The Blugolds won the meet with 176.100 points versus Oshkosh’s 175.725, snagging their third consecutive dual-meet win. The meet was the team’s final meet of the regular season, and senior Samantha Howard said it was a major confidence booster for the team.
“(Oshkosh is) one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, so to beat them was a big deal for us. . It was a good cap off to be able to put another ‘W’ on our record for the year,” she said.
Friday’s meet was also “Senior Night,” and the gymnasts celebrated their seniors well, Howard said.
“I had a good meet, and on top of that I had fun, and we were able to pull it together and beat Oshkosh,” she said. “It was a packed gym, and there was an overall good atmosphere.”
The gymnasts competed best in the floor exercises on Friday, using their talent to boost them and beat UW-Oshkosh, who they’d been trailing behind until the floor event. Freshman Danielle Shulzetenberg led the team in the event with a personal best of 9.475, also winning the balance beam event with a 9.150. Vault was won by freshman Cece Solem with a 9.200, while freshman Molly Senske and junior Sarah Hulbert tied a UW-Oshkosh competitor for second place with a score of 9.050.
But the season isn’t over yet. This Sunday is the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference/National Collegiate Gymnastics Association West Regional meet in St. Peter, Minn.
“We have to continue to work on our consistency,” coach Jean De Lisle said. “We are working on our confidence behind the routines, as the skills are all there, and the difficulty is in place. It’s just whether or not the team stays confident; we feel that will bring us the consistency on a solid routine that we need.”
The team is truly united, De Lisle said.
“The individuals that are on the team each lend a different aspect to this team to make it the most cohesive team I have coached in a very long time,” De Lisle said. “They are fun to be around, they have great attitudes, they are determined and have a great sense of humor when that is needed.”
That sense of humor is apparent during meets with the fun-loving manner in which the team interacts, Howard said.
“It’s just 18 girls who work together and have fun and do it for the love of the sport.”
