West Chester gymnasts honored their seniors during a tri-meet on Saturday against Temple University and Springfield College inside Sturzebecker Health and Science Center. The meet was the Rams last home meet for the season.West Chester last met Temple at the Liberty Classic where the Owls finished first with an impressive score of 188.371. West Chester posted their lowest score of the season with a 176.375.
West Chester finished with the slight edge over Springfield College to come in second with a score of 181.275. Springfield College fell just short with a 179.925 while Temple University finished first with a 188.150.
Temple had a strong team performance and finished first in every event. They had individual competitors finish both first and second in all four events.
“This was our highest score of the season and it was really exciting for our team to beat Springfield,” head coach Barbara Cordova said. “That’s a big deal for us. It’s also just exciting to have another win on the season.”
For five West Chester seniors, the tri-meet was their last wearing purple and gold. Alyssa Driscoll, Melissa Filer, Jenna Ciatto, Stephanie Clark and Felicia Massaro celebrated their last meet with strong performances for the Golden Rams.
“It’s sad because we are losing five wonderful girls,” Cordova said. “But I’m really proud of how we did as a team today. The team performed well not only for themselves, but for the seniors so they could have a good senior meet.”
Alyssa Driscoll, who is a captain for West Chester, has been a standout on bars and floor.
“She is an outstanding student and athlete,” Cordova said.
Melissa Filer, another captain for the Rams, competes on the beam for West Chester. She has been a strong competitor for the past four years.
Jenna Ciatto is the third West Chester captain.
“Jenna has been a very strong competitor for West Chester. She competed all around her freshman and sophomore years and competed on three events her junior and senior years,” Cordova said.
Stephanie Clark, the fourth and final captain, competes for West Chester on the vault and bars. Aside from gymnastics, she is also the president of SAAC.
Felicia Massaro transferred into West Chester last year from Springfield College.
“She is an excellent gymnast and has done well here at West Chester,” Cordova said. “She is very strong on the vault and floor.”
Massaro had the highest score for the Rams on the vault with a 9.325.
The seniors were honored, alongside their parents, for their contributions to the West Chester gymnastics program.
Kaley LaFleur came in first in the all around after posting a 36.875, while teammate Alli Aquila finished just slightly behind her with a 36.175. Her score of 9.425 on the balance beam placed her in third in the meet. Aquila finished fourth on the uneven bars with a score of 9.025. LaFleur’s score of 9.425 on the balance beam placed her in third place in the meet. Rachel Pearson finished in first on the floor for the Rams with a 9.525.
After the third rotation, West Chester trailed Springfield College by less than a point. The floor exercise was the Rams final event of the afternoon, and yet again, it also became their saving grace. The floor exercise has proved to be West Chester’s strongest event, and it kept them from finishing in third place at the tri-meet.
“The girls performed really well today,” Cordova said. “We didn’t have any falls on the bar and Springfield did, which I think was the ultimate different between us beating them and us losing to them. The girls also performed really well on the floor again. It was both our highest uneven bar and highest floor exercise score of the season.”
West Chester has two more meets before the ECAC Championships. They will travel to Ursinus on Friday and Wilson on Sunday to finish up their season.
Amy Festa is a third-year student majoring in English with a minor in Journalism. She can be reached at AF649219@wcupa.edu.