Although the gymnastics team officially recorded a loss against Towson University in its opening meet on Sunday at the Pizzitola Center, the result reflects one of Brown's best-ever opening season scores.
Towson, which finished first in the ECAC last year, topped Brown by a slim margin, 189.000 to 185.950. Yet more significant to the Bears was that their first score of the season, higher than both Penn and Yale scored in a separate meet, puts them in a strong position in the Ivy League race.
The meet was also a platform for outstanding personal accomplishment, as Chelsey Binkley '11 finished first on floor, with a personal best score of 9.725. "I thought everyone stepped up, especially the freshmen," Binkley said. "We are really developing as a team. We are poised to do very well in the Ivy League."
Freshman Lilly Siems '12 led Brown on vault, scoring a 9.350. Following her were Carli Wiesenfeld '12 (9.300), Binkley (9.275) and Izzy Kirkham-Lewitt '10 (9.200).
On the bars, Victoria Zanelli '11 was the Bears' top finisher, earning a 9.400 for fourth place. Captain Jennifer Sobuta '09 (9.300), Melissa Bowe '11 (9.200) and Kirkham-Lewitt (9.100) followed in fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively, and the Bears earned an overall team score of 45.925 for the event.
The Bears' performance continued to improve in the beam event, as Wiesenfeld posted Brown's top score of 9.600. Bruno's score of 46.900 challenged Towson's 47.400.
The floor was the Bears' best event of the day, as they finished with a score of 46.925, falling just short of Towson's 47.250. Following Binkley's first-place finish were Katie Goddard '12 (9.600) and Helen Segal '10 (9.550), who earned fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Siems represented Brown in the all-around, finishing third with a score of 36.375.
Although surgery prevented co-captain Stephanie Albert '10 from competing, she stressed the overall score as a great accomplishment for the Bears. "As a team we were really excited about our score for the start of the season. We have so much more potential to show in future meets," she said.
The Bears will compete next against MIT on Jan. 25 at the
Pizzitola.
