3 Gymnasts Earn Top-8 Finishes In NCAA Individual Finals
4/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
April 26, 2008
ATHENS, Ga. - Three Alabama Gymnasts competed in Saturday's NCAA Individual Event Finals and all three finished in the top eight of their respective events.
"I challenged our ladies last night to start the 2009 season on the floor exercise and that's what they did," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "I know the ladies sitting in the stands tonight were looking at things they can use and thinking of ways they can be out there next year. Our ladies who competed tonight did a great job and took another great step towards next year."
Sophomore Morgan Dennis, who won this event a year ago after waiting through 16 routines to compete, was the second gymnast up in this year's floor exercise final, scoring a 9.9 to take fourth place. It marks the ninth year in a row that an Alabama gymnast has figured among the nation's top six on the floor exercise. Georgia's Courtney McCool won the floor exercise title with a 9.9625.
"It was fun," Dennis said. "I was glad to be out there in event finals again, it's such an honor. It was tough being second having to post a score that'll hold over, but I'm proud of my score. I felt a little tired (after three days in a row of competition) but I had fun out there."
Freshman Kayla Hoffman took fifth place on the vault. During individual event finals, a gymnast has to compete two different vaults and their overall score is an average of those two vaults. Hoffman scored a 9.925 on her first vault and a 9.6 on her second, which had a 9.8 start value, for a final score of 9.7625. Her first vault was the second highest scoring vault in individual finals. LSU's Susan Jackson won the vault with a 9.8563.
"It was different (tonight)," Hoffman said. "We had a lot of fun cheering on everybody else we've gotten to know over the weekend. It's been a lot of fun."
Sophomore Kassi Price finished eighth on the uneven bars after posting a 9.85. Price just missed advancing to event finals on the uneven bars as a freshman. UCLA's Tasha Schwikert won the title with a 9.9375 while Georgia's Grace Taylor won the balance beam with a 9.95.
"The team is the priority coming to nationals," Price said. "But to come out in individuals is just something extra and a great experience. I think this is one of the most fun nights I've ever experienced."
Vault - 1. Jackson, Susan, LSU 9.8563; t2. Baskett, Kristina, Utah 9.8438; t2. Dwyer, Julie, Auburn 9.8438; 4. Stout, Michelle, Arkansas 9.8000; 5. Hoffman, Kayla, Alabama 9.7625; 6. Newby, Marcia, Georgia 9.7563; 7 Lamb, Yuki Oregon State, 9.7375, 8. Schwikert, Tasha, UCLA 9.5625; 9. Comforte, Kristina UCLA 9.4500; 10. Robarts, Kyndal, Utah 8.5375
Uneven Bars - 1. Schwikert, Tasha, UCLA, 9.9375; t2. Heenan, Katie, Georgia, 9.9000; t2. Comforte, Kristina, UCLA, 9.9000; t4. Childs, Nikki, Georgia, 9.8875; t4. Clare-Kearney, Ashleigh, LSU, 9.8875; 6. Baskett, Kristina, Utah, 9.8750; 7. Tricase, Elizabeth, Stanford, 9.8625; t8. Price, Kassi, Alabama, 9.8500; t8. Taylor, Grace, Georgia, 9.8500; t8. Sinclair, Melanie, Florida, 9.8500; t8. Botterman, Kylee, Michigan, 9.8500; t12. Bernard, Becky, Michigan, 9.8375; t12. Sniatynski, Desire', Nebraska, 9.8375; 14. Tolnay, Tiffany, Georgia, 9.8250; 15. Li, Anna, UCLA, 9.8125; 16. Postell, Ashley, Utah, 9.8000; t17. Hubbard, Summer, LSU, 9.7625; t17. Yim, Tabitha, Stanford, 9.7625.
Balance Beam - 1. Taylor, Grace, Georgia, 9.9500; t2. Postell, Ashley, Utah, 9.9000; t2. Parsons, Emily, Nebraska, 9.9000; 4. Reed, Ashley, Florida, 9.8875; t5. Yim, Tabitha, Stanford, 9.8750; t5. Personett, Brandi, Penn State, 9.8750; t7. Tolnay, Tiffany, Georgia, 9.8500; t7. Jackson, Susan, LSU, 9.8500; 9. Sinclair, Melanie, Florida, 9.8250; 10. Ourada, Nicole, Stanford, 9.8000; 11. Heenan, Katie, Georgia, 9.7875.
Floor Exercise - 1. McCool, Courtney, Georgia, 9.9625; 2. Schwikert, Tasha, UCLA, 9.9500; 3. Willis, Nicola, Florida, 9.9125; t4. Dennis, Morgan, Alabama, 9.9000; t4. Tolnay, Tiffany, Georgia, 9.9000; t4. Postell, Ashley, Utah, 9.9000; 7. McComb, Cassidy, Georgia, 9.8875; t8. Reed, Ashley, Florida, 9.8750; t8. Castillo, Amanda, Florida, 9.8750; 10. Jackson, Susan, LSU, 9.8625; 11. Hartung, Corey, Florida, 9.8250; t12. Sturms, Kiara, Oklahoma, 9.7625; t12. Clare-Kearney, Ashleigh, LSU, 9.7625; 14. Baskett, Kristina, Utah, 2.5500.
Players Mentioned
