LEBANON, Tenn. - Lindenwood gymnastics (3-1) hit the road this weekend as they travel to the Tennessee Collegiate Classic hosted in Lebanon, Tenn. at 2:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 19. The Lions will compete against Fisk University and Northern Illinois in the first session of the open.

Last Meet Recap
LU gymnastics won their first home meet of the season inside Hyland Arena against the Panthers of Greenville University last Sunday by a final score of 195.225-186.600. The Lions swept all four awards on Sunday by receiving the highest score in all four events.

Nya Kraus had an excellent weekend helping her earn Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Week. Her overall score of 38.975 was the highest all-around score of the meet and marked a season best. 

She posted at least a 9.575 in all four events on Sunday. She also set a new season best in three of four events: 9.700 (Vault), 9.825 (Bars), 9.875 (Beam). She had the highest score for the Lions on the beam.

Gayla Griswold continued her strong start to her final season in a LU uniform, leading in two events on Sunday. Griswold posted the highest score in the vault with a 9.775 and on the floor with a 9.875. Her score of 9.775 on the vault was a season best.

Kaylee Cooper and Hannah Appleget led the way for the Lions on the uneven parallel bars with a meet high score of 9.850. The top six scores on the bars belong to every single Lindenwood Lion that competed.

Reese Baaechle competed in all but one event on Sunday putting up season bests in all three. Her scores of 9.750 on vault, 9.725 on bars, and 9.850 on floor all were personal best while at Lindenwood Her score on floor was also the second best of the meet.

Lindenwood's best event of the evening was the bar at a team score of 49.000 followed by floor (48.850), vault (48.750), and beam (48.625). Besides the floor, the Lions set season bests for team scores in those events.

Head Coach: Catelyn Branson
Catelyn Branson was named the gymnastics head coach in July of 2021, and will enter her third season with Lindenwood in 2023-24.  Orel is just the third head coach in program history.

The Lindenwood gymnastics team saw continued success in 2023, earning the top-seed at the MIC Championships, finishing in second place. Lindenwood took home the USAG National Championship for the first time since 2019. 

In her first season, the Lindenwood gymnastics team had yet another successful campaign, earning third at USAG nationals and advancing a student-athlete to NCAA nationals. Griswold became the first Lion in program history to qualify for the national event, as the junior capped her season on the vault in Fort Worth, Texas.

Branson comes to Lindenwood after serving two seasons on the staff at the University of Arkansas. She competed as a student-athlete at the University of Nebraska from 2015-19.  As a member of the Nebraska gymnastics program, Branson was named academic all-Big Ten twice, and earned scholar-athlete honor roll four times. 

Up Next
Lindenwood continues their road trip next week as they take on MIC opponent Texas Woman's University on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 6:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.