On a roll

SUU upsets No. 17 Iowa;
posts best score of season

By DAVID DeMILLE
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

The SUU gymnasts continued their unprecedented roll Saturday, beating No. 17 Iowa 195.975-195.900 and improving to 7-0 on the season, building on the best start in Thunderbird history.
It was the best team score of the season, and the second-best in school history, just off the 196.000 scored against Utah State last year.
SUU had a narrow 146.675-146.550 lead heading into the final rotation, and needing a strong score on the final event came through with a 49.300 on floor exercise.
The GymHawks were keeping things close with several stellar performances on beam, including a 9.925 by Janna Alexandrova, but SUU pulled out nothing but high scores on its best event.
Both freshman Sheena Shaw and senior Sandi Lyman scored 9.900s, Jayme Morgan a 9.850, and Talayna Fortunato, Molly Bauer and Cayce Overstreet 9.825s. The result was a close win over a ranked opponent and momentum heading into a streak of four meets on the road.
“We just beat an extremely athletic and well-coached team,” coach Scott Bauman said. “It came down to who hit and who didn’t. They had to count a fall and we didn’t. Their difficulty levels are a little higher than ours, but like I’ve been saying all along, if we’re hitting everything we can beat anybody. This team nearly scored a 196 on the road, counting a fall and making uncharacteristic mistakes. They’re a great team and it was a huge win for us.”
Another factor was the loss of Stephanie Gran for Iowa. The team’s top all-arounder injured her ankle on floor and was unable to continue.
The T-Birds swept the top three spots on uneven bars with Carly Geronimo at 9.875, Jessiann Andrus at 9.850 and Fortunato at 9.825.
Iowa had a fall on bars, while SUU went without a serious mistake, and the event ended up meaning the difference in a close meet.
The Hawks entered the meet at 1-4, but had taken on four top-20 teams and had scored a 196.550 in their win over Michigan State.
“They’re a really, really good team,” Andrus said. “It’s cool that we were able to come out on top like we did.”
SUU had a difficult time on vault, scoring 48.625, and Bauer’s 9.800 was the only T-Bird score in the top-five individually.
Iowa scored a 49.150 in the event and nearly made up for the sub-par performance on bars to keep the meet close.
“We need to upgrade on vault,” Bauman said. “It’s really hurting us. We gave them five tenths of a point on vault tonight, and we came into the meet knowing that would happen. We can’t keep doing that.”
Iowa’s Annie Rue won the all-around at 39.275, just beating out Fortunato’s 39.250, and Shaw scored an impressive 38.975 to grab third.
Fortunato’s score tied the school record she already shared. The senior scored 9.8 or better on every event but vault and had her best meet of the year.
Utilizing its depth, SUU was able to pick up big scores from other athletes as well, with several competitors helping in everyarea.
Sarah Geisler scored a 9.825 on beam in her first official meet of the season after injury, Geronimo was impressive in

 

Sandi Lyman approaches the vault during the T-Birds’ upset win over No. 17 Iowa. SUU beat the GymHawks 195.975-195.900 at the Centrum Arena Saturday night. Another strong floor exercise propelled the T-Birds to the victory.
KEN HANSEN / UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

winningbeam and Overstreet scored a 9.775 on bars to go with the solid performance on floor.
The results were impressive with a fantastic team score and a victory over one of the country’s top teams.
“It means a lot to us,” Overstreet said. “We’ve been working so hard in the gym every day to do this. I just can’t describe how good it feels.”
Now the ’Birds will have four straight meets on the road, starting with a trip to Cal State Fullerton Saturday.
The focus will be on maintaining concentration and continuing the high scores, although there is still room to get better.
“We need to keep doing what we’re doing,” Andrus said. “There’s always the little things we can get better — cleaner routines and dismounts — but we’re really doing well.”
Andrus said the ultimate goal is to compete well enough to make the NCAA regional meet, and to do well enough there to get into the national championships.
Another accomplishment could come in the form of national recognition, especially after posting such high scores and beating the Hawks.
“If we continue to compete like this we could be a top-18 team, definitely a top-20 team,” Bauman said. “The key is to keep it up. This team is slowly and steadily improving from meet to meet, our freshmen are starting to figure it out and when we put it all together we’re tough to beat.”
The T-Birds don’t return home until they face BYU March 24, and have four road meets to try and keep the momentum headed in the right direction.