University of Washington
Kentucky
GymDawgs Fall To Wildcats In Opener
January 13, 2015 | Gymnastics
SEATTLE – UW gymnastics hosted Kentucky in its first meet of the season, and despite many standout performances, the Huskies lost by a count of 194.875 to 194.325 to the Wildcats.
“This was a typical first meet,” UW head coach Joanne Bowers said. “A lot of jitters, a lot of good things, a lot of mistakes that you know you can improve. I see a lot of potential. It was frustrating because I feel like this was a great opportunity for us to get a win against a quality SEC opponent. There were so many good things on each event that I don't want to discount those, we just made enough mistakes that it didn't come out the way we wanted it to.”
The Huskies posted the high score in each of the four events and were led by senior captain McKenzie Fechter, who scored 9.75 or higher on the three events in which she competed. Freshman Joslyn Goings shined in her first collegiate debut and Janae Janik also stood out with great performances on bars and beam. Alexis Gross led the Wildcats with solid contributing scores on vault, bars and floor. No gymnasts competed all-around in the meet.
On vault, Alexandra Yacalis scored a 9.85 to win the event. A pair of freshman, Goings and Hailey Burleson, recorded identical scores at 9.75 in their college debuts. Kentucky was also strong, taking second through fourth in the event.
Allison Northey scored a 9.85 as the team anchor on bars, good enough to win the event title. Sophomores Janik and Kaitlyn Duranczyk each recorded 9.775 to tie for fourth as the Huskies held a slim lead after the first two rotations.
The Huskies posted three of the top-four scores on beam, with Janik scoring a 9.85 as the high score. Fechter recorded a 9.825 to take second and Goings continued her impressive start with a 9.775.
Fechter led off floor with a solid 9.775, but the Huskies got a couple of unfortunate rough breaks with an uncharacteristic fall and Yacalis not finishing her routine after rolling her ankle. The latter half of the Huskies' lineup came on strong and finished as the top three in the event. Faith Morrison and freshman Zoey Schaefer each recorded a score of 9.850 to tie for first and senior captain Madison Podlucky posted a 9.825 to finish third in the event.
The GymDawgs have a quick turnaround with a trip to N.C. State to face the Wolfpack this Friday, Jan. 15. The meet begins at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Follow the GymDawgs on Twitter and Instagram for live updates at @UWGymnastics.
Players Mentioned
