The wait is over! Division III gymnastics is finally back. The WIAC teams were able to kick off the first DIII competition weekend of 2021. La Crosse and Oshkosh showed us that even with an imperfect start to the season, they can still open with solid scores, while some of the other teams are still getting their bearings and working toward competing full lineups.
Below you’ll not only find fast facts from every NCGA meet this weekend (for more on DI and USAG teams, check out their respective Dismounts), but the overall NCGA standings and top scores from the week.
Stick of the Week
Kaira Hammond, Beam, 9.625
Oshkosh’s Kaira Hammond had a beautiful beam routine that she capped off with a stuck back handspring + gainer full dismount. Hammond claimed the beam title in the Titan’s dual meet against La Crosse.
Overall Standings
| Place |
Team |
Average |
| 1 |
La Crosse |
188.150 |
| 2 |
Oshkosh |
185.600 |
| 3 |
Stout |
181.875 |
| 4 |
Hamline |
177.675 |
| 5 |
Winona |
177.425 |
| 6 |
Gustavus |
177.050 |
| 7 |
Eau Claire |
174.625 |
| 8 |
Whitewater |
165.800 |
Top Scores
| Gymnast |
Team |
Event |
Score |
| Madi Vanderpool |
La Crosse |
Vault |
9.650 |
| Kerrie Legault |
La Crosse |
Bars |
9.650 |
| Madi Vanderpool |
La Crosse |
Bars |
9.625 |
| Blaise Wilson |
Whitewater |
Beam |
9.625 |
| Kaira Hammond |
Oshkosh |
Beam |
9.625 |
| Megan Hawkins |
La Crosse |
Vault |
9.575 |
| Karina Sabol |
Whitewater |
Floor |
9.575 |
| Kiara Breuning |
Stout |
Vault |
9.550 |
| Olivia Keller |
Oshkosh |
Floor |
9.550 |
| Olivia Opeim |
La Crosse |
Beam |
9.550 |
| Faith Mylin |
Whitewater |
Floor |
9.525 |
| Tia Ravara |
Eau Claire |
Beam |
9.525 |
| Carlie Beatty |
Stout |
Beam |
9.500 |
| Blaise Wilson |
Whitewater |
Bars |
9.500 |
| Haley Volstad |
Oshkosh |
Vault |
9.500 |
| Shelsea Zehr |
Winona |
Floor |
9.500 |
| Olivia Keller |
Oshkosh |
Beam |
9.500 |
Click and expand the events below to see results, recaps and even links to watch archived broadcasts.
25 February
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
UW-Eau Claire at Hamline
Note: There are two live streams for this meet, one for vault/beam and one for bars/floor. Both can be found at the video link above.
Recap
| Full Results |
Hamline: 177.675 |
Eau Claire: 174.625 |
| VT: Jaworski 9.300 |
UB: Ravara 9.200 |
BB: Ravara 9.525 |
FX: Ravara 9.250 |
AA: Ravara 37.175 |
The Big Storyline: Overall, this competition played out pretty much as expected. The most exciting thing was the incredible showing that Blugold freshman Tia Ravara had at her first collegiate competition. Ravara was expected to be a star, but winning three event titles and the all around in your first meet is impressive no matter who you are. On the flipside, Hamline struggled a bit without one of its highest scorers, sophomore Tisana Lowe. However, the Pipers had enough depth to still put together strong enough lineups to claim the win.
26 February
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
UW-Stout at Gustavus Adolphus
Recap
| Full Results |
Stout: 181.875 |
Gustavus: 177.050 |
| VT: Breuning 9.550 |
UB: Rosenow 9.350 |
BB: Beatty 9.500 |
FX: Merila/Esteb 9.325 |
AA: Breuning 36.525 |
The Big Storyline: In a year where preseason was a bit of a mess for everyone, Gustavus will be extremely pleased to have opened its season with a score that is right on par with many of its most recent season-openers. Though Stout’s score wasn’t what we have seen from the Blue Devils in recent years, they will likely still be happy with the outcome as they quite easily managed to finish ahead despite losing senior Mikala Bugge to injury earlier this week.
27 February
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Winona State at UW-Whitewater
Recap
| Full Results |
Winona State: 177.425 |
Whitewater: 165.800 |
| VT: McGinley 9.450 |
UB: Wilson 9.500 |
BB: Wilson 9.625 |
FX: Sabol 9.575 |
AA: Wilson 37.875 |
The Big Storyline: Bar lineups are always a struggle to put together at the DIII level. Add on a pandemic and the extra challenges that brought to training, and it seems like maybe there was too much stacked against the Warhawks to be able to put together a full lineup in time for the first meet. However, the Warhawks’ other three events were solid and right on pace with the teams in the top half of the conference, so they’ll be golden when/if they figure out the bars situation. Winona has a lot of room for improvement, but a neat fact about the Warriors’ performance is that every single freshman had the opportunity to compete!
27 February
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
UW-Oshkosh at UW-La Crosse
Recap
| Full Results |
UW-La Crosse: 188.150 |
UW-Oshkosh: 185.600 |
| VT: Vanderpool 9.650 |
UB: Legault 9.650 |
BB: Hammond 9.625 |
FX: Keller 9.550 |
AA: Mortenson 37.050 |
The Big Storyline: This was a great start to the season for both of these teams, and it showed in their gymnastics with just how happy they were to be able to compete. Oshkosh started the competition on bars and went six for six hitting all of its routines while La Crosse had a very solid start on vault, which included a stuck Yurchenko full from sophomore Madi Vanderpool. The Titans had powerful vaults and tumbling passes but lacked control on landings, which resulted in numerous little deductions here and there and ultimately allowed the Eagles to finish on top.
Records: Oshkosh set a school record team score in a season opener with a 185.600
No event found!
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Article by Allie DiBiase and Rachel Riesterer
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