Scarlet Knights Finish Eighth at EAGL Championships
Mar 22 | Women's Gymnastics
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Rutgers gymnastics team recorded their highest away score of the season, 189.125, placing eighth at the 14th annual East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships held Saturday at the Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of North Carolina State University.
North Carolina State, the host school, won the team title with a score of 195.70. West Virginia (195.50), the defending champions, earned second place, with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (194.825) placing third. Pittsburgh compiled a 194.675 to finish fourth and edge out the University of New Hampshire, which scored a 194.650 to take fifth. The University of Maryland snared sixth place with a score of 194.525, with George Washington (193.050) taking seventh.
The Scarlet Knights received strong individual performances from senior Latara Northcutt (Snellville, Ga.) and freshmen Danae Johnson (Silver Spring, Md.) and Nicole Schwartz (Somerset, N.J.). Northcutt, in her final conference meet, placed 15th in the all-around competition with a score of 37.450. Johnson led RU on the vault and in the floor exercise, scoring a 9.750 in both events. She finished tied for 13th place in the floor exercise. Schwartz, who was named team MVP at the EAGL awards banquet Friday night, was RU’s top scorer in the all-around. Her score of her 37.800 was good enough for 12th place in the competition.
Sophomore Kiah Banfield (Newbury Park, Calif.) produced a 9.650 in the floor exercise, tying her for 28th place. It was the fifth straight meet in which she earned at least a 9.60 on the mats.
On the vault, junior Alyssa Lewandowski (Linden, N.J.) scored a 9.725, her second-best vaulting effort of the season.
Sophomore Maddie Zwiebel (Bridgewater, N.J.) headed the RU contingent on the balance beam with a score of 9.650, good for a 27th place tie.
Schwartz led the Scarlet Knights on the uneven bars with a score of 9.375. Senior Kristy Behr (Northport, N.Y.) turned in a solid effort in her final meet with a 9.200 on the bars, the second-highest mark for RU.
The EAGL championships were the final conference event for four Rutgers seniors- Behr, Northcutt, Jessica Haddaway (Baltimore, Md.), and Alison Hartwig (Wayne, N.J.).
