Gymnastics to Big Ten Championships
Mar 19 | Women's Gymnastics
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Posting a 194.150 qualifying score last weekend, Rutgers gymnastics will compete in the first session of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The meet will take place at the Crisler Center on the campus of the University of Michigan.
Iowa, Maryland and Michigan State will also compete in the morning portion of the championships, which is comprised of two sessions with all scores counting towards the final results. The Big Ten Network will provide live coverage of both meets, with Bernie Guenther and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson on the call.
| BTN2GO | MEET NOTES | WEBSITE | 2015 STATISTICS | ROSTER | FACT BOOK
Rutgers Meet Preview
With one team competition left on the schedule, Rutgers possess a 194.695 regional qualifying score (RQS), ranked No. 46 in the country. In their last time out, the Scarlet Knights finished behind regular-season champion No. 6 Michigan (197.000), No. 11 Penn State (196.650), No. 19 Minnesota (196.450) and No. 24 Iowa (196.425) in the five-team meet in Minneapolis. RU's 194.150 in the Big Five qualifier marked the fourth consecutive time the team went for at least a 194.000 in team competition.
Rutgers best event during weekend action was on uneven bars, where the Scarlet Knights tied for the second-best team total this season with a 48.925, as five of the six member of the lineup scored at least a 9.725. Junior Jenna Williams (Bordentown, N.J.) continued her consistency in the event, putting up a team-high 9.875. The score matched a personal best this season and was the sixth time in as many tries Williams went for at least a 9.800. Williams is currently tied for 57th nationally with a 9.850 RQS in the event.
After missing the early portion of the season due to injury, sophomore Claire Jones (Gaffney, S.C.) has produced an impressive season for the Scarlet Knights. With her 9.775 on balance beam last Saturday, Jones has reached at least that score in each of the eight times competing on beam this season and leads RU in the event with a 9.815 RQS. Jones has also produced at least a 9.775 on floor exercise in eight of her nine appearances, including a season-high 9.900 March 7 at the RAC.
Five freshmen have competed for Rutgers in 2015, with rookies Sahara Gipson (Oakland, N.J.) and Elizabeth Groden (Abbottstown, Pa.) each appearing in all 11 of the Scarlet Knights' meets this season. At the Big Five qualifying meet, Gipson and Groden both contributed a 9.800 to the team's 48.800 vault performance, while Groden competed all-around for the sixth consecutive meet.
The championships will mark the second time in as many meets the Scarlet Knights will see Iowa in meet action, while RU has competed with both Maryland and Michigan State twice during the regular season. In the other Big Five qualifying meet, the Spartans (195.250) lost a tiebreaker with Ohio State to finish tied for third in the five-team event. The Terrapins rounded out the scores in the qualifying competition with a 194.875 team total.
Head Coach Louis Levine Q&A
On competing at the Big Five meet: "It felt like a conference championship meet. To have five high-caliber teams on the floor at the same time, there's a lot of energy and a lot of great gymnastics going on. It truly felt like a championship atmosphere."
On competing against four ranked programs at the qualifying meet: "It's like being at a conference championship or at a regional. They were all really good teams producing high-quality gymnastics and we were right there with them for three of the four events. We have to be there on all four events."
On what the team needs to improve on: "It's the same conversation every week unfortunately. We had one bad event and we just have to be better. That's the biggest takeaway from last weekend. We simply have to be better if we want to compete. We haven't had the ability to defeat a Big Ten team yet, and that's just as much on us as the teams we're facing. So overall we just have to be better this week."
On the excitement level for the Big Ten Championships: "I think everyone is pretty excited. It's our first opportunity to compete in a Big Ten Conference championship. It's one of the last chances for our team to go out there together and show everyone what we're capable of doing."
Interview: Senior Anastasia Halbig
Follow Rutgers Athletics onFacebookand Twitter(@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics),FacebookandInstagram.
Players Mentioned
