floor exercise. The team’s scores on the vault and bars were both season-bests.
Leading the Black and Gold individually was Alexandra Kopp (So., Wayzata, Minn.). Kopp competed in the all-around where she finished sixth overall with a score of 37.225. The sophomore put together her best overall performance of the season with the top all-around score of her young collegiate career. Her previous season-high was a 37.150 registered in the squad’s final regular season dual against UW-Oshkosh on March 6.
On an individual event basis, Kopp finished sixth on the beam with a 9.500, eighth on the vault with a 9.525, and 35th on both the bars with a 8.900 and floor with a 9.300. Her score on the vault was also a season-best.
Thanks to her regular season performances and her finish today in the all-around, Kopp has earned a trip to the NCGA Division III Gymnastics Championships being held March 27-28 at the Mitchell Hall Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis.
Lauren Kershner (So., Marine, Ill.) also qualified in the all-around, finishing eighth with a 36.825. She scored season-highs on the vault (9.350), bars (9.050), and beam (9.225), and finished with a 9.200 on the floor.
For more detailed information about the upcoming NCGA Championships, please follow the link below to the event’s website. UW-La Crosse is serving as this year’s host.
http://www.uwlathletics.com/sports/2015/1/28/GYMNCGA2015.aspx