WASHINGTON, D.C. – The No. 17 Kentucky gymnastics squad travels to Washington, D.C. for the Colonial Classic. Meet time is set for 1:00 p.m. in the Smith Center. The Cats will take on host George Washington, James Madison, Yale and New Hampshire. Kentucky heads to D.C. having claimed victories over four ranked opponents in the last two weeks.
?We need to go to George Washington and get a great road score to help our RQS score,? said UK head coach Mo Muhammad. ?It is getting near the end of the season and we need to hit 24-of-24 routines heading into the Southeastern Conference Championships.?
Last week the Kentucky gymnastics squad (8-7, 0-6, SEC) posted the third highest score in school history, 196.025, en route to defeating two top 25 opponents. The UK senior gymnasts went out in style as No. 15 Central Michigan finished second with a 195.700 and No. 21 Michigan State completed the meet in third place with a 193.975 mark.
The Colonials and the Cats face off for the second time this season with the meeting in Washington, D.C. George Washington is coming off a second place finish in a tri-meet in Philadelphia last week and enters the contest with a 10-11 record and a 1-4 mark in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League.
In the last meeting between the Cats and the Colonials, UK finished first in the quad meet with a season-high 195.525 score. Ohio State followed with a 193.000, George Washington tallied a 191.150 and Ball State finished last with a 191.025 mark. Kentucky?s score was the eighth highest team finish in school history. Kentucky was led by senior Michelle Gales? first-place 39.250 performance in the all-around. Junior Lucy Burgin, competing in only her second collegiate all-around, notched a 38.475 on the four events to finish third.
New Hampshire posted a 192.375 score last weekend, but still finished third in a quad meet in Baton Rouge, La. The Wildcats have a 10-8 record on the season. The squad was led by Vanessa James, who recorded a 9.725 on both floor and vault in UNH?s last outing. The Cats hit each of their six routines on their strength, balance beam, last weekend.
James Madison University is coming off of a fourth-place finish at the Towson Invitational last weekend after notching a 183.675 total team score. JMU had four top-ten finishers for the competition, three on the balance beam. Lauren Caravello?s 9.475 was good for seventh, while Natalie Moore and Melissa Morganstern finished tied for ninth at 9.375. JMU is 1-14 on the season.
The Bulldogs are 13-3 entering Saturday?s meet, coming off a third-place finish in the Towson Invitational this past weekend. Yale posted a 187.400 mark in its last competition that included a win over James Madison, which also will be competing in the Colonial Classic. ECAC Athlete of the Week and Ivy League all-around champion Anne McPherson scored a 37.825 to lead the Bulldogs in all-around competition last weekend.
Kentucky returns to action Saturday, Mar. 19, when it travels to Denver Colo., to face the Denver Pioneers and Utah State. Meet time is set for 6 p.m.
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