Feb. 3, 2016

By Kali Schmieding

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnastics team fell to Division I Southeast Missouri State on Jan. 29 by a score of 193.900 to 189.175.

Junior Courtney Pickett took second place overall in the floor exercise with a score of 9.825. Pickett’s score tied for first place in school history.

“It was a great floor routine for her [Pickett],” head coach Jennifer Regan said. “To go up against some D-II counterparts, she is right there in the mix with the rest of them. It was a good performance for her.”

Pickett competed in all of the events at the meet for a total score of 38.100, 19th place in school history.

The ’Hawks finished with a score of 48.100 in the floor exercise, which is tied for the eighth-highest score in school history. Freshman Lisa O’Donnell tied for fifth place with a mark of 9.750. Sophomore Lewa Evans took eighth place with a score of 9.575. Junior Katie Fiorilli and senior Megan Love tied for ninth place with a score of 9.475.

Fiorilli took third place in the vault with a mark of 9.600. She also competed in all four events scoring 37.750, a season-high score.

Pickett placed fourth in the vault with a 9.575. Evans placed fifth with a score of 9.525. O’Donnell had a 9.475, which tied for seventh place. Freshman Destiny Patrick took ninth with 9.450.

Senior Kristin Shackleton led the ’Hawks on the balance beam with a 9.750, taking third place. Shackleton tied with the program’s third-best score of all time.

Senior Hannah Lee took fourth place on the beam with a score of 9.675. Pickett (9.450) and Fiorilli (9.275) finished eighth and ninth, respectively. Freshman Bailey Fitzpatrick took 11th place scoring 9.000 points.

The ’Hawks finished with a 46.300 on the uneven parallel bars. Junior Mackenzie Smith led the ’Hawks with a 9.725, good for fifth place. Smith tied the No. 10 mark in UWW history. Fiorilli (9.400) O’Donnell (9.375), and Pickett (9.250) finished in seventh, eighth and ninth place, respectively. Senior Amanda Quinn finished in 11th place for the ’Hawks with a 8.550.

“We had some bumps in the road here and there, but I think in the end it’s helping us figure out what we need to do in the long run,” Regan said. “Some things that we haven’t done the last couple of weeks, we were able to kind of step up and make some adjustments and move forward.”

The ’Hawks continue the season against Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) at 4 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Russell Arena.

“We’re excited to get back in the gym and get some numbers under our belts and work on the little things,” Regan said. “We’re really excited about that and to have a good showing on Saturday. It’s our Breast Cancer Awareness meet. We’re excited to get back in the gym and correct the mistakes we had this past weekend.”