Gymnastics Claims USAG Collegiate National Team Title
4/10/2009 10:48:28 PM
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Cornell gymnastics team became the first non-scholarship program to ever win the USAG Collegiate National team championship when it outdistanced the four-team field in the finals on Friday evening at Southern Connecticut State. The Big Red finished tied with Bridgeport atop the standings with a 191.675, the first tie at the top in at least 15 years at the USAG championships.
Cornell had the highest team score on both vault (48.825) and beam (48.050) in taking home the title. Stacey Ohara led the way with first-place finishes on both beam (9.825) and floor (9.800), while Maddie Pearsall finished in the top 10 in all five events, including second-place efforts on bards (9.625) and the all-around (38.600, a persona best and No. 3 all-time at Cornell). Also finishing on the podium were Emily Santoro on vault (third, 9.800), as well as a strong fourth-place finish on floor, Kerri Lavalle on vault (third, 9.800) and Melanie Standridge on beam (third, 9.750).
Cornell tied for first with a Bridgeport team that scored nearly a full point higher on floor to make up ground after falling behind the Big Red in each of the other three events. William & Mary was third (191.100), while defending champion Texas Women's placed fourth with a 190.800.
Several Big Red gymnasts will compete for individual USAG titles on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.