Rutgers, gymnastics, Rutgers gymnastics, New Jersey
(Photo by Christopher Shannon - JSN)

Rutgers Gymnastics Wins Senior Day Meet With School-Record Mark

Piscataway, N.J. - In a season that has seen numerous records fall, it was only fitting that even more would go by the wayside as the Rutgers gymnastics team honored four members of its senior class on Senior Day.  The Scarlet Knights used a school-record, 196.875 to best West Virginia (196.550) and Penn (194.475).

The 196.875, the fourth 196-plus score of the season, eclipsed the previous school mark of 196.400 set last season, and was powered by a school-record beam score of 49.400.

The record setting beam team was led by Stephanie Zannella, who anchored the squad with a 9.925.  She was followed by Jacqueline Manifold, who had a personal best 9.9.  Following Manifold, Hannah Joyner and Gianna Ortiz both finished with 9.875s and Emily Leese scored a 9.825 which allowed Rutgers to drop a passable 9.7 from Elia Aird.

On vault, the Scarlet Knights tied the school record with a team score of 49.275.  Leese led the way with a 9.925, which tied the individual school mark on the event.  Joyner and Aird followed Leese with personal best scores on the apparatus with a 9.9 and 9.875 respectively.  Maya Jones rounded out the 9.8-plus scores on the the vault for Rutgers, scoring an even 9.8.

Uneven bars were the weakest event for the Scarlet Knights against West Virginia and Penn.  Avery Balser led the way for Rutgers on the bars with a 9.875.  She was followed by Joyner, who scored a 9.85, and Nailah Adams who recorded a 9.8.

Rutgers finished up the meet strong on the floor.  Joyner and Leese led the team scoring identical 9.9s.  They were followed by a 9.875 from Emily Wood and a 9.8 from Harmony Webster.

Joyner was the only all-around competitor for the meet from any team.  She finished with a 39.525 and now owns the top three all-around scores in Rutgers history.

Up Next

Rutgers next begins their post season as they travel to Iowa City, Iowa for the Big Ten Championship on Saturday.  The Scarlet Knights will compete in the afternoon session which begins at noon and will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.

Christopher Shannon