Rutgers Finishes Fourth in Meet at West Virginia
Jan 31 | Women's Gymnastics
Morgantown, W. Va. The Rutgers gymnastics team competed in their third quad meet in eight days, placing fourth in Morgantown on Saturday, January 31. Rutgers posted a score of 187.950 at the meet, falling short of Maryland's top mark of 194.475, followed by West Virginia (193.925), and George Washington (191.775). West Virginia Head Coach Linda Burdette earned her 600th victory in front of the home Mountaineer crowd.
Competing without senior Latara Northcutt (Snellville, Ga.), who suffered an injury in warm-ups and did not participate, the Scarlet Knights saw its youth step up as several freshman and sophomore saw new roles on Saturday. The underclassmen led them to the same score in Wednesday meet that included Northcutt. It was the first time on the season the Scarlet Knights did not have a gymnast perform in the all-around.
Freshman Danae Johnson (Silver Spring, Md.) continued her success in the floor exercise by posting a career-high 9.850, finishing in a four-way tie for fourth in the event. Johnson has improved her score in the floor exercise at every meet.
Fellow freshmen Brooke Schwamburger (Powell, Ohio) and Nicole Schwartz (Somerset, N.J.) also had career-highs with their performances on the balance beam. Schwamburger placed eighth in the event, with a score of 9.600, while Schwartz followed right behind in ninth with a score of 9.525. Overall, RU posted a total score of 46.000 on the bar.
On vault, junior Alyssa Lewandowski (Linden, N.J.) led the way for the Scarlet Knights with a season high score of 9.600, while, senior Kristy Behr (Northport, N.Y.) led the team on the bars with a season-high tying score on 9.500..
The Scarlet Knights return to action Saturday, February 7, against Pittsburgh and Yale for their second home meet of the season. The event will be begin at 12:00 p.m. in the Livingston Recreation Center.
