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The Eagles placed third last season, ending a streak of six straight titles. UW-L has won a total of 12 national titles since 1986 under coach Barb Gibson.
“We hit 21 out of 24 sets; you can’t ask for a better performance from a team,” Gibson said. “I think what we’re most proud of is that this team has truly realized its potential. I think every team is different and every championship is different. This group really worked well as a team. It was fun.”
The Eagles trailed by one point heading into the final rotation, then put together their best event of the day, scoring 47.6 points, fifth-best in school history, on the beam.
UW-L was led by senior Kasey Clausen, who won the uneven bars (9.725) and placed 10th on the balance beam (9.525). Mackenzie Howard placed second on the beam (9.675) and finished 10th in the all-around (37.65). Jackie LaFleur placed third on the vault (9.7) and Gabi Hooper took sixth on the vault (9.65).
The individual portion of the national meet begins at 3 p.m. today. The Eagles have four athletes qualified on the beam (Howard, Clausen, Hooper and LaFleur), two (LaFleur and Hooper) qualified for the vault and one (Clausen) on the bars.
