Gymnastics Drops Home Opener To UW-Eau Claire

RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY

ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus gymnastics team opened its 2018 campaign Saturday with a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dual meet against UW-Eau Claire at the Sponberg Gymnastics Studio. The Gusties lost 181.275-175.8.

“Overall we are really pleased with our meet,” Head Coach Aryn DeGrood said. “It was a great way to start the season and to set to bar for next week. It was a great team effort today. The team was able to come together to do exactly what the coaches asked of them.”

Gustavus scored 44.975 on vault, 44.025 on bars, 43.175 on beam, and 43.625 on floor. Veronica Vasina (Jr., Arvada, Colo.) highlighted the Gusties with a second place finish on the bars, scoring 9.425. Leah Heilig (So., Bloomington, Minn.) also did well in two events, taking third in both the vault and floor with scores of 9.275 and 9.1, respectively. Amanda Malo (Jr., Greenwood, Minn.) was the team’s lone all-around competitor, taking first out of two with a score of 36.075. Her top events were the bars (9.225) and floor (9.0).

“Vault had a few mishaps but also saw good things that have us feeling good,” DeGrood said. “Bars was wonderful, continuing that trend from last year. We had to count a fall but to only have five competitors and for everyone to step up, that was really great to see. Big things are to come from our bar squad. Beam was a struggle. We had to count more falls than we’d like but they didn’t let the falls get them down and finished their routines strong. Floor started rocky and ended well. We certainly have work to do but today helped us see exactly what needs improvement and we are excited to make those corrections.

“Individually, Leah Heilig had a great overall meet. I am extremely pleased with her performance today. Amanda Malo had a solid start for the year all-around. Veronica was able to battle an injury and provide a clutch performance on bars. We also so three freshman get their first chance to compete collegiately which is always so fun.”

The Gusties next compete at 6:30 p.m. Friday at UW-La Crosse.

“Next week we will be able to fill in a few spots missing from illness and injury and really start to see how the season will go,” DeGrood said. “They certainly set us up well today.”