THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE GYMNASTICS ...
 
Fri., Feb. 20 – 7 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Centenary (4-6) at Alaska Anchorage (2-6)
&
Sun., Feb. 22 – 2 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Centenary at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: Both meets at overnght.com (pay-per-view)
LIVE SCORING: Both meets at GoSeawolves.com/gymstats
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
HOME FINALES ON TAP: The Alaska Anchorage gymnastics team returns to the Alaska Airlines Center this week to face Centenary in a pair of dual meets in the main arena ... Thursday's meet is themed 'Stick It To Cancer,' and is sponsored by Aurora Integrated Oncology Associates ... Sunday's meet will be Senior Day as UAA recognizes its five outgoing gymnasts.
 
A LOOK AT THE LADIES: Centenary, from Shreveport, La., comes north with a five-meet average 187.125 and a season high of 191.750, achieved last time out against Texas Woman's on Sunday.
 
THE SERIES...
vs Centenary: UAA leads 13-10 overall, 17-6 at UAA
Last: UAA 191.875-189.150 (2/11/24 at CC)
Streak: UAA 12
Notes: Team last met in Anchorage in February 2022, with UAA taking a pair of duals ... Centenary's last victories were Feb. 8 & 10, 2013 in Louisiana ... Centenary won the first seven and nine of the first 10 meetings, stretching from Feb. 1992 to Mar. 2011.
 
'WOLF BITES: Junior Jamilia Duffus leads UAA in average on three events, with a 9.650 on vault, 9.680 on beam and 9.633 on floor exercise ... Duffus also leads the team with five event victories this season, all coming Jan. 23-25 against Wilberforce ... junior Claudia Lessig owns a pair of all-around victories this season, matching Duffus among current Seawolves with seven for their respective careers ... Lessig has twice reached the 38-point plateau this season, scoring 9.525 or better on nine of her 10 bars and beam routines ... freshman Alexandra Karkowski is just behind Lessig (9.680) with a 9.665 average on beam, scoring between 9.475 and 9.8 in all five meets ... Karkowski earned her first career victory with a 9.75 on bars Jan. 25 against Wilberforce ... sophomore Jordan Grindol earned her first career win Jan. 23 with a 9.775 on beam and recorded a 37.600 in her first career all-around last Feb. 9 at Utah State.
 
MOUNTAIN MEETS RECAP: UAA had an up-and-down performance in its Mountain time zone meets Feb. 6 & 9, scoring a season-best 190.325 at Air Force and a season-low 188.250 at Utah State ... in Colorado, junior Claudia Lessig sprung a season-best 38.250 all-around and paced an impressive effort on balance beam, while senior Madelyn Gomez led the Seawolves with a 9.65 vault ... UAA had its top trio of scores on beam, placing three gymnasts among the top eight finishers; Lessig equaled the No. 16 balance beam score in UAA history with a 9.85, tying for second on the podium, while freshman Alexandra Karkowski flipped to a 9.8 and sophomore Jordan Grindol a 9.775 ... UAA's top event total came on vault at 47.800, led by Gomez and a 9.625 from sophomore Verena Wong ... junior Jada Niles was the Seawolves' top performer on uneven bars with a 9.625, along with a 9.575 from Lessig ... senior Ariana DeSouza led the team on floor with a 9.625 ... in Utah, Lessig finished runner-up in an all-around field of four, producing a score of 37.750, while Grindol earned 37.600 in the first all-around of her career ... Lessig had her best effort on balance beam, tying for sixth at 9.725, along with a 9.625 on uneven bars ... Grindol led UAA with a 9.475 on vault, along with a 9.55 on beam and a 9.525 on floor exercise ... freshman Tessa Richardson and Niles scored 9.575s on bars, while DeSouza and Gomez led UAA on floor exercise with 9.6 and 9.575, respectively.
 
COOKIN' AT HOME: The Seawolves got their first dual victories of 2026 in their home openers Jan. 23 & 25, facing first-time opponent Wilberforce at the Alaska Airlines Center ... on the first night, sophomore Jordan Grindol paced a big effort on beam and UAA got strong three-event showings from junior Jamilia Duffus and senior Madelyn Gomez to earn a 190.275-171.300 victory ... the Seawolves recorded the 19th-best beam total in 40 years of program history at 48.550, led by career highs from Grindol (9.775), senior Breeann Spain (9.75) and freshman Alexandra Karkowski (9.725) ... junior Claudia Lessig also had a 9.75 on beam on her way to a 37.625 all-around ... UAA swept the podium on vault, bars and beam, including victories for Duffus on both vault (9.65) and bars (9.675) ... Grindol's victory on beam was the first of her career ... sophomore Maribelle Albert and Gomez scored 9.55 and 9.475, respectively, on vault, while Gomez was runner-up on bars with a 9.6 ... in the rematch, Duffus won three events and Lessig delivered a 37.700 all-around to lead a 190.100-173.125 win ... Duffus scored 9.675 on vault, 9.775 on bars and a career-best 9.675 on floor exercise, while Lessig placed third on bars with a 9.575 ... the Seawolves swept the podium on all four events, with Karkowski taking top honors on beam with a personal-best 9.75 ... the Seawolves performed best on bars with a 47.825 team total, getting a runner-up 9.6 from Avery Tillmanns and a 9.55 from Gomez ... Verena Wong (9.575) and Albert (9.525) delivered podium finishes on vault, and Gomez was runner-up on floor with a 9.65.
 
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.