ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus gymnastics team concluded its 2018 regular season schedule Sunday afternoon, dropping a 184.775-179.525 decision at Hamline University during a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dual meet.
“Today was a tough, it was our third meet in seven days and that is something that is difficult on their bodies,” said Head Coach Aryn DeGrood. “Knowing that, it was a solid outing. We tried to focus only on the things that we can control and not worry about the things that we can’t. They did a great job with that today.”
The Gusties turned in team scores of 45.850 on vault, 42.650 on bars, 44.750 on beam, and 46.275 on floor.
“Bars started us off shaky, but they responded exactly like they needed to, going 6 for 6 on vault and 8 for 8 on floor. They didn’t all stay on the beam but it was a confidence booster for those who did and a chance to get the kinks out of the system. Ending on beam again for the first time in four weeks was really beneficial in getting us ready for our rotation next Sunday,” commented DeGrood.
Emily Anderson (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) helped lead the team during her final dual meet in Black and Gold, notching a team-high score for the Gusties on bars at 8.750 and recording a career-high beam score of 9.250.
Veronica Vasina (Jr., Arvada, Colo.) led Gustavus with a career-high 9.325 on beam to finish in second place. Sam Ardy (Jr., Thousand Oaks, Calif.) led the Gusties on vault with a team-high 9.275, while Amanda Malo (Jr., Greenwood, Minn.) led on the floor with a 9.400 and finished first in the all-around at 36.100.
“Anderson had a great meet on her events. She led us on bars, her vault was great, some of the best vaults of the year with some tough judging. Our entire floor lineup was solid, they went hard for everything, adding new skills and perfecting ones that needed adjustments. Veronica, Emily and Amanda were solid on beam. We played around with the line up and got some new faces in, that was the biggest benefit of this meet for us” said DeGrood.
Next Sunday, Gustavus is set to host the 2018 WIAC Championships/National Collegiate Gymnastics Association West Regional. Events are set to begin at 2 p.m.
“It’s been an exhausting week, but this has really shown how much they’ve grown as a unit and how resilient they are. And it really will be setting us up perfectly for next weekend, at home, to conclude the season at the conference championship. Looking towards next Sunday, we are hoping for lots of fans and are ready to make it a celebration and to show the conference how proud the Gustie faithful are. We can’t wait to see you all there!”