Gymnastics | 2/5/2023 7:28:00 PM
DENTON, Texas (Feb. 5, 2023) – The Texas Woman's gymnastics team posted a season-high on floor to guide them to a second-place finish in their Sunday home tri-meet against Iowa State and New Hampshire.
TWU closed the meet with a strong final rotation on floor to score a season best 48.975. Leading the Pioneers to the high score was senior Alix Pierce, who continues to excel in the rotation. Pierce performed in the anchor spot for the Pioneers, ending the meet with a 9.875. Sierra Muns and Madeline Gose both increased their personal season-highs on floor. Muns scored a 9.825, and Gose ignited the crowd with a 9.800. Ruby Goad, who moved into the starting spot on floor for the Pioneers, set the tone for the remaining TWU competitors with a 9.750. In the fourth spot for the Pioneers, Daisy Woodring scored a 9.725, and, making her collegiate floor debut in the fifth spot, Steelie King scored a career-high 9.650.
The Pioneers scored their second-highest score of the meet, a 48.325, on their third rotation – the balance beam.
After returning to the beam lineup last week, missing the first few meets due to injury, King reclaimed her beam queen status for TWU. She placed first on the event and scored a season-high 9.850. Kyla Podges also joined in on the beam queen status, scoring a season-high 9.800 in the second spot. Pierce, in the fourth spot, has been a mainstay in the beam line up, and continued to hit consistent, high scores today, finishing with a 9.725. The leadoff for the Pioneers was Daisy Woodring with a 9.600, and Goad rounded out the top five scores with a 9.350.
Moving in numerical order, the Pioneers' third strongest rotation of the day was vault, where they soared to a 48.200. In their first rotation of the day, TWU's first competitor was Mara Johnson, who got the Pioneers started with a 9.525. In the anchor spot on vault, Woodring led TWU with a 9.750. Gose scored a 9.675, and Muns hit a 9.650. Maddie Griffith recorded the final, fifth counted score for the Pioneers with a 9.600.
Finally, on the uneven bars, the Pioneers' scored a team score of 47.9250, as they had to count a fall. Nevertheless, two Pioneers recorded shining career-highs on the bars. Firing up the crowd and her team, Pierce continued to elevate their bars routine, scoring a career-high 9.825. After Pierce lit the match, Ferrari ignited the fire. In the anchor spot for the Pioneers, as a freshman, Ferrari excelled in her routine and scored a career-high 9.900. With the third highest score for the Pioneers and the final score above a 9.7, Griffith remained consistently great on the bars, recording a 9.725.
With their team total of a 193.425, the Pioneers finished in second place. Iowa State won the meet with a 195.400, and New Hampshire placed third with a 192.600.
Following the final award announcements, TWU hosted a free kids' clinic. The participants enjoyed the opportunity to learn from the Pioneer gymnasts. For an hour, the participants had the opportunity to rotate through all four rotations and grow in their gymnastics skills.
"It is always great to be back in KMA in front of our home crowd," TWU Head Coach Lisa Bowerman said. "Alix continued to lead well for us, scoring consistent, high scores in three rotations. It was incredible to watch Brooke finally get in her 9.9 on bars. As a freshman, she competes with such poise and confidence in the anchor spot. Overall, we continued to take steps today. I am proud of how we came together and finished the meet strong on floor. We will look to continue to make positive improvements in the gym this week, as we prepare for our next meet against Centenary. Also, a big thank you to everyone who participated in our kids clinic today. The joy and love for gymnastics each of the kids bring inspires us, and it is always so much fun getting to help them learn new skills.
The Pioneers will go on the road for their next meet on Friday, Feb. 10. They will compete against Centenary at 6 p.m.
-PIONEERS-
