All-Time Beam Record Leads 'Cats to Quad-Meet Victory

Friday, January 18

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

194.925

193.725

Pittsburgh

Courtney Bondanza led UNH's all-time beam performance with a career-high 9.925

Photo by: Shannon Dean

1/18/2019 11:22:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics

Results (HTML)Results (PDF)

Bondanza’s career-high 9.925 leads to UNH all-time beam score of 49.425

DURHAM, N.H. – Led by a personal-best 9.925 from Courtney Bondanza (Buffalo, N.Y.), the University of New Hampshire gymnastics team set a program record on balance beam (49.425) en route to a first-place finish against Pittsburgh, Bridgeport and Temple in Friday night's Raise The Bar Meet, presented by Happy Bodies, at the Whittemore Center.

The Wildcats (4-1) scored a 194.925 to edge the Panthers (193.725), Purple Knights (193.575) and Owls (191.850).

"We appreciate all the fans who came out tonight with the impending snow," said head coach Gail Goodspeed. "We may not have broken the attendance record, but there was a good crowd here that enjoyed the gymnastics. All four teams did a great job, so it was fun.

"The Whittemore Center is a fun place to compete, but it's a tough place to compete because it's cold," Goodspeed added.

January 18, 2019 • Raise The Bar Meet, Presented by Happy Bodies
Whittemore Center • Durham, N.H.
Results – HTML • PDF

NEXT HOME MEET • SUNDAY, FEB. 3 (1 P.M.) VS GEORGE WASHINGTON • GET TICKETS
Stick It for the Cure • Superhero Day
•UNH returns to Lundholm Gym for their next home meet Sunday, Feb. 3 (1 p.m.) against EAGL rival George Washington. The 'Cats will don their special pink leotards and help raise money in the battle against breast cancer.
•Familiar superheroes will be on hand to meet with our young fans and help the team thank military and veterans for being the true superheroes.
•Season tickets, group tickets and single-meet tickets are available HERE or by calling 603-862-4000.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Rotation – Vault (48.175)
•Nicole O'Leary (Newtown, Conn.) secured a share of first place (9.800) with Pitt's Haley Brechwald and Alecia Petrikis. Reigning EAGL Specialist of the Week Erin Carroll (Kingston, N.H.) tied for fourth place (9.750) with Temple's Jaylene Everett and Ariana Castrence. The Wildcats finished fourth on vault.

"Vaulting was an aberration," Goodspeed said. "We've had a good vaulting team all year. Part of it was getting used to the cold."

Second Rotation – Uneven Bars (48.425)
•The Wildcats picked up the pace on uneven bars, thanks in large part to Lauren Diggan (Collegeville, Pa.), who scored a 9.825 against tight judging for second place and a 9.750 from Riley Freehling (Southington, Conn.), who was part of a five-way logjam for third place. UNH finished second to Bridgeport (48.725) on bars.

Third Rotation – Balance Beam (49.425 - school record)
Bondanza's first-place finish highlighted five career performances set by the Wildcats on beam. Hannah Baddick (Gettysburg, Pa.) and Emma Winer (Georgetown, Mass.) tied for second place with personal-best scores of 9.900. Hailey Lui (Collegeville, Pa.) set a career high with a 9.850 to match Freehling (tied PB) and Danielle Mulligan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) for seventh place.

"Balance beam was amazing starting with Riley Freehling all the way to the end with Danielle Mulligan," said Goodspeed. "We had six-out-of-six team members who stuck their dismounts, which helped make up for a not-so-great start on vaulting.

Fourth Rotation – Floor Exercise (48.900)
•The 'Cats rode the momentum of their record-setting beam performance and kept the pedal to the metal in the final rotation with a first-place score on floor exercise. Winer, who was awarded the meet's Katie Baldwin Expression Award, matched her personal best (9.850) to share first place with Ava Watkins (Cherry Hill, N.J.), who set a career high of her own. Diggan scored a 9.825 to tie for third place with Pitt's Charli Spivey.

"I thought we worked harder on floor because we knew Pittsburgh was right there with great vaults, challenging us," Goodspeed said. "The goal is to hit 195.000, and we were close. We just have to keep working on the details."

Temple's Monica Servidio won the all-around with a 38.800.

2019 EAGL CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE NOW
•Tickets are on sale now for the 2019 EAGL Championship, presented by The Mall at Fox Run, slated for Saturday, March 23 (2 p.m.) at the Whittemore Center. The Wildcats will take on league rivals George Washington, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh and Towson in their quest to win their third EAGL championship and first since capturing the title in front of their fans at the Whitt in 2014.

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