ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus gymnastics teams has been preparing all season long for this meet and its finally here. The Gusties are set to compete in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference/National Collegiate Gymnastics Association West Regional, which takes place March 17-19 at the host site Winona State University.
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For more information on Gustavus gymnastics, please view the meet notes here.
From the WIAC:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will strive for a second consecutive title at the 2017 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Gymnastics Championship/National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) West Regional (presented by Culver’s) at Winona State’s McCown Gymnasium on March 17. This year’s championship will mark the 44th meeting of league teams.
The Eagles collected the 23rd conference championship in program history a season ago with a score of 191.800 to surpass UW-Whitewater’s second-place score of 191.400. Winona State University placed third with a score of 188.525, while UW-Oshkosh was fourth with 187.400, UW-Eau Claire fifth with 186.750, UW-Stout sixth with 186.075, Hamline University (Minn.) seventh with 184.875 and Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) eighth with 184.475.
The conference meet will also serve as the West Region qualifier for the NCGA championship that will be hosted by UW-Stout March 31-April 1. The top three teams from the WIAC event, along with qualified gymnasts, will advance to the NCGA meet.
NCAA Division III SAS rankings distributed on March 13 include the following conference squads: UW-Whitewater second; UW-La Crosse fourth; Winona State eighth; UW-Stout ninth; UW-Oshkosh 11th, UW-Eau Claire 11th; Hamline 12th; and Gustavus Adolphus 13th.
This year’s championship features 10 gymnasts that have claimed titles at previous WIAC championships. UW-La Crosse junior Amy Enright is the two-time defending champion in the uneven bars and could become just the third individual in league history to win the event three times, joining UW-Oshkosh’s Mary Leivian (1986-88) and UW-Whitewater’s Justine Weyer (2008-10).
The Eagles also received a first-place finish from junior Samantha Wiekamp in the all-around and vault a season ago, while junior Leah Spankowski was victorious in the balance beam.
UW-Whitewater senior Katie Fiorilli won the all-around title in 2014 and added a first-place finish in the vault at the 2015 championship, while classmate Courtney Pickett claimed the all-around crown in 2015. The Warhawks also return a pair of balance beam champions after juniors McKenzie Foster and Kate Mierow were victorious in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
UW-Stout senior Kaylee Jondahl is the two-time defending champion in the floor exercise. Only three individuals in conference archives have won the event three times – UW-Oshkosh’s Debbie Lindemer (1983-85) and Mary Leivian (1986-88), along with UW-La Crosse’s Becky McDonnell (1998-99, 2001). McDonnell is currently Jondahl’s head coach. The Blue Devils’ Kelly Huseman, a senior, secured the balance beam a season ago.
Gustavus Adolphus senior Alex Kopp claimed the balance beam and floor exercise crowns at last year’s championship, becoming the first individual in Gustie history to win the events.
This year’s competition features student-athletes that represent 31 different states and one each from Argentina, Canada, Sweden and Tokyo. Following is the breakdown by state: Minnesota (45); Illinois (26); Wisconsin (21); Michigan (8); Colorado (6); North Dakota (4); Oregon (4); Arizona (3); California (3); Florida (3); Georgia (3); Iowa (3); Nebraska (3); Ohio (3); Oklahoma (3); Tennessee (3); Texas (3); Virginia (3); Washington (3); Missouri (2); Pennsylvania (2); Alabama (1); Connecticut (1); Idaho (1); Indiana (1); Louisiana (1); New Mexico (1); New York (1); North Carolina (1); South Carolina (1); and South Dakota (1).
The top-six finishers in each event receive All-Conference designation.