ATHENS, Ga. – Two days after posting its program record for a home opener team score at 195.550, Rutgers gymnastics heads back out on the road on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mon., Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. at No. 19 Georgia with No. 18 Ohio State and Fisk. It marks the first Big Ten contest of the season for the Scarlet Knights facing the Buckeyes in the neutral gym.
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Rutgers gymnastics set a program record for a home opener team score on Saturday with a 195.550, placing second while hosting a quad at Jersey Mike's Arena behind four event wins and the top team score on beam (48.925).
Hannah Joyner took the all-around with a season-best 39.175, while
Emily Leese claimed floor with a 9.875 and
Gianna Ortiz and
Elia Aird shared the beam title with a 9.850.
Rutgers' program record home opening score of 195.550 surpassed the previous record from Jan. 24, 2015 (195.375). It was the seventh highest home score in program history and tied for the 15th best team score overall at Rutgers.
Rutgers gymnastics began the 2023 season with a 194.700 team score at the Super 16 Collegiate Challenge in Las Vegas, setting a program record for a season-opening road score and recording its best overall season-opening score since the 2014 season. The Scarlet Knights placed second on floor with a 49.150, beating out No. 14 Oregon State and No. 20 Georgia in the event.
Emily Leese recorded two of RU's four Top 3 finishes, tying for second on vault with a 9.875 and tying for third on floor with a career-high 9.900.
Stephanie Zannella tied for second on beam with a 9.850, and
Elia Aird tied for third on floor with a 9.900 while competing in the all-around for the first time.
Rutgers gymnastics welcomes nine newcomers for the 2023 season - freshmen
Nailah Adams,
Gabrielle Dildy,
Renee Figueroa,
Lainey Link,
Valentina Lorente-Garcia,
Innocent Mensah,
Rachael Riley, and
Harmony Webster, and Yale transfer
Emma David. The class has been ranked No. 15 in the country by College Gym News. The excitement surrounding these nine have caught the eye of the Gymternet, as College Gym News lists Rutgers as one of its eight "Most Intriguing Teams Going into 2023." Lorente-Garcia and
Harmony Webster each made their collegiate debuts in the Super 16 to start the season, while
Nailah Adams made her debut at the home opener on bars.
Rutgers has continued to rewrite the record books with top 10 scores in program history last season, setting and resetting a total of five through the year. The Scarlet Knights established a program-record 196.400 on the road at NC State, resetting the previous mark from 2014. The Scarlet Knights posted a then-season high of 195.950 in its home quad meet with No. 17 Iowa, Kent State, and Ursinus, marking the now sixth-best score in program history, as well as standing as the fourth-best score at home. Additionally, the team total of 195.475 posted at last year's Big Five Meet marked the highest score RU has recorded at the annual conference meet since joining the league.
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