EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire gymnastics team hosted UW-La Crosse for their home-opener on Friday night, falling to the Eagles by a score of 184.125 to 181.100.
The Blugolds came out strong in the first round with a team score on the vault of 46.725. Ashley Benes (So.- Grand Rapids, MN) placed third in the event with a 9.425, while Andrea Gessner (So.- Lino Lakes, MN/Cenntenial) finished in the top five with a 9.375. In the second round, on the Uneven Parallel Bars, two Blugolds finished in the top three. Megan Fayler (Jr. - Afton, MN/Stillwater) finished second with a 9.525, while Lauralynn Anderson (Sr. - West Bend, WI) was third with a score of 9.350.
Eau Claired entered the third round with a slight advantage but La Crosse finished with a strong thrid and fourth round on the Beam and the Floor Exercise to edge out the Blugolds. The Eagles finished with the top five scores on the Beam, Clare Mascia (Sr. – Woodbury, MN/Convent of the Visitation) had the Eau Claire high score of 9.00 to finish in sixth. Kiya Bjorge (Sr. - Kennewick, WA/Southridge) had a great performance on the floor exercise for the Blugolds and finished in first with a 9.400.
The Blugolds will travel to Centenary College on Saturday January 19th with the meet set to start at 6:00pm.