The West Chester University gymnastics team recorded a win against visiting team SUNY-Cortland on Jan. 21. In addition to the victory, the Lady Rams were also able to add another new record to the history books.
The meet began with WCU on the vault scoring a team score of 47.275. The vault scores have been very strong this season, especially with three new freshmen that are all great contributors to the line-up.
“As a freshman it’s very exciting to be on the vault line-up this year,” Melissa Prisco said. “I love being able to contribute to the team as well as continuing to work hard to improve my skills.”
In the second event of the day, the Rams competed on the uneven bars with freshmen Stephanie Schuler leading the way with a 9.475 and Senior Alli Aquila not far behind with a 9.45. The event was finished off strong resulting in a team score of 46.425.
West Chester moved on to the balance beam, an event that typically makes or breaks the final team score. However, the gymnasts in the beam line-up showed no fear in their gymnastics. A nearly flawless performance led to a team score of 47.4, which is the highest team score on the balance beam in West Chester gymnastics’ history. In addition, junior Kaley Lafleur anchored the event with an outstanding score of 9.7.
West Chester wrapped up the competition with the floor exercise. Coming from behind, the Rams scored a team score of 46.975, while Cortland struggled on the balance beam. In the end, West Chester University won the competition with a total team score of 188.075, while SUNY-Cortland finished with a score of 185.575.
“We are succeeding early on in the season because we are more determined as a whole than ever before and we are also more unified,” Melissa Voskian said. “In my last two previous years I’ve never felt so close with my teammates as I do now, which is key when competing together to reach our mission together as one. Having each other’s back both in practice and competition will help us as the season goes on to keep pushing through injuries and frustrations, and celebrating when we succeed.”
With a win under their belt, and a new record broken on the balance beam, it is hard to believe that during the previous weekend’s competitions, the Rams received several victories and broke additional records. On Jan. 13, the Lady Rams won the meet against visiting school Southern Connecticut State University. Not only was this the first time the Rams had beat Southern Connecticut in 19 years, but West Chester also broke the University’s team total record with an incredible 188.2. On the vault, freshman Stephanie Schuler won the event with a high score of 9.7.
The gymnasts on West Chester’s team are constantly looking for ways to improve and hope to accomplish their goal this season of receiving a team score 190.
The golden rams are currently 5-1 and plan on improving this record when they travel to Brockport on January 28th.
Emily Seigel is a second-year student majoring in early childhood education. She can be reached at ES734640@wcupa.edu.