University of Washington
North Carolina
#21 Washington Posts Highest Season-Opening Score Since 2004
January 07, 2023 | Gymnastics
LAS VEGAS – The Washington gymnastics team kicked off their season Jan. 6 with a bang at the Super 16 in Las Vegas, attaining the highest season-opening score the program has seen since 2004. The GymDawgs notched a 195.475 and demonstrated many impressive performances across events.
The #21 GymDawgs were the highest ranked team in the first session of the weekend, competing alongside #27 North Carolina, #28 Southern Utah, and Fisk.
Despite strong individual outings by the Huskies, Southern Utah came away with the victory on the afternoon with a 195.800. Washington placed second in the quad, with UNC finishing with a 194.625 and Fisk a final of 186.700 in the university's first collegiate gymnastics action.
Session 1 of Friday afternoon's quad meet marked the first of the 2023 collegiate gymnastics season.
Amara Cunningham dominated the floor exercise, claiming floor winner on the afternoon with a near perfect 9.9 score. Skylar Killough-Wilhelm picked up right where she left off last season as Washington's only all-around competitor, finishing with an impressive 39.325 all-around.
Of the 16 teams competing this weekend, 12 were ranked in the WCGA preseason Top-25.
Amara Cunningham dominated in both her events, notching a 9.8 on vault to land her in a tie for third. Cunningham was unstoppable in her floor routine, setting the pace for the event with a 9.9 and taking first.
The GymDawgs were granted the Olympic order and started the afternoon with three gymnasts notching 9.8s on vault. Pac-12 Preseason Watch Lister Brenna Brooks, Lana Navarro, and Cunningham's 9.8 scores landed all three in a tie for third on the event.
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, also selected to the conference's preseason watch list, led the way for Washington on bars, posting a 9.85 resulting in a second-place finish.
Lilly Tubbs made her collegiate debut with a 9.775 on her bar routine. Taylor Russon and Deiah Moody followed closely behind, each posting a 9.750.
Killough-Wilhelm led the beam with a near flawless 9.9 routine. Navarro finished second in the event with a 9.825.
Cunningham executed a 9.9 floor routine to take the category, with Navarro landing the Huskies the top two spots with a 9.875.
Session 1 was historic in more ways than one. In 2022, Fisk University became the first historically black university to garner an intercollegiate women's gymnastics program, and 2023's Super 16 competition marked the first of its kind for Fisk.
GymDawgs by event:
Vault
Lana Navarro – 9.800
Brenna Brooks – 9.800
Amara Cunningham 9.800
Bars
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm – 9.850
Lilly Tubbs – 9.775
Taylor Russon – 9.750
Deiah Moody – 9.750
Beam
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm (Winner)– 9.900
Lana Navarro – 9.825
Floor
Amara Cunningham (Winner) - 9.900
Lana Navarro – 9.875
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm – 9.850
All-Around
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm – 39.325
NEXT UP
The GymDawgs head to West Valley City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 14 to compete in the Wasatch Classic quad meet with Boise State, #16 Minnesota, and #10 UCLA. Action will begin at 2 p.m. PT.
Washington will then welcome UCLA to Alaska Airlines Arena for the first home meet of the season at 2 p.m. on Jan. 21.
To purchase tickets for a Washington home meet this year or to buy season tickets, click here.
For more information on UW gymnastics, follow @uwgymnastics on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Players Mentioned
