Gymnastics | 4/9/2022 9:32:00 PM

ITHACA, N.Y. – For the 12^th time in program history, the Texas Woman's University gymnastics team are national champions!
 
The Pioneers turned in a season-high score of 196.025 to outpace second-place Air Force's 195.650. Lindenwood finished third at 194.600 while Brown was fourth at 193.300 in Saturday's USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship final, hosted on the campus of Cornell University.
 
"I am obviously speechless," said head coach Lisa Bowerman. "I couldn't be more proud of what they did tonight. I told the team after we were done and while there were two events still going on, no matter where we ended up on the podium, they did absolutely everything they could do. They left it out there from the start, and that was the goal. Regardless of the outcome, they did everything they could and they worked until the very end."
 
Opening on the uneven bars, the Pioneers were paced by Mara Johnson's 9.775, which tied for 10^th. Steelie King and Maddie Griffith turned in a 9.750 to finish tied for 12^th, while Kyla Podges (9.725) and Beth Lazarus (9.600) rounded out the scorers. The Pioneers posted a 48.600 to sit in third after the opening rotation.
 
The second rotation put the Pioneers on beam, and Madeline Gose and Steelie King turned in matching 9.800s to tie for fourth. Alix Pierce, Podges, and MacKenzie Kunzman posted matching 9.775s to tie for seventh and round out the Pioneer's scorers. While TWU's 48.925 gained ground on then-leader Air Force, TWU remained third after the second rotation.
 
The tide turned for the Pioneers when the action moved to the floor. Domi Bonzagni started the Pioneers with a solid 9.700, but Mara Johnson turned in a 9.900 to tie for second, followed by matching 9.800 scores from both Sierra Muns and Pierce, which tied for ninth. Gose stepped to the floor and turned in a first-place 9.925, with Goyco's 9.900 closing the rotation. TWU's 49.325 on floor tied a program record – previously set on March 21, 2015 at the MIC Championships – and catapulted the Pioneers into first place going after the third rotation.
 
 "I think naturally, floor and vault are those events where we can really let loose and give even more big energy and I think they just did that," said Bowerman. "They know they are an incredible floor team and they love performing on floor, and they just went out and did that. Finishing on the two power events was great for us because it allowed us to go full force to finish out the meet."
 
The Pioneers would tie another program record with a 49.175 on vault in the final rotation – that record being set April 7, 2017 at the USAG Championship Semifinals – led by a second-place 9.900 by Emerson Adams. King and Muns both posted matching 9.850s to tie for third, while Daisy Woodring hit a 9.800 to tie for seventh. Gose and Beth Lazarus added 9.775s to tie for ninth.
 
The 2022 Pioneers join the 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2017, and 2018 teams as USA Gymnastics National Champions.
 
Seven Pioneers will compete Sunday in the USA Gymnastics Individual Championships beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern.