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 Lida Gehlen won the uneven bars with a 9.800 in the Aggies' season opener with Cal & Towson. (Wayne Tilcock, Davis Enterprise) |
Jan. 11, 2008
DAVIS, Calif. - Sophomores Tanya Ho and Lida Gehlen and freshman Marcy Miller each captured event wins as UC Davis placed second with a team score of 189.350 in a season-opening women's gymnastics triangular at the Pavilion Friday. California won the meet at 192.525 while Towson was third with a 186.350.
The Aggies open the year at 1-1.
Ho posted a 9.825 on vault to share first place with Cal's Joanna Bennett. Gehlen hit a 9.800 on uneven bars to edge Cal's Siobhan Luce and Bennett. Miller landed a 9.825 in her collegiate debut to claim the balance beam win, well ahead of Avery Gee (9.775) and Sophia Hocini (9.750).
The Golden Bears' Jessica Kelley won the individual all-around with a 38.700 total and captured the floor exercise title at 9.775. Ho was UC Davis' leading all-arounder, finishing third with a 38.225 sum. Tiger senior Christina Ghani was a close second in the all-around, totalling 38.550 in her four events.
UC Davis enjoyed a strong start, amassing a 48.525 in the opening rotation. Miller and sophomore Katie Reinhardt each had 9.700 scores, followed by a 9.750 by freshman Stacey Nicolini in the fourth slot. Ho hit her 9.825 in the fifth position to help the Aggies score the 10th-best vault mark in school history.
The Aggies edged the 47-point barrier on both bars and beam. Ho scored a 9.675 and Gehlen hit her winning 9.800 to help offset two early misses on bars. Miller then hit her beam-winning score in the third rotation. Perhaps most remarkably, Miller had been slated as an exhibition performer but entered the official lineup when teammate Michelle Bobonski withdrew due to an injury in the controlled warm-up period.
Cal effectively took the meet lead in the second rotation, scoring a 48.500 on balance beam. Avery Gee led her team in that event at 9.775 while Hocini contributed a 9.750 as the leadoff performer.
All three teams enjoyed solid meets on vault. In addition to the UC Davis score, the Golden Bears totalled 48.450 while the Tigers hit 48.275 on that apparatus.
The Aggies return to action on January 18 for a quadrangular meet with San Jose State, Springfield and Seattle Pacific.
TEAM SCORES - 1. California, 192.525; 2. UC Davis, 189.350; 3. Towson, 186.350.
VAULT - 1 (tie). Tanya Ho, UC Davis; Joanna Bennett, California, 9.825; 3 (tie). Sophia Hocini, California; Christina Ghani, Towson, 9.800.
UNEVEN BARS - 1. Lida Gehlen, UC Davis, 9.800; 2. Siobhan Luce, California, 9.775; 3. Joanna Bennett, California, 9.750.
BALANCE BEAM - 1. Marcy Miller, UC Davis, 9.825; 2. Avery Gee, California, 9.775; 3. Sophia Hocini, California, 9.750.
FLOOR EXERCISE - 1. Jessica Kelley, California, 9.775; 2 (tie). Siobhan Luce, California; Decelia Willacy, Towson; Christina Ghani, Towson, 9.625.
ALL-AROUND - 1. Jessica Kelley, California, 38.700; 2. Christina Ghani, Towson, 38.550; 3. Tanya Ho, UC Davis, 38.225.
