THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE GYMNASTICS ...
 
Saturday, Mar. 21 – 4 pm ADT
America First Event Center – Cedar City, Utah
at 23rd annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship
(Alaska Anchorage, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, UC Davis)
 
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: mpsports.org/tournaments/?id=58
LIVE RESULTS: scores.virti.us/?s=pXigqPjAcN
LIVE VIDEO ($): overnght.com/sport/gymnastics
 
TUMBLING FOR TITLES: The Alaska Anchorage gymnastics team aims for individual and team honors this week, competing against league rivals at the annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship meet Saturday in Cedar City, Utah ... UAA is the No. 4 seed, behind host Southern Utah, Sacramento State and UC Davis ... the Seawolves' rotation order will begin on beam, followed by floor, vault and bars.
 
UAA MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Seawolves earned their lone title in Colorado Springs in 2009 but have not finished better than third place in any of their other 19 appearances ... Jessica Portlock is the lone Seawolf to win the MPSF all-around title (2006) and owns three of UAA's 12 individual titles ... Sophia Hyderally is the most recent UAA gymnast to win an individual MPSF title, taking the beam crowns in 2017 and 2019.
 
Year UAA Pl. Score   Champion  UAA indiv. champ(s)
2002 N/A (5) N/A     Sac St.   N/A
2003 6th (6) 187.300 Sac St.   None
2004 4th (6) 193.750 SJSU      None
2005 6th (6) 189.275 Sac St.   Ingram-V-t
2006 3rd (4) 190.950 SPU       Portlock-AA/V/FX-t
                               Agostino-FX-t
2007 3rd (4) 187.850 SPU       None
2008 3rd (4) 192.825 UC Davis  Fullerton-FX-t
2009 1st (4) 192.825 UAA       Boswell-UB
                               Agostino-V-t
2010 4th (4) 190.725 UC Davis  None
2011 4th (4) 190.475 UC Davis  Fullerton-FX
2012 4th (4) 188.300 UC Davis  None
2013 4th (4) 191.850 UC Davis  None
2014 6th (6) 192.200 Sac St.   None
2015 4th (6) 193.700 UC Davis  Matsunami-UB
2016 5th (6) 192.850 Sac St.   None
2017 6th (6) 191.750 SJSU      Hyderally-BB-t
2018 6th (6) 192.200 SJSU      None
2019 4th (6) 194.200 Air Force Hyderally-BB
2022 5th (5) 190.500 SJSU      None
2023 5th (5) 190.075 UC Davis  None
2024 4th (4) 191.750 S. Utah   None
2025 4th (4) 191.875 S. Utah   None
 
MISC. STICKS: UAA has improved across the board since the calendar hit mid-February, improving its average of 189.800 over the first five meets to 192.181 over the past four ... the Seawolves have posted top-25 program scores in four of the five categories this season, led by the 7th-place 48.800 bars score last week at William & Mary; UAA also earned 48.550 on beam (19th on program list) Jan. 23 against Wilberforce, and 48.375 (t-20th) on vault and 192.675 (t-23rd) overall Mar. 14 at W&M ... the Seawolves finished their home season unbeaten at 4-0 with sweeps of Wilberforce and Centenary.
 
VAULTING IN VIRGINA: The Seawolves are coming off their best team totals of the season, using strong vault and bars efforts to score 192.275 and 192.675 in dual losses to William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., Mar. 12 & 14 ... in the first meet, junior Claudia Lessig delivered a season-best 38.625 all-around, including a historic 9.9 on balance beam, as the Seawolves tied or took the top spots on each event ... Lessig tied the No. 2 beam score in program history and joined Sophia Hyderally, Isabelle Fox and current assistant coach Kendra (Daniels) McPheters as the only Seawolves to achieve 9.9 or higher on beam ... she also scored a career-high 9.8 on uneven bars as UAA's 48.800 team total was No. 7 in program history ... the Seawolves started well on bars behind junior Jada Niles, whose 9.85 equaled the No. 7 score in UAA history; she was joined on the podium by Lessig and junior Jamilia Duffus (9.75) ... freshman Tessa Richardson tied for top honors on vault with a then-season-best 9.75 ... Duffus earned 9.65 and sophomore Jordan Grindol 9.65 to lift UAA to its second-best vault total of the season at 47.950 ... the Seawolves took a 96.750-96.350 lead into the third rotation, where senior Ariana DeSouza and a pair of Tribe gymnasts tied for first with 9.775 on floor exercise. UAA totaled 47.775 on floor, with senior Breeann Spain notching a 9.6 ... UAA finished on beam as Lessig boosted a 47.750 total, alongside a 9.725 from Grindol and 9.675 from Niles ... in the rematch, Richardson won vault with a UAA season-best 9.8, while Lessig repeated her win on beam with a 9.85 ... UAA earned 48.400 on bars as Lessig, Niles and senior Madelyn Gomez tied for third on the podium with 9.7s, while Richardson and redshirt freshman Kacey Pratley earned 9.65s; it was the first successful competition of Pratley's career as the Englishwoman returned from a long-term injury to make her collegiate debut on the trip ... Richardson led UAA to a season-best 48.375 on vault, tying the 20th-best total in program history, while Duffus made the podium with a career-high 9.75 ... Lessig tied the 17th-best Seawolf beam effort with her 9.85 to lead a 48.100 team total, along with freshman Alexandra Karkowski (9.725) ... DeSouza led the way again on floor exercise at 9.775, along with sophomore Maria Jose Carillo (career-high 9.7).
 
'WOLF BITES: Junior Claudia Lessig increased her career victories total to 10 (11th-most in program history) with three wins in Virginia last week ... the Texan earned the No. 2 and No. 17 beam scores by a Seawolf with 9.9 and 9.85, becoming just the third UAA gymnast to reach the 9.85 plateau four times in her career ... Lessig has delivered 38-plus all-arounds this year, with her 38.625 at William & Mary coming just 0.200 shy of her career high ... junior Jamilia Duffus leads UAA with a 9.668 average on vault and a 9.629 average on bars, while her 9.479 on floor average is third-best on the squad ... Duffus also leads the team with six event victories this season ... senior Ariana DeSouza leads the Seawolves with a 9.690 NQS and 9.656 average on floor ... DeSouza has scored no lower than 9.5 in all nine meets, posting a team season-best 9.775 last week ... DeSouza has also been one of the most dependable Seawolves in program history, missing just one meet in her four-year career ... junior Jada Niles has come on strong as a three-event performer, recording her best career meet with a 9.55 on vault, 9.7 on bars and 9.8 (t-UAA season high) on beam Feb. 22 against Centenary.

ROCKIN' ROOKIES: Freshmen Tessa Richardson and Alexandra Karkowski have emerged as up-and-coming specialists this year, each earning MPSF Freshman of the Week honors over UAA's last two competition weeks ... Karkowski earned the award for Feb. 16-22 with 9.7 and 9.75 beam efforts at Centenary ... the Chicago native has posted 9.7 or better on six of her nine routines, carrying a 9.705 beam NQS into this week ... Richardson earned the most recent freshman award after posting consecutive UAA season highs of 9.75 and 9.8 on vault in Virginia ... the Olympic Peninsula (Port Ludlow, Wash.) product was also key to UAA's success on bars with a 9.725 and a 9.65.