Robin Glynn – General Assignment Reporter –
To the women’s gymnastics team, it was not about coming in third place at Friday night’s meet against George Washington, Towson and West Chester. It was about how well they performed, especially against two division one schools.
“I was very happy with where we placed,” said Nelson, women’s gymnastics head coach. “We broke two school records.”
Nelson said he was very impressed with the team.
Owls Gymnastics broke the school record in team vault with a score of 191.325.
“It was true team effort,” said Nelson. “There were some exciting performances. Everyone worked hard.”
Southern Connecticut State University gymnastics team set two new records for total team score of 191.325 and team vault score of 48.2, coming in third place in Friday’s meet against George Washington and Towson, both division one schools, and West Chester, a division two school, on Friday evening.
“It was awesome,” said Rebecca Brady. “We went through things this semester.”
According to the Athletic Department, the old team mark was set at the 2012 ECAC Championships with a score of 191.175, and the old vault mark of 48.125 was achieved twice, most recently in last weekend’s competition against Cornell, Brown and West Chester.
George Washington won Friday nights meet with a score of 194.475, followed by Towson with a score of 194.100. West Chester came in fourth with a 189.150. The women have now moved to 11-10 against opponents after the meet.
“We started on the bars,” said Rebecca Brady. “On the beam, we fell once. Me and the captain pushed the team. I am glad how it turned out.”
Nelson said Brady’s routine was the last routine of the night and her performance was a good way to end the night.
Brady took first place on the vault with a score of 9.825. Meghan Cole tied for 10th with a score of 9.625. Nicole Pruchnik posted a score of 9.6, while Samantha Menichini and Jenny Kaufman scored 9.575 and 9.55.
Brianna Ecklof and Rachel de la Torre were the top finishers for the women on the bars. They tied for ninth with scores of 9.65. Cole and Ecklof tied for ninth on the beam to lead the Owls with scores of 9.675.
Ecklof and Pruchnik earned scores of 9.75 on the floor to help the team and tie for sixth in that event. Nelson said Ecklof had a high score for all three events and she had a great day.
“It was a great team effort,” said Nelson. “Everyone worked for a position for a good score.”
The women previously competed against West Chester twice this season. Nelson said the first time they competed was at West Chester and lost to West Chester. The second time, the women beat West Chester was at home. Having competed for the third time this season, the women beat West Chester.
“It was nice to beat them in a neutral spot,” said Nelson.
Brady said it was good to beat West Chester because they are rivals. Both teams will go head to head at the ECAC Championships on March 23.
Nelson said he said to another coach ‘Have you seen a group so happy to get third place.’
George Washington and Townson, being division one schools, have 12 times the amount of scholarships, Nelson said, but the women raised the level of competition.
Nelson said the team worked hard and it was great to watch everything come together.
“It was about the performances and scoring so high,” said Nelson.
