PISCATAWAY, N.J. –  Rutgers gymnastics returned to the RAC for its 2020 home opener on Saturday, finishing second in the quad meet with a score of 194.550. Freshman Hannah Joyner produced a school record on beam with a 9.925 to highlight top performances by the Scarlet Knights.
 

🚨SCHOOL RECORD🚨 Freshman Hannah Joyner posts a 9.925 on beam to match the highest score in #RUGYM history! Check out her beautiful routine and STICK! pic.twitter.com/lx0Y462dnP

— Rutgers Gymnastics (@RUGymnastics) January 18, 2020

 
No. 6 Minnesota registered a score of 196.875 to top the competition. Bowling Green came in third with a 191.025, while Ursinus rounded out the field with a 184.800.

"Being at home for the first time went really well. We talked about differences between when you're away and when you're at home. And the amount of distractions that you have at home," said head coach Umme Salim-Beasley. "We needed to be able to stay focused and they did a great job with being able to do that. The lineups were able to separate themselves away from the rest of the team and just key in on what they needed to do from start to finish. 
 
"We were really pleased [with the team's performance]. It was definitely a step up from last week. There's things that we know we need to improve on still. Out of bounds are things that we can get back pretty easily, as well as our stuck landings. We can see that there's definitely opportunities to score about a point higher, and we're looking forward to being able to do that. I think these first few meets are really getting the bugs out, and they're able to see that they're able to keep up with competition. So for them, the confidence is there. They know that they're capable, and they know that they have to go back in, get working and focus on those details."


 

VAULT

Junior Toni Williams anchored the Scarlet Knights with a 9.800 on vault, matching her career-high mark. Classmate Belle Huang contributed a 9.750, while sophomore Mia Betancourt followed with a 9.725. RU registered an overall score of 48.525 on its opening event.  

UNEVEN BARS

Senior Shannon Farrell led RU on bars with a 9.825, finishing third on the event. Huang posted a 9.750, while junior Emily Drauss added a 9.725 to help lift the team to a 48.575 on bars.  

BALANCE BEAM

The Scarlet Knights held strong on beam with all routines scoring 9.725 or higher for a team mark of 48.950. For the second straight meet, freshman Hannah Joyner eclipsed a 9.900 mark, besting her total to 9.925. Joyner's 9.925 matched the highest score in Rutgers history. Senior Erin McLachlan followed with a mark of 9.800 on the event.
 

FLOOR

Rutgers closed out the meet on floor with a team score of 48.500. Joyner posted a team-high 9.825 with her routine, while Huang contributed a mark of 9.825 Two other Scarlet Knights hit above 9.700 as well.   

ALL-AROUND

Huang finished third in all-around with a mark of 39.075, besting her total from a week ago. Joyner posted a mark of 38.975 to come in fourth, also topping her collegiate debut mark from RU's last outing. 
 

KNIGHT NOTES

• Hannah Joyner's 9.925 on beam matches the highest score in RU history. The mark was most recently achieved by teammate Belle Huang in February 2019.
• Jordyn Duffield made her collegiate debut on beam.

 

UP NEXT

Rutgers travels to Michigan on Friday, Jan. 24 for its first dual Big Ten meet of the season.


 
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