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‘Cats extend Lundholm winning streak

It’s hard to find a weak spot on the UNH gymnastics team.

In Friday night’s meet against the Air Force Academy Falcons, the Wildcats hit on all 24 of their routines en route to a 196.050-193.125 victory. Across all events, the lowest score registered by a Wildcat was a 9.550, a stat that had head coach Gail Goodspeed satisfied with the victory.

“We hit on 24 of our 24 quality scores so that’s what I’m most happy about,” Goodspeed said. “One thing this group has really taken to heart is that this performance isn’t for me, it’s for the team.”

The Wildcats capped off their 26th consecutive home-meet win with a convincing score of 49.225 on the floor exercise. Five of their six gymnasts scored a 9.800 or higher on the floor while Air Force only had one gymnast reach that feat.

Senior Meghan Pflieger’s impressive all-around score of 39.050 once again led Goodspeed’s team to an impressive outing. Sophomore Danielle Doolin also participated in all four events for the ‘Cats and finished with a score of 38.925. The overall team score of 196.050 was the third-best for UNH so far this season, but according to Goodspeed the focus is on each individual’s details rather than the overall score.

COURTESY OF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
Sophomore Danielle Mulligan scored a 9.850 on the bars.

“We never go into a meet worried about our scores,” Goodspeed said. “We focus on the details of our performances and usually when you do that the outcome will follow.”

UNH improves to 12-3 overall with only three meets to go until the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) conference championship on March 18 in Raleigh, North Carolina. After a couple of underwhelming performances on the road at Bowling Green State and North Carolina, the ‘Cats have been able to find their groove at Lundholm Gymnasium and finish back-to-back meets with a score over 196.000.

Junior Casey Lauter set a new season-high for herself on the balance beam, as her routine earned her a 9.900. Lauter is the only gymnast on either team to score a 9.900 or higher in any of the four events.

The Wildcats outperformed the Falcons across the board, winning in every event, and the differential could’ve been even more if the ‘Cats could’ve stuck their dismounts better on the uneven bars and vault.

“I thought we were better than the score showed on the vault and bars but we didn’t stick the dismounts we were capable of,” Goodspeed said.

Moving forward, the Wildcats will travel to College Park, Maryland to participate in the Maryland Quad-Meet. Temple University, a team that UNH beat in Durham on Feb. 19, and West Chester University of Pennsylvania will be competing alongside Maryland and the ‘Cats on Wednesday, March 1.

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