The Lindenwood women's gymnastics team won the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Team Championship on Saturday evening in Philadelphia, Pa. It is the first USA Gymnastics national title for the third-year program, and it ends the six-year reign by Bridgeport.
"It is very surreal that this is happening," said head coach
Jen Kesler. "Our goal from day one was to be national champions and every single gymnasts bought into that. It was a tough process but after every challenge, the girls continued to fight and push through.
The Lady Lions finished with a team score of 195.550, the second-highest in program history. Bridgeport was second with a 194.675, followed by Seattle Pacific with a 194.225 and Texas Woman's with a 193.775.
"I could not be more proud of their performance today," said Kesler. "We had our best overall performance of the season as we went 24-of-24 on our routines and did not have a single fall."
The beam has been the trouble event for the Lady Lions all season, but on Saturday it was the event that won the team a national title. After two rotations, Lindenwood trailed Bridgeport by 0.125, but a school record performance on the beam put the Lady Lions ahead for good.
Rachel Zabawa got Lindenwood started with both judges giving her performance a 9.900, a new individual school record.
Lauren Cartmell had a 9.675 from the second spot, and then three straight Lady Lions had a 9.800 or higher.
Hannah Rector recorded a 9.825,
Kierstin Sokolowski had a 9.800, and
Valeri Ingui had a 9.875.
Trystien Charles had a good routine to finish the rotation with a 9.625. The final team score was a 49.075, which bettered the previous school record by 0.325.
Lindenwood entered its final rotation with a 0.675 lead, and it wrapped up the victory on the floor. Sokolowski officially sealed the national title with a 9.825, and Zabawa finished the event with a 9.850 performance. The Lady Lions ended with a team score of 48.875 on the floor, its third-highest in school history.
The Lady Lions opened on the vault and recorded a 48.700, tying its third-best mark in program history. Sokolowski led the team with a 9.800, and Zabawa and Ingui each had a 9.750. Lindenwood had a bars score of 48.900, which was also the third-highest in school history.
Courtney Heise tied her school record with a 9.900, and Charles had a 9.825.
Other contributors during the team finals were
Daniela Fumagalli,
Shaylyn Garay,
Aubree Horn, and
Olivia Oswalt.
As a team, Lindenwood finished tied with the highest score on the vault, and had the highest team score on the beam. One of the biggest keys in defeating the six-time defending national champions Bridgeport was the bars, where the Lady Lions outscored Bridgeport by 0.625.
Individually, Heise won the bars competition and Zabawa won the beam event. Sokolowski was third on the vault, and Zabawa finished third on the floor. Sokolowski had the top all-around score with a 39.100, just ahead of teammate Ingui with a 38.950. Zabawa had the top score among gymnasts in three events, with a combined total of 29.500.
Lindenwood will conclude its season on Sunday in Philadelphia with the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Individual Finals. Seven Lady Lions will be competing in that event.
