Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, January 12, 2008
UW-L gymnastics team opens season victoriously
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The UW-La Crosse gymnastics team has been practicing since October. Finally, coach Barbara Gibson said, the Eagles had a chance to show what they could do in a meet.
The Eagles turned in an impressive performance at the four-team UW-Eau Claire Invitational, winning the meet with 177 points. That was nearly seven points better than runner-up UW-Oshkosh (170.7) and UW-Eau Claire (170.15). Hamline University finished fourth (169.875).
“I am really pleased. That was a great start,” Gibson said. “We have been training all fall, and this was a real solid start to our season.”
The Eagles swept the top three places on the vault as Gabby Hooper (9.550), Jackie LaFleur (9.525) and Erin Sommer (9.25) came up big. Sommer also took second on the beam (9.0), while LaFleur was third on the bars (8.875).
UW-L also took the top two all-around spots, thanks to LaFleur (36.25), Sommer (35.9).
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