COLLEGEVILLE – In its first competition since March 2020, the Ursinus Gymnastics team finished first place in a Quad Meet against Cortland, Ithaca, and Springfield at Helfferich Hall on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears posted a total team score of 185.825 behind a 46.425 on the vault, 45.075 on the bars, 46.750 on the beam, and 47.575 on the floor exercise. The team score for the Bears was the highest for a season opener since 2017 when they tallied a 186.875 against West Chester in a dual meet. This was the first meet for Ursinus in 685 days with the last coming on Sunday March 8th, 2020.
Ithaca placed second with a total of 184.925, Springfield came in third at 181.700, and Cortland rounded out the scores in fourth with a team mark of 181.400.
Ursinus got started on the vault and senior Taylor Cusick registered a score of 9.575 to tie for first with Cortland's Abby Bang. Junior Alyssa DeLorme started what would become a strong day with a fifth-place finish after posting a mark of 9.425, and sophomore Carly Troilo placed 10th with a score of 9.325 in her collegiate debut.
DeLorme and junior Alex Panetta spearheaded the Bears efforts on the bars with third and fourth place finishes, respectively. DeLorme tallied a 9.375 while Panetta followed with a 9.325 to help boost the Ursinus meet-high bars team score. Freshman Megan Matteucci tied for ninth in her first collegiate meet with a score of 8.950.
Freshman Madison Zimmerman dazzled in her collegiate debut on the beam as she placed second with a mark of 9.625. DeLorme continued her big day with her second third place finish of the meet behind a score of 9.525. Junior Lindsey Thornton became the third Bear to post a top-five finish on the balance beam on a career-high score of 9.400. Senior Kaylin Knapsack placed ninth overall with a mark of 9.125 and senior Gabrielle Pitt rounded out the top 10 with a 9.075.
Knapsack capped the Bears big day with a first-place finish in the floor exercise after posting a career-high 9.800. DeLorme placed eighth on a score of 9.550, Cusick slotted in ninth on a 9.525, and Thornton closed out the top 10 with a career-high score of 9.500.
The Bears return to action on Saturday, January 29th as they will face West Chester at 1 p.m. in a dual meet.