The gymnastics team captured its first win of the season Sunday, posting a season-high final team score of 192.650 during its annual Senior Day meet. Prior to the competition, five seniors, Tori Kinamon ’17, Jorden Mitchell ’17, Brooke Williams ’17, Caroline Morant ’17 and team manager Renee Edelman ’17 were recognized for their individual achievements and contributions to the program over the past four years.
The Bears hosted the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and Southern Connecticut State University. Because the Bears were the home team, they competed in the Olympic order, starting on vault, before moving to bars, beam and the floor exercise.
Bruno’s first rotation was highlighted by personal-bests from Anne Christman ’20 and Julia Green ’19, with scores of 9.600 and 9.675, respectively. Morant claimed the vault title with a 9.775. After the first event, the Bears led the competition with a team score of 47.925.
Brown got off to a shaky start on the bars, but Maggie McAvoy ’18 pulled the rotation back together with a clean routine and a stuck double layout dismount that earned her a season high 9.650 and second place in the event.
“We’ve been really focusing on details lately,” McAvoy said of the team’s recent training sessions. “I’ve been working on sticking for the last couple weeks. To nail the double layout so well made me so happy.”
Following McAvoy, Mitchell made her first appearance of the season on bars and kept the momentum swinging with a 9.600. Anya Olson ’18 nabbed the bars title with a stuck double tuck dismount and a personal best of 9.775. At the competition’s midpoint, the Bears kept a tight grip on first place with a 95.650.
Though the balance beam had been the source of struggles in past meets, the team was able to put up five solid routines Sunday. The pressure was on when, following a routine that had a few mistakes, Christman stepped up to salute the judges. Her teammates shouted “confidence, Annie!” and cheered her on as she mounted the apparatus. Christman recalled being “really nervous” because beam was “shaky” during practice, but she maintained her balance and got the team back on track. Regan Butchness ’18 stuck her dismount for a season high 9.775, earning her a third place finish. Morant and Mitchell raised their personal bests and secured the two top spots on beam with a 9.875 and a 9.850, respectively.
“We started with a fall, but then every single person after kept improving,” Morant said. “Once we were done, we all kind of knew that was one of the best beam teams we’ve done this season.” The team’s score of 48.750 in the event was a season-high for the Bears.
Going into the final rotation, the Bears led the field with a team score of 144.400. The team has been focusing on “presenting and drawing the crowd into our performances,” said Head Coach Sara Carver-Milne. Her team did just that, as Morgan Hagenbuch ’19 kicked off the floor exercise with a career high 9.675. Christman claimed third place on the event with a personal best 9.725. Olson followed with a solid 9.700, and Morant closed the show with a season-high 9.875 to take first place.
Bruno ended the meet with a 192.650, almost two points ahead of second-place Southern Connecticut, and Morant outscored fellow competitors by nearly three points to win the all-around.
The Bears will compete twice this weekend in St. Charles, Missouri before returning home to prepare for the Ivy Classic.
