In a decisive victory, the Brown gymnastics team outmatched both MIT and the URI Club Team on Sunday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center, securing a second place standing in the Ivy League early in the season. The Bears finished with a total score of 186.500, MIT with 179.350 and the URI Club Team with 136.625.
Victoria Zanelli '11 finished first on beam and second on the bars to help pave the way for the Bears' victory.
"I am thrilled with the way the team opened this season. This team has so much potential and to be in second place in the Ivy League this early is very motivating," said Head Coach Sara Carver-Milne. "We have several freshmen in the lineup and they are handling the competitions extremely well. In our second home meet of the season (last weekend), we scored just as well as our top score for the entire 2008 season."
On the vault, freshmen Lilly Siems '12 and Carli Wisenfeld '12 placed second and third, respectively, with scores of 9.550 and 9.525. Following were Chelsey Binkley '11 (9.400) in fourth, Melissa Bowe '11 (9.275), Zanelli (9.250) and Isabelle Kirkham-Lewitt '10 (9.200).
The Bears claimed second- through fifth-place finishes on the bars for a total score of 45.850. Zanelli led the way with a 9.400, followed by third-place finishers Siems and captain Jennifer Sobuta '09 - both scoring a 9.250 - and Kirkham-Lewitt (9.200) in fifth.
The Bears were unchallenged on the beam, tallying an overall score of 46.500, as Zanelli and Binkley finished in first with personal best scores of 9.475. Siems followed in third (9.400), Lauren Tucker '12 in fourth (9.100) and Katie Goddard '12 in sixth (9.050).
Helen Segal '10 and Binkley's (9.575) second-place finishes on the floor helped make the event the Bears' strongest of the afternoon. Wisenfeld (9.425), Whitney Diederich '09 (9.300) and Zanelli (9.275) finished fifth through seventh, respectively, to secure Brown's first-place finish.
"Heading into our meet with UPenn, we are energized and eager to show why we are ahead in the rankings," said Carver-Milne.
The Bears will take on the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, Jan. 31, in Philadelphia.
