Temple University women’s gymnastics (0-11-1, 0-10-1 East Atlantic Gymnastics League) lost to George Washington University (1-3, 0-2 East Atlantic Gymnastics League) and Towson University (11-9, 10-8 East Atlantic Gymnastics League) after scoring 194.175 points on Alumni Night at McGonigle Hall Friday afternoon.
George Washington placed first with 195.700 points and Towson placed second with 195.550 points.
Junior Ariana Castrence topped her own All-Around record with an overall score of 39.350, after scoring 9.800 on vault, a 9.875 on bars, a 9.800 on beam and a 9.875 on floor. This mark overtook her previous program record of 39.275, which she set on Jan. 18, 2020.
“It’s great, it’s amazing,” Castrence said. “It really shows that when you have a bigger cause and you’re putting your efforts toward a bigger cause, you can still make little adjustments and little achievements on the way to something else, so it was very rewarding, I enjoyed it.”
The Owls opened the meet on vault with a score of 48.250, their lowest score on the event this season. Castrence led the team with a score of 9.800, and junior Julianna Roland posted a 9.775 for the second-best score on the team.
“Unfortunately, we had a couple of our consistent ones make little mistakes, but I told them we have each other’s back here,” said head coach Josh Nilson said.
The team set a season-best score on bars with a mark of 48.925. Castrence posted a 9.875, which was tied for first in the meet, while senior Tori Edwards scored 9.850 on the event.
On beam, freshman Brooke Donabedian recorded a career-high and meet-best score of 9.875. Castrence notched a score of 9.800 on the event.
“Doing everything that we’ve done, we just keep on surprising ourselves,” Castrence said. “And it just gives that much more confidence and I think that’s why it’s that more meaningful.”
Floor was the final event of the night for the Owls, and they secured their second-best score of the season. Senior Faith Leary, freshman Renee Schugman and Castrence notched a score of 9.875 to tie for first in the event standings, a career-best score for Schugman.
The Owls ended the night with six podium finishes, including three from Castrence. Donabedian claimed her first event title in her collegiate career on beam.
“[Castrence] has been training harder and more focused than she’s ever been in her life,” Nilson said. “I think she wants this team to be successful more than she ever has. So I’m proud of her, but not surprised.”
Temple will return home on March 7 at 4 p.m. to host Long Island University in a dual meet for Senior Day.
“I told the girls, ‘Have a good dinner, get some good rest, and we’re going to make a small adjustment,’” Nilson said. “This team is going to stick together, we’ve got another opportunity on Sunday.”
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