Gymnastics Wins Season Opening Quad-Meet at Rutgers with Bridgeport and William & Mary

Saturday, January 7

Piscataway, N.J.

1PM

University of New Hampshire

193.425

192.875

Rutgers University

Gymnastics Wins Season Opening Quad-Meet at Rutgers with Bridgeport and William & Mary

1/7/2017 3:48:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics

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By: Mike Murphy

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Casey Lauter (Northport, N.Y.) won the balance beam competition for the Wildcats with a score of 9.875 in the University of New Hampshire's gymnastics team's first place finish in Saturday's quad-meet at Rutgers University with the University of Bridgeport and the College of William & Mary.

The Wildcats move to 3-0 with the victory, while the Scarlet Knights move to 2-1, the Purple Knights go to 1-2, and the Tribe falls to 0-3 after the season opener.

MEET INFORMATION
Date: January 7, 2017 (1 p.m. ET)
Score: UNH (193.425), Rutgers (192.875), Bridgeport (191.225), William & Mary (188.300)
Records: UNH (3-0), Rutgers (2-1), Bridgeport (1-2), William & Mary (0-3)
Location: Livingston Gym | Piscataway, New Jersey

NEXT UP
New Hampshire heads to Brown University for a tri-meet with the University of Bridgeport on Saturday, January 14 at 4 p.m.

HIGHLIGHTS

Meghan Pflieger (Barneveld, N.Y.) earned a victory in the all-around, totaling a score of 38.975 in the four events. She also placed second on the floor exercise (9.775) and tied for third on the beam (9.775)
Nicole O'Leary (Newtown, Conn.) won the vault competition, with a career high-tying score of 9.800.
Danielle Mulligan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) achieved first place on uneven bars with an impressive 9.825.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats started out on the bars, where Mulligan recorded the team's top score (9.825) en route to winning the competition. Pflieger and Jennifer King (Freehold, N.J.) finished closely behind, tying for sixth place (9.675). The team totaled a 48.300 in the event.

New Hampshire then went to the beam, where Lauter led the way with a 9.875. Pflieger was not far behind, as she scored a 9.775 and finished in a tie for third place. Danielle Doolin (Medford Lakes, N.J.) had the third-best score for the Wildcats in the event (9.575), and also finished third overall in the all-around (38.550). As a team, UNH totaled a 48.175 on beam.

The 'Cats next performed on floor in the third event of the afternoon. Pflieger finished with a team-high 9.775, which gave her second place. Freshman Lexi Calandra (Suffern, N.Y.) also performed well, recording a 9.700 and finishing in a tie for fourth place. The team totaled a 48.350 on floor.

To close the meet, New Hampshire headed to the vault, where it would record its best team score of the night (48.600). O'Leary won the competition, tying a personal best of 9.800. Pflieger and Marissa Toci (Mount Laurel, N.J.) also performed well for New Hampshire, each recording a 9.750 and tying for fourth place.

TEAM NOTES

The Wildcats finished with the top team scores on vault, beam, and floor. They finished second to only Rutgers on bars (48.425 to 48.300).
With the victory, UNH has now recorded a win in its season opener for each of the last three years.
Freshman newcomers Calandra (9.700 on floor, 9.125 on vault) and Riley Freehling (Southington, Conn.; 9.500 on beam) each impressed in their debuts.

For more information on the UNH gymnastics team, visit www.unhwildcats.com.

The 2017 UNH Gymnastics season is presented by Happy Bodies. Visit them at happybodies.com.