Complete results
Results (PDF)
MPSF scoresheet (PDF)
SEATTLE -- Sherah Veron saved her best for last on the floor exercise, and Seattle Pacific picked just the right night to conquer the always-challenging balance beam.
Veron scored a career-high 9.90 to win the floor title, leading the Falcons to a second-place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's gymnastics championships on Saturday night. Five of six SPU gymnasts had no-fall routines, resulting in career-high beam scores for all of them.
Sparked by its school-record 48.775 on the beam and its best total of the year in the floor exercise, SPU tallied a season-high 192.850 points at the conference championship meet in Brougham Pavilion. That was more than two points higher than SPU's previous season high of 190.575, set just a week ago on March 19 in the regular-season finale against Washington at Brougham. It also was the Falcons' best score since they hit 193.00 at the 2008 MPSF meet.
“It was obviously the best meet we've had all year. We hit 21 out of 24 routines which we haven't done all season,” said SPU coach Laurel Tindall.
Kendall McCann won the all-around title, Lida Gehlen led a 1-2-3-4 finish on the uneven bars, and Erika Van Dyke topped a 1-2 performance on the balance beam as UC Davis took the lead on the floor exercise to open the meet and kept that lead all the way to win the MPSF title. The Aggies finished with 194.150 points at the four-team meet. It was the second MPSF team title for UC Davis, which won previously in 2008.
Host SPU's second-place showing was followed by Air Force in third at 192.500 and defending MPSF champion Alaska Anchorage fourth at 190.725.
SPU climbed from last place to second with a 48.950 score on floor that was the highest total by any team on that apparatus.
Veron was the Falcons' last competitor on floor. She capped the meet off with the best routine by any individual.
“I've been working on landings all week and it paid off,” exclaimed Veron (Broken Arrow, Okla.).
Veron's hard work landed her atop the awards platform after the career-best floor performance. The sophomore's mark tied for the third-highest score in SPU history and eclipsed her previous best of 9.80, registered on Feb. 12 at Boise State.
“Sherah had a great floor routine,” Tindall said. “She's been working really hard on landings and really showing off. She did that tonight. She didn't leave a lot of room open for deductions because every landing was a good landing.”
Veron's was one of five career-highs for SPU on the floor, and one of nine the Falcons had for the meet -- all of them coming on the final two events (beam and floor). In addition, sophomore Samantha Taylor (San Carlos, Calif.) tied her career-best marks on the vault and beam.
The outlook didn't look promising for the Falcons halfway through the meet. After two events they were far behind the other three teams after disappointing efforts of 47.675 on vault and 47.450 on bars.
At the midway point, UC Davis led with a score of 97.050, followed by Alaska (96.425), Air Force (95.975) and SPU (95.125).
“We were really in a must-hit situation going into beam and they really rose to the challenge. Bars was not good for us tonight and vault was a little subpar on the landings,” Tindall explained. “Beam really put us over the top because we knew that we could rely on our floor.
“We could have at that point, after having had some falls on bars, done our normal beam set and fallen all over. But they really pulled it together and we broke a school record on beam.”
The beam hasn't always been kind to the Falcons this winter, but Saturday was a far different story.
Sophomore Aditi Kulkarni (Lakewood, Colo.) opened with a career-high 9.80. Then came career highs from sophomore Kaysha Heck (Edmonds, Wash.) with a 9.675 and from sophomore Brittany Malone (Salinas, Calif.) with a 9.725. Taylor tied her best mark with 9.75, then freshman Stephanie Wagner (Estacada, Ore.) followed with her best-ever score of 9.825, which was good for third place overall.
Kulkarni wound up fifth, and Taylor shared eighth place on the beam. SPU's team beam total of 48.775 beat the previous school record of 48.675.
The stellar beam routines closed the gap, but SPU was still in last place after three events.
Entering the final rotation, Davis maintained its lead (145.750) followed by Air Force (144.750), Alaska (144.600) and SPU (143.900).
“We went into beam knowing that we had a little rough bars. But we picked it up on beam,” Veron described. “Then we went out there on floor knowing that we hit a really good beam set and we did amazing.”
