THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE GYMNASTICS ...
 
Friday, Jan. 23 – 7 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Wilberforce (0-8) at Alaska Anchorage (0-1)
&
Sunday, Jan. 25 – 2 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Wilberforce at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO (pay-per-view): overnght.com
LIVE SCORING: GoSeawolves.com/gymstats
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check @GymnasticsUAA on X for in-meet updates.
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
PROMOTIONS: Friday's meet is 'Snow Storm the Gym' theme night, presented by Lynden ... giveaways include pompoms and beanies, along with free Raising Canes chicken and Sprite courtesy of Coca-Cola of Alaska.
 
THE 'FORCE IS WITH US: The Alaska Anchorage gymnastics team makes its 2026 home debut this week with a pair of dual meets against first-time opponent Wilberforce at the Alaska Airlines Center ... both meets will be held in the AAC's auxiliary gymnasium, starting at 7 pm Friday and 2 pm Sunday.
 
KNOW THE FOE: An NAIA and HBCU program from Wilberforce, Ohio, the Bulldogs are in just their second year of existence ... Wilberforce has competed three times already, comes in with a 161.567 average and a season high of 176.875.
 
FOR OPENERS: UAA got the season started with a 190.050 total in its Jan. 11 dual loss at Sacramento State, led by a 38.000 all-around from junior Claudia Lessig ... the effort marked the fifth 190-plus score for UAA in a season-opener and the first since 2020 ... the   Seawolves performed best on bars with a 47.700 total to start the meet, led by a 9.675 from junior Avery Tillmanns and a 9.625 from junior Jada Niles ... Lessig earned 9.6 on bars, a 9.525 on balance beam, and tied for third on floor exercise with a 9.65 ... junior Jamilia Duffus also scored 9.65 on floor to record a career high and lead a 47.625 team score on that apparatus, while seniors Ariana DeSouza and Madelyn Gomez added 9.625 and 9.5 on floor, respectively ... Duffus also paced the team on vault with a 9.625, alongside a 9.6 from sophomore Verena Wong and 9.475s from DeSouza and sophomore Jordan Grindol ... freshman Alexandra Karkowski debuted with a team-best 9.575 on beam, while DeSouza earned a 9.55.
 
LOOKING BACK AT '25: The 2025 Seawolves recorded the second-best floor NQS (48.450) and the third-best floor average (48.336) in the program's Div. I history (since 2002) ... UAA's overall (191.325) and beam (47.948) averages each ranked fifth on the program lists ... the 193.325 and 193.000 scores Feb. 21 and 23 ranked as UAA's best ever in back-to-back regular-season meets and ranked 10th and 12th on the program list ... UAA's 49.025 floor score ranked No. 2 in program history, while the 48.650 Feb. 10 at Oregon State tied for No. 16 ... the Seawolves matched the No. 4 bars total (48.900) in program history with their Mar. 9 performance at Towson, while the 48.450 Feb. 21 tied for No. 19 ... the 48.500 vault score at the MPSF meet tied for No. 9 on the program list and was UAA's second-best on that apparatus since 2017.
 
'WOLF BITES:  Senior Ariana DeSouza competed in every meet on floor and beam in 2025, recording the No. 4 floor average (9.758) and No. 12 floor NQS (9.775) in program history ... DeSouza scored 9.725 or better on 11 of 12 routines, ending her season with a WCGNIC Second Team award on floor (9.775) ... senior Madelyn Gomez returned from injury to bolster bars and floor lineups over final six meets last year, scoring 9.5 or better on eight of 10 routines ... junior Jada Niles competed on uneven bars in every meet last season, earning 9.65 or better in four of her last five bars routines, including a career-high 9.8 to tie for fifth place at the MPSF Championships ... junior Claudia Lessig has contributed in every meet over her first two seasons, posting the team's second-best average (9.564) and NQS (9.665) on bars in 2025 ... Lessig earned individual victories with 9.8 on beam Feb. 23 against Sac State and 9.725 on bars at West Chester, and finished with a WCGNIC First Team award (9.8) on beam ... junior Jamilia Duffus contributed in every meet on uneven bars and 11 of 12 meets on vault in her first year as a Seawolf … a transfer from Talladega, Duffus earned individual victories with a 9.775 on bars and a 9.7 on vault in the Jan. 23 & 25 wins over Greenville.