COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College gymnastics team finally got the chance to compete in Helfferich Hall and responded with a huge season high on the uneven bars in Sunday's dual meet with West Chester.
Following five meets on the road, first-year head coach Kim Valenti and the Bears put together a much-improved performance on their most troublesome event to date. For the first time all season, all five of Ursinus' official scores exceeded 9.0, and the final tally of 46.000 was just shy of a full point of their previous best set last week.
Ursinus finished with a team total of 182.800, while the Golden Rams racked up a 191.725 in the first of two home duals between the two sides.
Sophomore Hailey DiCicco paced the Bears on both the floor exercise and bars, while senior co-captain Lindsay Rush was the lone gymnast to score a top-3 individual finish.
Rush's 9.550 on the vault was good for a third-place finish, behind only West Chester's Brashlyn Johnson (9.625) and Jessica Meakim (9.600). It was the second-best score of the year for Rush, who had a 9.600 in last weekend's meet at Cortland. Freshman Emma Gable posted a 9.450 to tie for fifth, while fellow rookie Gabrielle Pitt matched her personal best and equaled DiCicco with a 9.325. Sophomore Danielle Terrenzio notched a season-high 9.225.
The bars were a source of great improvement for the Bears. DiCicco recorded a 9.275 as the top routine but was followed closely by Gable (9.250), Terrenzio (9.175), Rush (9.175), and sophomore Abigail Schwerdt (9.125); Terrenzio and Schwerdt each posted a new season high.
DiCicco produced a 9.500 to top Ursinus on the floor, and junior Skylar Haas matched her season high with a 9.425.
Haas was the Bears' top performer on the balance beam, where she garnered a 9.425 to finish sixth overall. Senior Matisen O'Brien notched a 9.250 as the only other Ursinus gymnast to clear the 9-point mark.
DiCicco totaled a 35.725 as the meet's only all-around performer.
The gymnastics team hits the road once again for Temple's Ken Anderson Invitational on Friday.