THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE GYMNASTICS ...
 
Thur., Mar. 12 – 2:30 pm ADT – Kaplan Arena – Williamsburg, Va.
Alaska Anchorage (4-6) at William & Mary (2-10)
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Sat., Mar. 14 – 10 am ADT – Kaplan Arena – Williamsburg, Va.
Alaska Anchorage at William & Mary
 
LIVE VIDEO & SCORING: Thursday at scores.virti.us/?s=W4mEcGUbqn
                                            Saturday at scores.virti.us/?s=lxsR81DoG5
 
TAKING ON THE TRIBE: After a long layoff, the Alaska Anchorage gymnastics team completes its regular season this week with a pair of dual meets against host William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. ... UAA enters with a National Qualifying Score of 190.480 and a 190.396 average, looking to catch the Tribe (191.500/191.482) in the rankings.
 
THE SERIES...
vs William & Mary: W&M leads 3-1 overall, 1-0 at W&M
Last: UAA 193.700-192.775 (2/5/23 at UAA)
Notes: Teams split a dual-meet series in Anchorage in 2023, with William & Mary edging UAA 190.475-190.300 in the first meeting ... UAA's only previous trip to Williamsburg came in 2017 ... first meeting was in 1997 at George Washington.
 
'WOLF BITES: Junior Jamilia Duffus leads UAA with a 9.655 average on vault and a 9.605 average on bars, while her 9.575 on floor average is second-best on the squad ... Duffus also leads the team with nine podiums and six event victories this season ... junior Claudia Lessig owns a pair of all-around victories this season, increasing her career total to seven ... Lessig has twice reached the 38-point plateau this season, scoring 9.525 or better on 12 of her 14 bars and beam routines ... freshman Alexandra Karkowski has emerged as a single-event standout on beam, leading the team with a 9.655 NQS and 9.682 average ... the Chicagoland native has scored between 9.475 and 9.8 in all five meets, recording UAA's season-high effort (tie) at Utah State ... senior Ariana DeSouza leads the Seawolves with a 9.620 NQS and 9.621 average on floor ... DeSouza has scored no lower than 9.5 in all seven meets, posting a team season-best 9.75 on Feb. 20 against Centenary ... 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.
 
PERFECT AT HOME: UAA has not competed since Feb. 20 & 22 when it finished a 4-0 home slate with dual victories over Centenary ... in the first meet, junior Jamilia Duffus delivered three strong efforts to propel a 192.125-188.125 win ... the Seawolves recorded their best overall score of the season by nearly two full points, along with their best marks on vault (47.825) and uneven bars (48.100) ... UAA got a team season-high 9.7 vault from Duffus and a career-high 9.6 from junior Jada Niles, and extended the lead with the top four spots on bars, including a first career victory for freshman Tessa Richardson (9.75) ... sophomore Jordan Grindol matched her own personal best on beam at 9.775, while freshman Alexandra Karkowski notched runner-up at 9.75 ... senior Ariana DeSouza won floor exercise with a UAA season-best  9.75 ... on Sunday, Niles led the way with wins on bars (9.7) and beam (9.8) for a 191.650-187.675 victory on Senior Day ... sophomore Maribelle Albert and Richardson added 9.725s on vault to power a season-best 48.300 total, along with strong efforts from sophomore Verena Wong (9.675) and Duffus (9.625) ... Niles led the way on beam, with Karkowski and junior Claudia Lessig part of a four-way tie for third on the podium with 9.7s ... UAA clinched the dual victory on floor behind a win from DeSouza at 9.675 and a runner-up showing by Grindol with a 9.625.