THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE GYMNASTICS ...
 
Women's Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championships
Hollinger Field House – West Chester, Pa.
Alaska Anchorage, Bridgeport, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Connecticut, West Chester, Texas Woman's
 
Friday, March 27 – Team Preliminaries
10 am ADT – Session 1 (UAA, Bridgeport, SE Missouri)
3 pm ADT – Session 2 (S. Connecticut, West Chester, Texas Woman's)
Saturday, March 28 – Team Finals
3 pm ADT – First- and second-place teams from Friday
Sunday, March 29 – Individual Event Finals
9 am ADT – Qualifying gymnasts, all teams


LIVE VIDEO/SCORING: Friday – https://virti.us/session?s=odc8x_O3gz
                                        Saturday – https://virti.us/session?s=JUU5il2HP2
                                        Sunday – https://virti.us/session?s=PRKNZshVOj
 
TITLE TALES: The Seawolves head to Philadelphia to conclude the 2026 season this weekend at the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championships ... UAA is among six teams chasing postseason team and individual titles ... formerly known as the USAG Championships, the Seawolves competing in the event last season for the first time since 2005 ... from 1985-2005, UAA produced 39 USAG 'All-American' certificates among 12 gymnasts, including titles by Elena Tkacheva (AA & FX 1997), Jessi Simmons (VT 1998) and Dominique Ingram (VT & FX 2004) ... in 2025, the Seawolves did not make the team finals, but got first-team awards from Montana Fairbairn (VT), Alyssa Manley (UB), Claudia Lessig (BB) and Jada Niles (BB), along with second-team honors from Ariana DeSouza (FX).
 
MPSF RECAP: Junior Claudia Lessig earned a pair of top-five finishes and senior Madelyn Gomez delivered a strong three-event showing to lead UAA to a 191.600 total at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship meet Saturday in Cedar City, Utah ... the Seawolves finished fourth behind host Southern Utah (194.850), Sacramento State (193.400) and UC Davis (193.350) ... UAA had its best rotation out of the gate with a 48.300 score on balance beam, led by Lessig, who tied for third place at 9.825 ... junior Jada Niles earned a 9.75, along with a 9.675 from freshman Alexandra Karkowski and a 9.625 from senior Breeann Spain ... Lessig produced a 9.75 to pace the Seawolves to a 48.000 total on uneven bars, while junior Jamilia Duffus and freshman Tessa Richardson tallied 9.675s ... Gomez produced a 9.525 on bars as the veteran finished among UAA's top four on each of her events ... senior Ariana DeSouza tied her own team season-high 9.775 on floor exercise as the Seawolves produced 47.675 on that apparatus ... Duffus delivered on vault to lead UAA with a 9.725, along with a 9.625 from sophomore Verena Wong.
 
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 192.065 over the past five ... 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 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.
 
'WOLF BITES: Junior Claudia Lessig became the first Seawolf since 2019 to make the podium at the MPSF Championship, placing third on beam at 9.825 ... the Texan produced the No. 4 beam average (9.712) and NQS (9.800) in program history this season, while increased her career victories total to 10 (11th-most in program history) ... Lessig earned the No. 2 and No. 17 beam scores by a Seawolf with 9.9 and 9.85 at William & Mary, becoming just the third UAA gymnast to reach the 9.85 plateau four times in her career ... Lessig has delivered three 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 9.675 average on vault and a 9.634 average on bars, good for 10th- and 15th-best on the program's single-season lists ... the Kingston, Jamaica, native also leads the team with six event victories this season ... senior Ariana DeSouza leads the Seawolves with a 9.720 NQS and 9.667 average on floor ... DeSouza has scored no lower than 9.5 in all nine meets, posting a team season-best 9.775 in her last two routines ... 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 regular-season 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 seven of her 10 routines, carrying a 9.725 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.
 
2026 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Ariana DeSouza
Second Team All-MPSF (FX)
Jamilia Duffus
Second Team All-MPSF (VT)
Claudia Lessig
First Team All-MPSF (AA)
Second Team All-MPSF (BB)
Jada Niles
Second Team All-MPSF (UB)
Alexandra Karkowski
MPSF Freshman of the Week, Feb. 16-22
Tessa Richardson
MPSF Freshman of the Week, Mar. 9-15