Video Highlights
THE BASICS
Score: Quinnipiac 276.360, at Gannon 263.385
Records: Quinnipiac (5-3), Gannon (3-5)
Location: Erie, Pa. | Hammermill Center
The Short Story: The Gannon acrobatics and tumbling team fell to NCAA Division I opponent Quinnipiac , 276.360-263.385, in the regular-season finale Saturday afternoon at the Hammermill Center. The Lady Knights earned a win in the Pyramid event, while tying and winning three total heats throughout the meet.
PDF Scorecard: Click here
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon displayed strong routines in both the pyramid and toss heats of the Compulsory event. The Lady Knights scored a 9.75 in the pyramid heat. The 15-member pyramid heat included freshman Kelsey LeClair (Temecula, Calif. / Temecula), junior Lindsey McKnight (Erie, Pa. / Mercyhurst Prep), freshman Michaela Soper (Fallston, Md. / Fallston), sophomore Ciara Rand (Goodyear, Ariz. / Verrado), freshman Devynn Shook (Wallingford, Conn. / Mark T. Sheehan), freshman Brittany Lawson (Stratford, Conn. / Bunnell), freshman Kaitlyn Heath (Marietta, N.Y. / Marcellus), freshman Taj Beard (McDonough, Ga. / Eagles Landing), junior Kayla Telego (Knox, Pa. / Keystone), freshman Elizabeth Martin (Chicago, Ill. / Von Steuben Metro Science Center), freshman Mackenzie Mraz (New Castle, Pa. / Laurel), freshman Hayley Nejman (Erie, Pa. / Villa Maria Academy), junior Kimberlee Adkins (Sharpsburg, Ga. / Lovejoy), sophomore Angelina Grandinetti (Fayetteville, N.Y. / Fayetteville-Manlius) and freshman Rachel Robinson (Lago Vista, Texas / Vista Ridge). Quinnipiac secured a perfect score of 10 in the pyramid heat.
The Lady Knights' top score in the Compulsory event came in the synchronized toss heat. The Lady Knights posted a 9.85 with the Bobcats edging them out by five-hundredths of a point. The Lady Knights' first group featured McKnight, Shook, Mraz, Grandinetti and Robinson. The second group was freshman Chelsea Cowan (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep), Lawson, Martin, Soper and Adkins.
Trailing 38.40-37.10, Gannon captured its first victory in a heat on the afternoon in the Arco event. The six-element heat of Cowan, Mraz, Martin and Robinson secured a 9.95-9.80 win. The Bobcats pushed their lead to 67.800-66.300 with a two-tenths of a point victory in the event, 29.40-29.20.
Tying one heat and winning another, Gannon earned a 29.65-29.50, victory in the Pyramid event. The two squads tied the flip heat, 9.95-9.95, to open the event. The Lady Knights captured their second victory in a heat with a 9.95-9.75 win by the team of McKnight, Nejman, Robinson, Mraz, Martin and Beard. The Bobcats managed to capture a win in the final heat of the release, 9.80-9.75, to prevent the sweep.
Quinnipiac gained ground on Gannon in the next three events. The Bobcats swept all three heats of the Toss event, as they took a 126.100-122.750 lead.
Gannon won the quad pass heat in the Tumbling event to prevent the sweep in the event by Quinnipiac. The team of McKnight, Soper, Mraz and Heath outscored the Bobcats, 7.850-7.600. To close the Tumbling event with the open pass, Beard posted the Lady Knights' top score of 9.725 in the six Tumbling heats.
Holding a 180.800-173.475 lead heading into the team routine, Quinnipiac locked in the win with a tally of 95.56 compared to Gannon's score of 89.91. The Bobcats' second-half performance helped guide the team to a 276.360-263.385 victory.
The Lady Knights moved to 0-2 in their all-time series with Quinnipiac. Last season, the Lady Knights faced the host Bobcats, in GU's first meet in program history.
UP NEXT
With the regular season complete, Gannon will know its fate in the coming week. Due to meets on Sunday, the Lady Knights will wait to hear whether it has qualified for a chance to compete in the NCATA Championships April 23-25, hosted by Fairmont State. The official selections will be announced by Tuesday, April 14.
