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Gymnasts bound for Midwest meets

Women's Gymnastics UAA Media Relations

Gymnasts bound for Midwest meets

THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF GYMNASTICS…

Friday, Mar. 5, 4 pm AST
Horton Field House — Normal, IL
Alaska Anchorage (2-10) at Illinois State (8-5)
&
Sunday, Mar. 7, 11 am AST
Houck Field House — Cape Girardeau, MO
Alaska Anchorage at Southeast Missouri (11-2),
& vs. Missouri (8-2)

TV/INTERNET: None

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Illinois State enters Friday's meet with a 192.233 average, led by junior all-arounder Erica Schick (38.607) … the Redbirds compete in the Midwest Independent Conference … fellow MIC member Southeast Missouri (192.611 avg.) sports a trio of plus-38.0 all-arounders, led by senior Rikara Turner (38.554) … the Redhawks are coming off a 194.375-193.275 win over Illinois State on Feb. 28 … nationally 18th-ranked Missouri (195.316 avg.) is coming off a season-high 196.875 in a win over Illinois State on Feb. 26, getting a school-record 39.725 all-around from senior All-American Sarah Shire … the Tigers compete in the powerful Big 12 Conference.

THE SERIES
All-Time vs Illinois State: ISU leads 3-0 (1-0 at ISU)
    Last Dual: ISU 191.150-188.625 (2/17/08 at Anchorage)
    Notes: Teams met in Normal in 2007 and twice in Anchorage in 2008 … all three meets were decided by 3.025 points or fewer.

All-Time vs Southeast Missouri: SEMO leads 3-0 (0-1 in Cape Gir.)
    Last Dual: SEMO 192.275-187.825 (2/8/97 at SEMO)
    Notes: Teams met twice in Anchorage in 1995.

All-Time vs Missouri: First meeting

SEAWOLVES BUMP BROWN: Led by an impressive weekend from sophomore Shakea Sanders, the Seawolves got their first and second victories of the season by beating Brown in duals at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex, Feb. 19 and 21 … in the first meet, Sanders earned an unexpected victory in the all-around as UAA pulled away late by a score of 188.250-184.875 … the Seawolves also got a season-best 37.775 all-around from senior Courtney Williams and an individual victory by sophomore Kaelei Spoor on floor … with just a 140.000-139.100 lead after three rotations, the Seawolves quickly put an end to the drama, getting consecutive 9.425s from Williams and senior Meagan Byrne on floor while the Bears struggled on beam … UAA finished even stronger, getting Spoor's career- and team-season-high 9.825 on floor, followed by a 9.7 for sophomore Kelsey Fullerton and a 9.75 from Sanders … after opening with a winning 9.725 on vault and a 9.45 on bars, Sanders, who was slated to go on her normal three events, found herself suddenly thrust into an all-around role when junior Leah Wilson hurt her knee on her bars dismount … the Federal Way, Wash., native responded with a 9.225 beam score in the anchor spot, before claiming the all-around with the meet's final routine on floor; Sanders' 38.150 total came in her first-ever all-around performance and is UAA's best score this year … Williams earned runner-up among the five all-arounders, propelled by a 9.625 on vault and a team-high 9.6 on bars … two days later, Fullerton and Sanders delivered once more to eke out a 189.525-189.325 win over the Bears … the Seawolves swept the top three spots on vault and the top two on floor to post their narrowest win since 2005 … the Bears, from Providence, R.I., took a 142.075-141.275 lead into the final rotation and extended their advantage after the first two competitors; but the Seawolves then hit their stride on floor, getting a 9.55 from senior Lauren Agostino and a 9.675 from Spoor, while Brown suffered three straight falls on beam … with the meet on the line, Fullerton and Sanders anchored UAA with 9.775s on floor to tie for top honors on that event and clinch the victory … Agostino led UAA's sweep on vault with a 9.75, followed by Fullerton and Sanders with respective 9.675s. Agostino also won on beam with a 9.75.

