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| Photo: Jack Lewis |
From our friends at GW Athletics...
Drouin-Allaire Advances to Nationals as Individual All-Around Qualifier
The George Washington gymnastics team totaled 194.150 to finish in sixth place at the NCAA Auburn Regional on Saturday evening at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama.
Freshman Second Team All-American Cami Drouin-Allaire advances to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships as an individual all-around performer by virtue of her 39.175 score and fifth-place finish. She joins JJ Tolhurst (1994) as the only NCAA National Championship individual qualifier in program history.
Drouin-Allaire finished tied for fifth place in the all-around with Iowa's Angel Metcalf but advances to the National Championships based on her head-to-head vault score; Drouin-Allaire scored 9.875 to Metcalf's 9.825.
Head Coach Margie Foster-Cunningham was named the NCAA Southeast Region Head Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the meet. It marks her third career NCAA Regional Coach of the Year honor (1991, 1992).
GW had four podium appearances across four events and the all-around on Saturday night, the most by a single team in GW's NCAA Regionals history.
Additionally, GW's overall team score of 194.150 is the second-highest NCAA Regional score in program history, trailing only the 2001 Colonials, who posted 194.625 in a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional.
The Colonials started the meet on floor exercise and posted a team score of 48.425 to sit in fourth place after the first rotation. Sophomore Chelsea Raineri led the way with a score of 9.775 to tie for 16th place and was followed by Drouin-Allaire and freshman Sara Mermelstein, who posted identical marks of 9.70 (T-26th).
GW's best event of the evening was the vault. Entering the meet as the 10th-ranked vault lineup in the nation, the Colonials did not disappoint. Raineri led GW and tied for third overall with a score of 9.90, the sixth time this season she has achieved that mark. Drouin-Allaire scored 9.875 to tie for eighth place while freshman Jillian Winstanley added 9.85 for 12th. GW found itself in second place following the second rotation.
The Colonials' third event was uneven bars, where they scored 47.625 as a team. Drouin-Allaire led the way with 9.85 (T-5th) followed by Winstanley with 9.725 (T-24th).
GW posted three balance beam routines of 9.825 or better to score a team total of 48.975. Winstanley tied her season-high score of 9.90 to tie for second place to lead the Colonials while freshman Liz Pfeiler added a season-high 9.85 to finish in a tie for 12th place and Mermelstein scored 9.825 to place 17th.
Alabama and Auburn finished in first and second place, respectively, to advance to the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships.
The Colonials conclude the 2015 season with an overall record of 22-8-1 after capturing their first-ever East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship. GW achieved a number of program firsts this season, including its first-ever EAGL individual event championships and first-ever All-American while making its first NCAA Regionals appearance since 2002.
Click here for yesterday's official results.
