Meet 2: Gymnastics at Bridgeport Quad Meet

Saturday, January 12

Bridgeport, Conn.

5:00 PM

Rutgers University

Bridgeport/Southern Connecticut/Yale

Photo by: Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics

Jan 10 | Women's Gymnastics

Twitter Updates Notes Fact Book

Scarlet Knights head back on the road

RUTGERS at BRIDGEPORT W/ SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT & YALE
January 12, 2019 • 5 p.m. ET
Wheeler Recreation Center • Bridgeport, Conn.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After starting the season at the Cancun Classic, Rutgers gymnastics returns to the road to participate in a quad meet at Bridgeport on Saturday. Action is set to start at 5 p.m. inside Wheeler Recreation Center and will also include Southern Connecticut State and Yale. Follow @RUGymnastics on Twitter for live score updates.

RUTGERS MEET PREVIEW
The Scarlet Knights scored best on vault in their season opener, running out to a 48.650 in the first rotation. Sophomore Toni Williams matched her career high with a 9.800, while senior Riahanah Ali added a 9.750, sophomore Belle Huang posted a 9.725 and freshman Mia Betancourt contributed a 9.700. The team ended with a 189.800 overall.

Betancourt, who also saw action on balance beam and floor exercise, was one of three RU gymnasts to make their debut. Freshman Abigail Karolewski led the team on uneven bars at 9.650, with freshman Kiera Doherty-Herwitz breaking into the balance beam lineup.

Huang notched the highest mark of the night for the Scarlet Knights by earning a 9.850 on floor exercise. The 2018 NCAA Regional qualifier competed all-around for the 11^th time in her career, totaling a 37.725.

The Scarlet Knights will begin the meet on uneven bars. It will be the first trip to Bridgeport since 2009 and fourth visit overall. UB scored a 192.575 in its season opener. It will be the first meet of the season for both Southern Connecticut State and Yale.

COACH SALIM-BEASLEY Q&A
On focus going into this week's meet: "Our primary focus this week is our competition readiness and our mental state. Being able to make sure that we can focus from start to finish and keep the positivity and energy going throughout the meet."

On lessons learned from the first meet: "We are coming in as new coaches. We really did not have any idea about how our team was going to be able to compete when we actually got out there and competed against real competition. It is a little different when you are doing intrasquads, but when you are actually competing with other teams, you get a sense of where your team is and what their starting point is. Now that we know that, we were definitely able to see where we needed to be able to make some changes and try to keep that our main focus this week."

On the vault being the bright spot: "I definitely think so, we do have some gymnasts that are working on upgraded vaults. I think vault is the strongest event as a team this year, we do have some powerful vaulters. It is nice to see some of our gymnasts that have been injured, and not having the opportunity to compete last year, get out there and compete for the first time. Those were some of the bright spots for us. It does add a lot of extra strength to the lineup. Vault is one event that we are going to have a lot of confidence in, because we do have the gymnasts that have the power and the energy to succeed."

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will open up their home schedule with a Big Ten meet against Nebraska on Jan. 19 at the Livingston Gym. It will be Military Appreciation Day, First Responder's Day and the first 500 fans will receive a red, white and blue Block R magnet. Click here for the full promotional lineup.

Through the "R Dollar, Your Game" initiative, there is free admission and parking to each of the four home meets in 2019. Click here to register to park for the Jan. 19 meet.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).