The Falcons carried that momentum from the beam over to the floor exercise, with new career-leading scores from their first four performers: 9.65 for sophomore Texie Gregory (Auburn, Calif.), 9.775 for Kulkarni, 9.825 for junior Laura Willis (Temecula, Calif.), which gave her third place, and 9.80 for junior Anissa Madrid (Seattle/Kennedy HS). Malone scored a 9.60 and Veron topped it off with her 9.90.
Seattle Pacific totaled a season-high 48.950 on the floor.
Taylor led SPU in the opening two events, taking fifth on the bars with her 9.725, and 10th on the vault with a 9.60. Heck also cracked the top 10 on the bars, tying for ninth at 9.625.
Joining Davis' McCann, Gehlen and Van Dyke as individual winners was Air Force's Jenna Dudley on the vault (9.80).
McCann finished with a 38.575 all-around total. That included a 9.85 on the beam to take second behind teammate Van Dyke's winning score of 9.90.
Gehlen scored a 9.80 to set up the Aggies' sweep of the first four places on the bars. Tanya Ho was second at 9.775, then Jessica Rea and Marcy Miller tied for third at 9.75.
UC Davis also three of the top four all-arounders. Katie Yamamura was third (38.325), and Ho, last year's all-around champion, took fourth (38.300). Air Force's Britany Calley broke up that group with a second-place finish at 38.375.
Madrid was the top Falcon all-arounder, compiling a score of 37.725 to finish seventh.
Seattle Pacific put itself in good position for a nationals berth. The Falcons now must wait to see if their qualifying score is high enough to make the eight-team field for the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships, set for April 15-17 at Texas Women's University in Denton, Texas.
“I told them that if they can get to nationals they could finish in the top four,” said Tindall. “They have the skills to do that. We won't know for sure until Sunday night.”
Sponsored by USA Gymnastics, the collegiate national championships include primarily NCAA Division II and III members. Some Division I schools that choose to adhere to the limit of 7 1/2 scholarships also compete at the USAG meet.
NCAA Women's Gymnastics
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
Team Scores
1, UC Davis 194.150
2, Seattle Pacific 192.850
3, Air Force 192.500
4, Alaska Anchorage 190.725
All-Around
1, Kendall McCann (UCD) 38.575
2, Britany Calley (USAF) 38.375
3, Katie Yamaura (UCD) 38.325
4, Tanya Ho (UCD) 38.300
5, Brittany Dutton (USAF) 38.275
6, Courtney Williams (UAA) 37.975
7, Anissa Madrid (SPU) 37.725
Vault
1, Jenna Dudley (USAF) 9.800
2t, Shakea Sanders (UAA) 9.750
2t, Kaie Yamaura (UCD) 9.750
4, Marcy Miller (UCD) 9.675
5t, Kelsey Fullerton (UAA) 9.650
5t, Maria Puricelli (UAA) 9.650
5t, Michele Hurlock (UCD) 9.650
5t, Tanya Ho (UCD) 9.650
Uneven Bars
1, Lida Gehlen (UCD) 9.800
2, Tanya Ho (UCD) 9.775
3t, Jessica Rea (UCD) 9.75
3t, Marcy Miller (UCD) 9.750
5, Samantha Taylor (SPU) 9.725
6, Courtney Williams (UAA) 9.700
Balance Beam
1, Erika Van Dyke (UCD) 9.900
2, Kendall McCann (UCD) 9.850
3t, Stephanie Wagner (SPU) 9.825
3t, Kaelei Spoor (UAA) 9.825
5, Aditi Kulkarni (SPU) 9.800
6t, Britany Calley (USAF) 9.775
6t, Lauren Agostino (UAA) 9.775
Floor Exercise
1, Sherah Veron (SPU) 9.900
2, Kaelei Spoor (UAA) 9.875
3t, Laura Willis (SPU) 9.825
3t, Britany Dutton (USAF) 9.825
3t, Jenna Dudley (USAF) 9.825
3t, Katie Yamamura (UCD) 9.825
3t, Erika Van Dyke (UCD) 9.825
