In the last dual meet of the season, the Gustavus women’s gymnastics team defeated UW-Eau Claire 178.225 to 175.725 on Friday night in Eau Claire, Wis. The Gusties trailed by 0.3 points after vault and balance beam, but outscored the Blugolds by more than one point on balance beam and floor exercise to come away with the win. Seniors Laura Hansen (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Christine Askham (Arvada, Colo.) won event titles on the balance beam and the floor exercise, respectively, while sharing the uneven bars title.
Gustavus scored 45.675 on the vault, 43.625 on the uneven parallel bars, 43.850 on the balance beam, and 45.075 on the floor exercise. Individually, the Gusties were led by Jenny Berglund (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) on the vault with a score of 9.375, Laura Hansen on the balance beam at 9.300, and Christine Askham on the floor exercise at 9.400. Hansen and Askham recorded identical scores of 9.150 on the uneven bars.
Askham also won the all-around competition with a total score of 36.025. She posted a career-high score of 9.150 on the uneven bars, 9.075 on the vault, 8.400 on the balance beam, and 9.400 on the floor exercise.
The Gusties and the Blugolds will compete at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Winona State University on Friday, March 6 beginning at 6 p.m.