MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Gustavus gymnastics team competed in the Best of Minnesota meet Sunday, hosted by the University of Minnesota, and took fourth place with a total of 184.550. The annual meet features all four collegiate gymnastics teams in the state of Minnesota.
Gustavus set a school record on the bars, scoring 47.025, which proved to be the best event of the day. The Gusties scored 46.900 on vault, 46.050 on floor, and 44.575 on beam.
“The Best of Minnesota is always a fun meet and one we look forward to every year,” Head Coach Aryn DeGrood said. “The start and finish of the meet couldn’t have been better. We broke the school record on bars with the most exciting set we’ve ever done. It was awesome and our highest event score of the day. Vault closed the meet out great. They were solid as they have consistently been and made the improvements to hit their shapes. Beam continues to be out weak point but is slowly improving. Floor was solid but not up to the level it has been. As we get down to the wire at the end of the season we are looking to make the adjustments and peak at the right moment.”
Samantha Ardy (So., Thousand Oaks, Calif.) led the way on the bars, scoring a season-high 9.550. Lauren Kershner (Sr., Marine, Ill.) and Veronica Vasina (So., Arvada, Colo.) were next in line with identical scores of 9.400. Alex Kopp (Sr., Wayzata, Minn.) paced the Gusties on the vault and floor with totals of 9.625 and 9.600, respectively. Kershner led the team on the beam with a 9.550 and posted the Gusties’ top all-around score at 37.400.
Gustavus next travels to UW-Eau Claire Friday for a 6:30 p.m. meet.