PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers gymnastics opened its 2021 season on Saturday at the RAC, hosting a tri-meet with Illinois and Maryland. Six Scarlet Knights made their collegiate debuts as RU posted a score of 192.500. Senior
Belle Huang led the way with a first-place finishes on beam and floor, as well as a third-place finish in the all-around.
"I'm just really proud of the effort they put out today, a lot of them had one week of practice. They really did the best they could to be able to get out there and get a score for the team," said head coach
Umme Salim-Beasley. "A lot of new faces in the lineups. The good thing about 27 student-athletes on the team is that we have a lot of depth. For us to be able to put full lineups out after not being able to compete last week it was a great example of the strength and depth of our team. It shows what we are capable of even if we don't have our main starters, that we can get out there, compete and still do well.
"I'm really happy with this start. First meet out there are always those first meet jitters. Next week, coming in they'll have one meet under their belt and they'll really have the confidence to go out show off and do a little bit more."
Illinois led the meet with a mark of 195.525, while Maryland followed with a 195.300.
VAULT
The Scarlet Knights opened 2021 on vault, as four freshmen kicked off the lineup. Newcomers
Stephanie Zannella,
Kieran Ross, Avery Balser and
Calah Newman made their collegiate debuts for RU. Newman led the way with a 9.700, contributing to a team score of 47.925.
BARS
Next up on bars, Balser paced the Rutgers lineup with her first collegiate routine in the event, posting a 9.775. Huang produced a strong routine for a 9.625 to help push the Scarlet Knights total score to 95.475 following two rotations.
BEAM
RU found its rhythm on beam, opening with back-to-back 9.775 routines from sophomore
Jenna Ferguson and Newman. The Scarlet Knights produced solid routines throughout the rest of the lineup, anchored by Huang with a 9.875 to finish first in the event.
FLOOR
Rutgers kept its momentum going through its final rotation on floor. Huang closed out the meet for RU with a 9.875, placing first in the event.
ALL-AROUND
Huang led the Scarlet Knights in all-around with a 38.975, finishing third in today's season opener. Newman finished fourth competing all-around in her debut as a Scarlet Knight.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Six Scarlet Knights made their debuts – Stephanie Zannella, Kieran Ross, Avery Balser, Calah Newman, Myra Daniels, and Emily Wood.
- Belle Huang led RU in the all-around with a 38.975, finishing third in the meet. She placed first on beam and floor with identical marks of 9.875.
- Calah Newman competed all-around in her first collegiate appearance, finishing fourth in the tri-meet.
- Rutgers Gymnastics team will honor the memory of Erin Lynch Fender, a letterwinner of the program from 2003-06, this season. The Scarlet Knights will wear teal ribbons with Erin's initials to honor her and raise awareness for cervical cancer.
UP NEXT
Rutgers remains home for a second consecutive meeting with Maryland on Saturday, Jan. 30. The meet is set for 1 p.m. at the RAC and will stream live on Big Ten Network+.
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