University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Gymnastics Finishes Eighth at EAGL Championships
3/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Gymnastics Finishes Eighth at EAGL Championships
3/25/2005
RALEIGH, N.C. ? The Pittsburgh gymnastics team could not overcome early falls on the vault and unven bars and placed eighth with 191.1 points at the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships, held at North Carolina State?s Reynolds Coliseum on Friday evening. North Carolina won the EAGL title with 195.975 points, followed by Maryland and West Virginia in a tie for second with 195.2 points.
The Panthers did not start out well on the vault, getting two just scores of 9.5 or higher, including a team-best 9.7 from sophomore Andrea Arlotta (Cincinnati, Ohio/Northwest). Freshman Nicole Drane (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) had Pitt?s second-highest score with a 9.525. The Panthers scored just 47.05 points in the first rotation, about three-tenths of a point below their season average heading into the weekend.
Things got a little better for the Panthers on the uneven bars as the first two competitors, junior Lindsay Swan (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and sophomore Robyn Marszalek (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) scored season bests. Swan started things out with a 9.675 and Marszalek followed with a 9.775 and senior Leila Tait (Naples, Fla./Pittsford Sutherland) ranked second on the team with a 9.725 but the team had to count two falls and scored a total of 47.575 points.
Counting one fall also lowered the Panthers? balance beam score but Pitt?s final two competitors, Samantha DeBone (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and Tait, had scores of 9.75 to lead the way. For DeBone, a freshman, it was just 0.025 points from her season-best total. Arlotta contributed a 9.65, while Marszalek added a 9.6 to the Panthers? score. Pittsburgh?s total of 47.925 points was well above their season average prior to Friday?s meet and just three-tenths of a point from their season-best score.
The Panthers saved their best for last on the floor exercise with a team score of 48.55 points, including four scores of 9.7 or higher. Leading the way was DeBone with a 9.775, followed by sophomore Jennifer Jones (Plains, Pa./Coughlin) with a career-best-tying 9.725. Both Marszalek and Arlotta, All-EAGL honorees in the event, placed third on the Panthers with identical 9.7 scores. Freshman Kaitlin Harrison (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) rounded out the team score with a 9.65.
Marszalek led the three Pitt all-arounders with a career-best 38.475 points, followed by Arlotta with 38.35 points. The Panthers fall to 8-19 for the season and 2-13 in the EAGL and will compete in the NCAA Northeast Regionals in Durham, N.H. on Saturday, April 9 at 6 p.m.
Pittsburgh Results by Event
Vault
Andrea Arlotta, 9.70
Nicole Drane, 9.525
Robyn Marszalek, 9.40
Kaitlin Harrison, 9.25
Leila Tait, 9.175
Brittany Baldwin, 8.90
Uneven Bars
Robyn Marszalek, 9.775
Leila Tait, 9.725
Lindsay Swan, 9.675
Andrea Arlotta, 9.30
Samantha DeBone, 9.10
Kaitlin Harrison, 8.625
Balance Beam
Samantha DeBone, 9.75
Leila Tait, 9.75
Andrea Arlotta, 9.65
Robyn Marszalek, 9.60
Kaitlin Harrison, 9.175
Nicole Drane, 7.45
Floor Exercise
Samantha DeBone, 9.775
Jennifer Jones, 9.725
Andrea Arlotta, 9.70
Robyn Marszalek, 9.70
Kaitlin Harrison, 9.65
Jessica Garber, 9.525
All-Around
Robyn Marszalek, 38.475
Andrea Arlotta, 38.35
Kaitlin Harrison, 36.7
