SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus gymnastics team is set to compete at the WIAC/NCGA West Regional on Saturday, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The meet begins at 2 p.m. in Menomonie, Wis.
The conference meet serves as the West Region qualifier for the NCGA championship that will be held March 23 and hosted by UW-Oshkosh. The top three teams from the WIAC event, along with qualified gymnasts, will advance to the NCGA meet.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
The Gusties come into the conference meet ranked seventh out of eight teams in the WIAC with an average team score of 182.364. In the WIAC honor roll, Amanda Malo (Sr., Greenwood, Minn.) leads the Gusties with a fourth-place ranking in the all-around at 37.650. Malo also ranks fifth on the floor with a 9.700. Sam Ardy (Sr., Thousand Oaks, Calif.) leads the team on the bars with a 9.600, which ranks 11th in the league. Sophia Redding (Fy., St. Paul, Minn.) has the top vault score on the squad at 9.525 and Katy Trunk (Sr., North Branch, Minn.) has the top beam score at 9.450.
LAST SEASON
The Gusties hosted the 2018 WIAC/NCGA West Regional at Gus Young Court on March 4, 2018, taking fifth of eight teams with a season-high score of 185.725, the third best team score in program history.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was crowned the team champion, earning the program’s 24th WIAC Championship with a team score of 191.875.
Coming in as the No. 8 seed, a school record beam score of 45.900 and season-high score of 46.775 on bars led to the best finish since 2004 for Gustavus. The Gusties also scored 46.775 on vault and 46.275 on the floor exercise.
Sam Ardy paced the Black and Gold, turning in a team-best fifth place finish on bars. Ardy tied a career-high with a score of 9.675, earning All-Conference laurels. Veronica Vasina led the Gusties on beam with a career-best score of 9.425, while Ardy followed at with a season-high 9.375, and Emily Anderson ’18 at 9.100. Vasina also claimed the top team score on the vault at 9.450, while Ardy and Leah Heilig each scored 9.400.
In the all-around competition, Amanda Malo and Ardy finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively. Malo had a total score of 37.325, led by her season-high floor score of 9.575 – which was good for 11th place. Ardy finished with a season-best all-around score of 37.075. Each received All-Conference honors.