West Chester University’s gymnastics team traveled to Temple University on Feb. 2, where they placed third in the quad meet with a 184.875. Senior Kaley LaFleur finished sixth on the balance beam with a 9.625. The Ram’s had a very strong showing on the floor exercise where junior Paige Griffin scored a 9.65 and teammates Lindsay Knapp and Melissa Voskian tied for 11th place with a 9.50. Freshman Meghan Brannon tied for fifth place on the uneven bars with a 9.65.
Following the meet at Temple, the Rams returned to their home turf on Feb. 9, for a dual meet against University of Pennsylvania. Though the team fell just short of a win, the girls posted their highest team all around score of the season thus far, posting a mark of 187.750. The Lady Rams started off on the vault where sophomore Melissa Prisco finished in fourth place and set a personal record with a score of 9.55.
On the uneven bars, Freshman Meghan Brannon came in third with a 9.70. Teammates Karen Laskaris and Paige Griffin were right behind Brannon, both achieving their personal best scores for the season, with a 9.625 and a 9.575, respectively. In the third rotation, the gymnasts were steady on the balance beam, with LaFleur receiving a 9.650 and Sophomore Lauren Bilenki scoring a 9.3, securing a fifth place finish.
The Lady Rams wrapped up the meet with an outstanding floor exercise rotation. The girls scored a total of a 48.050, just shy of West Chester University’s record on that event. Brannon came in second place with a huge score of 9.750, with Voskian just behind her with a 9.70.
The dual meet was also the Lady Ram’s “Pink” meet, in which they donated half of the day’s proceeds to Unite For Her. The charity, founded by West Chester Gymnastics alum Sue Weldon, is dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls by providing awareness about breast cancer, complimentary therapies, and wellness programs that educate, empower, and restore. Another feature of the day was the welcoming back of alumni gymnasts, who generously came to support their fellow Lady Rams. Stay tuned as West Chester travels to Yale University on Feb. 16 for the Bulldog Invitational.
Emily Seigel is a third-year student majoring in early childhood education with a minor in reading. She can be reached at ES734640@wcupa.edu.