University of Washington
Nebraska, Michigan, SUU
Huskies Third At Masters Classic
February 11, 2012 | Gymnastics
Feb. 11, 2012
LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 20 UW gymnastics team faced some tough competition on the road in its first Quad Meet of 2012 at the Masters Classic hosted by No. 8 Nebraska Saturday night.
The Huskers won the meet posting an incredible score of 196.550. No. 22 Michigan upset UW and placed second with a 195.825. The Huskies finished third with a 194.150 and Southern Utah was fourth with a 191.900, respectively.
As a team, UW posted a new season-high score of 49.000 on floor. UW also went 48.600 on vault, 48.100 on bars and 48.450 on beam.
"We had to count a fall on both bars and beam which was disappointing, but we had some improvements in some areas too," said head coach Joanne Bowers. "We did big vaults but need to work on the landings. We hit more handstands on bars but fell over on one. Starting on beam was tough but we hung in there and never gave up. I saw a lot of fight in our team tonight and was proud of the effort."
Several Huskies posted season and career-highs on night, led by junior Paige Bixler on the beam. The Rowlett, Texas native, led the Huskies by placing third in the meet with a new season-best of 9.825.
Freshman McKenzie Fechter (Mequon, Wis.) once again led the team on floor, placing fourth in the meet, tying her career-best of 9.850. She also tied a career-high of 9.800 on beam.
Senior Ruby Engreitz (Kirkland, Wash.) was the top Husky finisher on bars and in the all-around. On bars, she tied for fourth and tied a season-best 9.850. She placed seventh in the all-around with a 38.750.
On vault, UW was led again by junior Megan Whitney (Mesa, Ariz.) who tied for eighth in the meet and tied a season-best of 9.800.
Nearly every Husky set a personal season best on at least one event. Freshman Madison Podlucky (Redmond, Wash.) was the lead off vaulter for UW and scored a new career-best 9.750.
Junior Kylie Sharp (Merriman, Utah) vaulted for the first time this season, scoring a 9.600.
The lone sophomore on the team, Aliza Vaccher (Eugene, Ore.) posted a season-best on floor of 9.750.
On beam, senior Hatsune Akaogi (Cupertino, Calif.) set a season-best 9.800 on beam and senior Amanda Cline (Aurora, Colo.) had a career-best 9.750 on floor.
The Huskies are home on Feb. 17 vs. LSU and Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