TEAM NOTES: UAA's 48.250 floor total against Brown was a season-high and matched the 20th-best mark in program history … on vault, the Seawolves have posted three of the top 18 marks in program history this season, led by a 48.475 at UC Davis (6th all-time) … on bars, the 47.900 at the Metroplex Challenge ranked 12th on the UAA list … the wins over Brown snapped an 0-12 streak in duals since last March … UAA's previous win came in a tri-meet sweep of Bridgeport and host Rutgers, Feb. 28, 2009.

GYMNAST NOTES: UAA's trio of seniors — Lauren Agostino, Courtney Williams and co-captain Meagan Byrne — have combined for 130 career meets … Williams performed her 29th career all-around Feb. 21 ... Agostino owns six of the top 17 vault scores in UAA history ... among active Seawolves, sophomore Kelsey Fullerton owns the team's best floor average at 9.563, while ranking second on vault with an almost identical 9.564; the Texan has posted 9.65 or better on floor in four straight meets … sophomore Shakea Sanders now has UAA's best two all-arounds of the season (38.150 & 38.075) — doing it in her first two career performances; the Washington native owns the team's second-best floor average (9.543) and has the best vault average (9.584) among non-injured gymnasts … sophomore Kaelei Spoor has UAA's top scores on floor (9.825, Feb. 19) and beam (9.8, Feb. 12) this season; on the UAA all-time list, that beam mark ties for 7th and the floor mark ties for 18th.

GOIN' HOME: Sophomore Erin Aitcheson competed in her first career meet when she performed on bars against Brown on Feb. 21 … Aitcheson, from Champaign, Ill., will be one of two Seawolves returning to her respective home state this week … junior Maria Puricelli hails from the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Mo., a few hours north of Cape Girardeau.

INJURY REPORT: The injury bug delivered a lion-sized bite as the Seawolves lost three gymnasts to season-ending ACL injuries in a span of nine days, Feb. 11-19 … first, junior and defending MPSF bars champion Kristy Boswell got hurt during practice before the UC Davis meet, and sophomore walk-on Rebekah Booth suffered a similar injury a few days later … finally, junior and 2009 team MVP Leah Wilson was hurt in the first Brown meet on her bars dismount … the Seawolves had already lost significant time with senior Lauren Agostino and junior Maria Puricelli earlier in the season, although both have returned to full strength.

BY THE NUMBERS: For complete individual meet-by-meet scores, surf to GoSeawolves.com and click on the 'Statistics' tab on the Gymnastics page.
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Players Mentioned

Lauren Agostino

Lauren Agostino

5' 1"
Sophomore
Meagan Byrne

Meagan Byrne

5' 0"
Freshman
Courtney Williams

Courtney Williams

5' 8"
Freshman
Rebekah Booth

Rebekah Booth

5' 5"
Freshman
Kristy Boswell

Kristy Boswell

5' 6"
Freshman
Kelsey Fullerton

Kelsey Fullerton

5' 3"
Freshman
Maria Puricelli

Maria Puricelli

5' 3"
Freshman
Leah Wilson

Leah Wilson

5' 4"
Freshman
Erin Aitcheson

Erin Aitcheson

5' 2"
Freshman
Shakea Sanders

Shakea Sanders

5' 5"
Freshman
Kaelei Spoor

Kaelei Spoor

4' 10"
Freshman
Maria Puricelli

Maria Puricelli

5' 3"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Lauren Agostino

Lauren Agostino

5' 1"
Sophomore
Meagan Byrne

Meagan Byrne

5' 0"
Freshman
Courtney Williams

Courtney Williams

5' 8"
Freshman
Rebekah Booth

Rebekah Booth

5' 5"
Freshman
Kristy Boswell

Kristy Boswell

5' 6"
Freshman
Kelsey Fullerton

Kelsey Fullerton

5' 3"
Freshman
Maria Puricelli

Maria Puricelli

5' 3"
Freshman
Leah Wilson

Leah Wilson

5' 4"
Freshman
Erin Aitcheson

Erin Aitcheson

5' 2"
Freshman
Shakea Sanders

Shakea Sanders

5' 5"
Freshman
Kaelei Spoor

Kaelei Spoor

4' 10"
Freshman
Maria Puricelli

Maria Puricelli

5' 3"
Junior