West Chester Gymnasts Place Second at Lindsey Ferris Invitational

LINDSEY FERRIS INVITATIONAL RESULTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – West Chester University bounced back from its opening weekend at Towson to post a season-high 191.600 and finish second at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational hosted by George Washington University inside the Charles E. Smith Center in the nation's capital.
 
The Golden Rams (2-2) finished ahead of host George Washington and Cornell. West Chester had a team score of 191.600 while GW posted a 191.375 and Cornell a 191.325. University of Pennsylvania won the quad meet with a team score of 194.075.
 
West Chester, rotating with Penn, started the quad meet on the floor. Two of the first three gymnasts for the Golden Rams each hit personal highs. Karah Vargo (Fort Myers, Fla.) scored a 9.55 while Gianna Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored a team-best 9.625. Corinne Gruber (Boyertown, Pa.) posted a 9.575 while Anna Lacey (Bethlehem, Pa.) scored a 9.55. The Golden Rams registered a 47.75 overall on the floor and placed third after the first rotation.
 
The Golden Rams rotated to the vault next and witnessed three more personal bests. Smith posted a 9.6 equaling last week's score at Towson. Vargo improved her personal high with a 9.525 while Aly Sobczak (Pottsgrove, N.J.) bested her score from a week ago and posted a 9.55. Freshman Ava Griffith (Palm Desert, Calif.) made her college debut and put up a 9.65 on the vault. Senior Sarah Eskew (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the way once again on the vault with a team-high 9.675. West Chester scored a 48.0 on the vault Sunday, up from its 47.675 a week ago at Towson.
 
West Chester saw its most dramatic improvement on the uneven bars from week one to week two. Five personal bests bumped the Golden Rams team score from 45.000 last week at Towson to a 47.900 on Sunday. Four of the five personal bests were previously under 9.0, but Sunday they all moved above 9. Grace McNamara (Baltimore, Md.) posted a team-best 9.7 on the bars to tie for fourth overall while Smith registered a 9.6. Maddie McCullough (Covington Twp., Pa.) continued her impressive start to the season on bars with a 9.575. That is also a personal best for a score that counted. However, she did put up a 9.675 in exhibition last week at Towson. Vargo improved her personal best on the bars from an 8.6 to a 9.2.
 
Vargo posted personal bests in all three events in which she competed on Sunday. She had a 9.525 on the vault, 9.2 on the bars and 9.55 on the floor exercise. Smith also had three personal bests, though Sunday was the first time she competed on the balance beam. She posted a 9.6 on the bars and a 9.625 on the floor.
 
West Chester also saw a large improvement on the balance beam where five competitors hit personal bests. Tatum McGuinn (Gainesville, Ga.) anchored the beam with a personal best 9.725. Smith also posted a 9.725 tying McGuinn for fourth at the meet. Lydia Stoner (Palmyra, Pa.) bumped up her personal best on the beam with a 9.775 that put her third overall at the meet. Those were the three scores that fueled West Chester's team score of 47.900, which was up from last week's 46.625.
 
Smith competed in the all-around for the first time in her college career and posted a combined score of 38.55 to place second out of four all-around competitors on the afternoon. She put up career bests in all four events and the all-around.
 
West Chester will head to Cornell University for a quad meet next Sunday along with Bowling Green and SUNY-Brockport inside Newman Arena at Bartels Hall in Ithaca, N.Y.