Temple placed third out of four teams at the IGI Chicago Style competition on Friday evening, posting a season-high team score of 192.325 in the process.
The Owls finished behind Central Michigan University (195.125) and Northern Illinois University (194.20) and one spot ahead of the University of Alaska Anchorage (190.375).
“We did very well,” coach Umme Salim-Beasley said. “One of our goals this week was to go at our routines aggressively and not quit. So that was really nice for us to see that the girls fought throughout the entire meet.”
The team started with floor routines, and three gymnasts posted career highs. Junior Briana Odom earned a 9.85, sophomore Sahara Gipson totaled a 9.775 and freshman India Anderson notched a 9.725.
“We’ve gotten a little bit of a reputation [on floor] as being a really fun performing group that the judges really like,” Salim-Beasley said. “We had a lot of energy right from the beginning, they went after the routines and did the best that they could.”
Vault was next, where Temple posted a season-high team score of 48.225.
Freshman Aya Mahgoub scored a 9.725, followed by Odom’s 9.7. Senior Reagan Oliveri (9.6) and freshman India Anderson (9.675) were the next highest scorers, followed by Michaela Lapent (9.525).
On the balance beam, Gipson posted a 9.675, followed by freshman Breahna Wiczkowski’s 9.6. The Owls posted a 47.35 team score, their highest this season on beam.
Uneven bars posted a 48.20 team score, led by Odom and Oliveri’s identical 9.7 scores.
Temple travels to Rutgers University Saturday, Feb. 20, for a 6 pm for a competition with the Scarlet Knights, the University of Pennsylvania and Ursinus College, which the Owls have competed against twice this season.
Salim-Beasley added a new element to practices, which she said the team will most likely stick with this upcoming week as it prepares.
“We added a lot of pressure routines for the girls right from the beginning of practice,” Salim-Beasley said. “We would take our whole lineup and have them do their routine with everybody watching and having those determine what the workout would be. It added a little bit more pressure to make sure that first routine is going to count.”
Dan Newhart can be reached at daniel.john.newhart@temple.edu or on Twitter @dannynewhart
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