Gymnasts Break Three Records; Claim Tri-Meet At Penn

Meet Results

PHILADELPHIA – West Chester University's women's gymnastics squad broke three records and registered the team's second win over a Division I program this weekend by claiming the tri-meet hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon.
 
West Chester (9-0) remains unbeaten on the year with its narrow victory over Penn. It all came down to the final rotation with the Golden Rams on the balance beam, and the Rams did not let this opportunity slip away. A school record 48.275 on the beam was enough to give West Chester a hard-fought 190.875 to 190.600 edge over Penn. Centenary College (La.) scored a 186.350.
 
"We needed to hit on beam, and we did," WCU head coach Barb Cordova said afterwards. "It was amazing."
 
Majesta Valentine (Wilmington, Del.) won the beam competition with a 9.825 while Rose Wortman (Bellefonte, Pa.) was fourth with a 9.750. Lindsay Knapp (Collegeville, Pa.) tied for fifth with a 9.7. Valentine also added wins on the floor exercise (9.775) and in the all-around with a 38.925, which also broke her own school record.
 
The victory over Penn marked the second time this weekend that West Chester topped a Division I program. The Golden Rams outdid visiting Temple on Friday inside Sturzebecker HSC as well.
 
Meghan Brannon (Seminole, Fla.) won the uneven bars, breaking her own school record with a score of 9.825. Valentine was fourth with a 9.65.
 
West Chester's 9-0 start to the gymnastics season is its best under current head coach Barb Cordova and also represents the longest winning streak in Cordova's tenure at the school. The Golden Rams will be back in action at the Ken Anderson Invitational in Philadelphia where WCU will have another crack at the Temple Owls, along with Ursinus, William & Mary and Southern Connecticut State University.