FROM STAFF REPORTS
TOWSON, Md. — Meghan Pflieger won the East Atlantic Gymnastics League all-around championship and was named the EAGL Gymnast of the Year, and her Wildcats scored a 195.700 to finish second at the 2015 EAGL Championship, which was held Sunday at Towson University’s SECU Arena.
George Washington University won the first EAGL championship in school history with a score of 195.850, followed by UNH, which wraps up a spot in the NCAA Regional Championships by coming within 0.150 of repeating as league champions. North Carolina State and Towson finished in a third-place deadlock (195.225), followed by the University of North Carolina (194.800) and the University of Pittsburgh (193.475).
Pflieger, who became the first Wildcat gymnast to win EAGL Gymnast of the Year since Amanda Hall in 2005, scored a 39.250 to top GWU’s Jillian Winstanley (39.225) for the all-around crown; she added a second-place finish (9.900) on balance beam and shared first place on floor exercise with a 9.850. The sophomore, who was also named the team’s MVP, earned EAGL All-Tournament First Team in all-around, balance beam and floor exercise and Second Team on uneven bars.
Kelsey Aucoin was named to the EAGL All-Tournament First Team on balance beam (third place) and floor exercise, where she tied Pflieger and four others for the top spot, and she garnered EAGL All-Tournament Second Team on vault.
The Wildcats grabbed the lead through the first rotation by virtue of a 48.825 score on vault. Liz Mahoney led the way with a 9.825, her highest score since Feb. 8 (PB-9.850) to claim a share of eighth place and a spot on the All-Tournament First Team. Aucoin chipped in with a 9.800, which was also her highest vault mark since Feb. 8 (9.875), to tie for 10th place.
Following a bye in the second rotation, UNH scored a 48.725 on bars to reclaim a slim lead (97.550) over North Carolina (97.450), N.C. State (97.425) and GWU (97.400) midway through the meet. Jennifer King, the Wildcats’ last competitor, stepped up to tally a career-high 9.800 for a share of fifth place and a berth on the All-Tournament First Team. Pflieger hit for a 9.775 (T-10th).
In the fifth rotation, EAGL’s top-ranked balance beam lineup lived up to its billing, as the Wildcats totaled a 49.050 on that apparatus. Pflieger (9.900) and Aucoin (9.875) each hit for a season high to finish second and third, respectively, while Breeden’s 9.850 was a personal best and helped her forge a fourth-place tie with Towson’s Tyra McKellar. Pflieger, Aucoin and Breeden were tabbed to the All-Tournament First Team, while Adrienne Hill scored a 9.775 to share 16th place and notch All-Tournament Second Team honors.
The ‘Cats saved their best for last, posting a first-place 49.100 on floor exercise. Aucoin and Pflieger tied GWU’s Sara Mermelstein, UNC’s Morgan Lane, N.C. State’s Brittni Watkins and N.C. State’s Lane Jarred for the floor championship. Catarina Broccoli claimed a spot on the All-Tournament First Team by scoring a 9.825 to tie for seventh. Erika Rudiger (Slidell, La.) registered a 9.800 to tie for 10th place, while Breeden scored a 9.775 (T-12th) andMarissa Toci finished in a tie for 15th place (9.750). Rudiger, Breeden and Toci were all named to the All-Tournament Second Team.
UNH will learn where it is headed for the NCAA Regional Championships during the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships Selection Show on Monday, March 23, at 3 p.m.
