Box score
Final scoresheet (PDF)
SEATTLE -- Sherah Veron, Brittany Malone, Samantha Taylor, Texie Gregory and Aditi Kuklarni set career-high scores on one event apiece Friday night, but Seattle Pacific fell just short of UC Davis in the season-opening gymnastics meet in Brougham Pavilion.
The Aggies outscored the Falcons, 188.825-188.400.
"I thought it was a real good start," SPU coach Laurel Tindall said. "We had an intrasquad meet in December and hit 182.275. I was expecting 185 tonight, so they were above what I expected."
Veron (Broken Arrow, Okla.), a sophomore, posted her best collegiate score on the vault with a 9.725. Her previous best was 9.65. Veron's score also was higher than any Falcon scored all of last season. Malone (Salinas, Calif.), also a sophomore, scored a 9.5 to beat her freshman best of 9.125. SPU sophomore Lari Wilson (Albuquerque, N.M.) tied her vault career high with a 9.65.
"Our vault was real good," Tindall said. "We've been trying to upgrade our vaults a little better. We're trying to get some vaults with twists to get a higher start value. All of our start values are 9.8."
Taylor (San Carlos, Calif.), also a sophomore, scored a 9.70 on the uneven parallel beating her best 2009 score of 9.65. That mark was high enough to win the event on Friday. Falcon sophomore teammate Kaysha Heck (Edmonds, Wash./Chrysalis HS) tied for second with Tanya Ho of UC Davis at 9.625.
Gregory (Auburn, Calif.) turned her no-fall balance beam routine into a 9.475. The sophomore easily beat her '09 season best of 8.925.
Kulkarni (Lakewood, Colo.) tallied a 9.7 on the floor. The sophomore topped her previous best of 9.65.
"On beam, we hit three out of six (no-fall routines), and that was better than we did all of last year," Tindall said.
With Veron setting the pace, Seattle Pacific got off to a solid start with 47.975 points on the vault. That was better than the Falcons scored on that event at any time during the 2009 season, when their best total was 47.875.
Junior Anissa Madrid (Seattle/Kennedy HS), who missed all but one meet last season, topped SPU's performance on the beam with a 9.625. Veron and freshman Stephanie Wagner (Estarcada, Ore.) led the Falcons on the floor with matching scores of 9.725, gaining them a three-way share of first place with Katie Yamamura of the Aggies.
Ho won the all-around with 38.675 points. UC Davis teammate Marcy Miller had the top vault score of 9.75, and also took the beam with a 9.75.
Friday's meet was one of just two at home during the regular season for the Falcons. Their next eight are on the road, beginning next Friday night when they'll visit Sacramento State to take on the host Hornets and get another shot at UC Davis. Seattle Pacific's other home meet is March 19 against Washington, and the Falcons also will be host for the four-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships on March 27.
NCAA Women's Gymnastics
Friday, January 15, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
Team Scores
1, UC Davis 188.825
2, Seattle Pacific 188.400
All-Around
1, Tanya Ho (UCD) 38.675
2, Katie Yamamura (UCD) 37.25
3, Anissa Madrid (SPU) 36.95
Vault
1, Marcy Miller (UCD) 9.75
2, (tie) Sherah Veron (SPU) and Katie Yamamura (UCD) 9.725
Uneven Bars
1, Samantha Taylor (SPU) 9.7
2, (tie) Kaysha Heck (SPU) and Tanya Ho (UCD) 9.625
Balance Beam
1, Miller (UCD) 9.75
2, Ho (UCD) 9.7
3, Erika Van Dyke (UCD) 9.675
Floor Exercise
1, (tie) Veron (SPU), Yamamura (UCD) and Ho (UCD) 9.725
