The gymnastics team sizzled for the second straight week, posting a team score of 194.225 to eclipse the program record it set just last week. The team finished second in the quad meet hosted by William and Mary — behind the University of North Carolina, but ahead of William and Mary and Rutgers University. Posting two first-place finishes, Caroline Morant ’17 led the way for the Bears, who had a total of six top-three performances.
The Bears came out strong on the floor, their first event of the day. Morant and Michelle Shnayder ’14 owned the floor exercise, ending in a tie for first place with scores of 9.800. Diana Walters ’16 took fifth place with a 9.700, helping boost the team’s overall floor score to 48.575.
Next up was the vault, in which Shnayder and Rebecca Freedman ’14 tied for fourth with twin scores of 9.750. Morant finished sixth with a 9.675, and Bruno ended up with a total vault score of 48.475.
The team made its move in the day’s third event — the uneven bars — posting its best total score in any event with a 48.625. Alexandra Chretien ’16 starred, tying for second place and matching the school record, with a score of 9.875. Walters seized third with a 9.775, Morant came in fourth with a 9.725 and Jorden Mitchell ’17 rounded out Brown’s brilliant bars performances with a score of 9.700 and fifth-place finish.
Going into its last event — the balance beam — the team found itself in a tie for second with host William and Mary at 145.675 apiece, both the Tribe and the Bears trailing eventual victors UNC. In the face of this tie, Morant and Walters turned in two exceptional performances to vault the Bears over the home team. Morant proved victorious with a career-best score of 9.825, and Walters followed close behind, earning second with a score of 9.800, a personal record.
By the end, Morant accumulated a career-high, all-around score of 39.025, good for a second-place individual finish. Walters finished fourth with 38.925, with Shnayder fifth at 38.700.
“I was really excited. Going into ECACs, I’ve been a little nervous. … So it was nice to have that meet I know I could have,” Morant said.
A week after posting the school’s all-time total score record, the gymnastics team managed to outdo itself.
“We’ve been doing so well this year,” Morant said. “We really did not expect to break the record we had just broken a week before.”
This meet concluded the Bears’ regular season. Postseason action begins next weekend at the ECAC Champsionship. Strong performances in the championships could allow some gymnasts to qualify for NCAA Regionals April 5.
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