Liberty University Club Sports
William & Mary
Gymnasts place second out of four teams in first official meet at William & Mary
2/21/2023 5:51:00 PM | Gymnastics
Three weeks after showcasing its skills in an unjudged exhibition meet hosted by the UNC Chapel Hill that also included gymnasts from North Carolina State and Navy, Liberty University's gymnastics team entered its first official competition on Sunday at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
"Highlights for me was seeing our gymnasts develop more confidence since their first meet," Lady Flames first-year Head Coach Jessie Lowe said. "We have six freshmen and seeing them putting more skills together than they did the last time around was encouraging. We had a lot of improvement on our bars rotation, which was good, and a really strong finish on the (balance) beam, our last event."
Individually, Liberty junior Sophie Boone upgraded one of her tumbling series on the beam and stuck it for a high score of 9.7.
"That was a big highlight." Lowe said of Boone. "She did awesome. She placed second on vault and first on (uneven) bars, beam, floor (exercise), and All-Around, so she carried the team pretty well. It was good to see the girls bond as a team, just knowing how to encourage each other and compete as a unit rather than individuals."
Senior AJ Kenniv finished second on bars, third on floor, fourth on the beam and vault, and third in the all-around while freshman Annabella James placed third on vault, third on beam, fifth on bars, and fourth all-around.
Hannah Magners placed second on beam and fifth on floor while fellow junior Audrey Case came in fourth on bars and fifth on beam and freshman Sarah Baugher finished fourth on floor.
In the Xcel Platinum division, freshman Kailyn Rowland placed second on vault, second on bars, and fifth in the All-Around while junior Chloe Taylor placed third on the vault and floor.
As a team, the Lady Flames placed second to the host Tribe in a quad meet that also featured American University and Christopher Newport University as well as a handful of other individual collegiate or alumni gymnasts.
"We were the only Level 9 team there, with two of our 11 gymnasts competing in Xcel Platinum, formerly Level 6," Lowe said. "The team award was based off of total scores, combining all of the levels. William & Mary had mostly platinum-level competitors but ended up with the highest combined multiple-level team score."
The Lady Flames will next compete against several collegiate club programs at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, hosted by Towson University outside of Baltimore, Md., on March 18.
"We are looking to add a few more girls to the lineup who are coming back from injuries, getting healthy again, so this will be a good few weeks for them to add more elements and skills into their routines," Lowe said, noting that freshman Sarah Baugher and seniors Audrie Pack and Kaitlin Greiner will be among those returning from injuries.
That Mid-Atlantic meet will be their last event before the March 29-April 1 NAIGC National Championships in Memphis, Tenn., where Lowe anticipates entering 10 of her 11 gymnasts in Level 9.
"Most of the other teams are level 8 or Platinum, so that gives us more of a competitive edge," Lowe said.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Players Mentioned
