Rutgers Gymnastics Drops Competitive Season Opener to New Hampshire
Jan 07 | Women's Gymnastics
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (January 7, 2012) - Sophomore Luisa Leal (Cali, Columbia) earned the top score in two of the four events in addition to the all-around, but Rutgers University gymnastics opened the season dropping a competitive 191.050-189.575 decision to the University of New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Livingston Recreation Center. The meet was the 12th-straight season that RU and UNH met to start the season.
"I think we showed a lot of great things today," said head coach Louis Levine, who coached his first meet at the helm of Rutgers on Saturday. "We had some mistakes, but I also thought we had a lot of highlights. We struggled a bit on the beam, but I was proud of how we came back and finished strong on the floor exercise. We are looking forward to learning from this meet and moving forward."
Leal, the 2011 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Rookie of the Year, led all performers on the day with a combined all-around score of 39.000. The sophomore scored the top mark in both the uneven bars (9.825) - tying a career high - and the vault (9.850). She also had third-place scores on the floor exercise (9.775) and balance beam (9.550).
Sophomore Alexis Gunzelman (Tabernacle, N.J.) also had a strong day with an all-around score of 38.200. She took home the top score on the floor exercise, scoring a career-best 9.825 and earned third place on the uneven bars (9.675) and the vault (9.625).
Junior Danielle D'Elia (Colts Neck, N.J.) competed in the all-around for the first time in her Rutgers career, tallying a score of 37.875. The junior put up second-place finishes in the uneven bars (9.750) and the floor exercise (9.800).
The Scarlet Knights (0-1, 0-1 EAGL) scored best on the floor exercise (48.500), while the Wildcats (1-0, 1-0 EAGL) used a mark of 48.075 on the vault and a balanced performance overall to carry them to the road victory.
Rutgers will travel to West Virginia University for a Sunday, Jan. 15 road meet against the Mountaineers to continue the schedule. The contest will start at 2 p.m. in Morgantown, W.Va.
FINAL SCORES
Team Results
1) UNH 191.050
2) RU 189.575
VAULT Results
1) Leal, Luisa (RU) 9.850
2) Carr, Ali (UNH) 9.825
3) Gunzelman, Alexis (RU) 9.625
BARS Results
1) Leal, Luisa (RU) 9.825
2) D'Elia, Danielle (RU) 9.750
3) Gunzelman, Alexis (RU) 9.675
BEAM Results
1) Minichiello, Jannelle (UNH) 9.750, Reibold, Danielle (UNH) 9.750
3) Schwartz, Nicole (RU) 9.550, Leal, Luisa (RU) 9.550
FLOOR Results
1) Gunzelman, Alexis (RU) 9.825
2) D'Elia, Danielle (RU) 9.800
3) Leal, Luisa (RU) 9.775
All-Around Results
1) Leal, Luisa (RU) 39.000
2) Gunzelman, Alexis (RU) 38.200
3) D'Elia, Danielle (RU) 37.875
RU: VAULT: 47.700, BARS: 47.375, BEAM: 46.000, FLOOR: 48.500
VAULT: Leal, Luisa 9.850, Gunzelman, Alexis 9.625, D'Elia, Danielle 9.575, Skammer, Sara 9.500, Straub, Alyssa 9.150, Belvis, Alexandra 8.200
BARS: Leal, Luisa 9.825, D'Elia, Danielle 9.750, Gunzelman, Alexis 9.675, Skammer, Sara 9.125, Ivol, Alexandria 9.000, Straub, Alyssa 8.950
BEAM: Schwartz, Nicole 9.550, Leal, Luisa 9.550, Skammer, Sara 9.075, Gunzelman, Alexis 9.075, D'Elia, Danielle 8.750, Straub, Alyssa 8.650
FLOOR: Gunzelman, Alexis 9.825, D'Elia, Danielle 9.800, Leal, Luisa 9.775, Johnson, Danae 9.600, Straub, Alyssa 9.500, Skammer, Sara 9.275
All-Around: Leal, Luisa 39.000, Gunzelman, Alexis 38.200, D'Elia, Danielle 37.875, Skammer, Sara 36.975, Straub, Alyssa 36.250
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