The past month has brought the West Chester University gymnastics team many noteworthy accomplishments. From winning their first tri-meet of the season to registering their highest score of their campaign, the Golden Rams have gained the necessary momentum to prepare for tournament action, which begins in a week.In the four meets spanning from February 22 to March 13, the team has recorded two wins, edging Wilson College twice. One of those two wins also included a defeat of Rhode Island College in a tri-meet. Their wins against Wilson concluded their undefeated season against the squad from Chambersburg.
In a follow up meet to their 37 point win against Wilson on January 24, West Chester executed a repeat win on February 22, this time by a score of 178.575-144.900. The final home meet of the season handed the Golden Rams a 2-0 record in dual meets this year.
Following that meet, coach Barbara Cordova noted that inconsistency has been a problem this season. Previously, staying on the balance beam has posed a problem, and although the team made a great improvement in that aspect, they fell short in their uneven bars performance. This inconsistency problem has prohibited West Chester from meeting their team goal of posting a score above 180.
As if inconsistency weren’t enough, sickness has struck the team and placed a couple top competitors out of commission for some important meets. Freshman standouts and all-around competitors Alli Aquila and Laura D’Annunzio were sidelined at the Wilson meet on February 22.
At the team’s following meet, the gymnasts scored their highest of the season with a 178.825. Although the fell to Alaska-Anchorage and host Ursinus, the West Chester squad was able to record their season best performance on the bars with a 44.000. Alli Aquila was taken off the IR to lead the way on the bars with a 9.35.
The Rams posted a 46.125 on both the vault and the floor with all five of the vault competitors scoring above 9.00. Jenna Ciatto recorded the highest floor exercise score with a 9.375 with teammates Erin Simon and Felicia Massero complementing Ciatto’s effort with a 9.200 each.
In a competition against Wilson College and Rhode Island College, West Chester was able to steal the win from both teams to capture their first tri-meet victory of the season. West Chester placed in all top three spots in vault performances and also had three representatives in the top five in the floor exercise.
In their last meet before the Championships, the Golden Rams fell only .600 shy of their team goal in a match against Division I team Brown University.
The team lost their first dual meet of the season by a score of 188.350-179.400. Lindsay Britt scored a team high 9.375 on the floor with Jenna Ciatto complementing her with a 9.200. Melissa Filer posted a 9.325 on the balance beam and Alli Aquila’s efforts resulted in an all-around score of 34.325.
The gymnasts made a big improvement in the last half of their season which they hope will continue its upward trend into the post season. The team is going to continue to rely on competitors such as Jenna Ciatto, Amber Miller, and Alli Aquila.
The Golden Rams are now enjoying their week of relaxation and preparation before the ECAC Division II Championships on March 21 at Southern Connecticut State University.
Amy Festa is a second-year student majoring in English with a minor in Journalism. She can be reached at AF649219@wcupa.edu.