The Brockport gymnastics team posted a score of 189.225 to take fifth place at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Championships at Winona State in Minnesota. UW-Oshkosh claimed the national title with a score of 192.525.
Brockport entered as the No. 1 ranked team in Division III, but ultimately put together an uneven day. Head coach René Lyst felt as though her team was pressing.
“Honestly, I think they put a lot of pressure on themselves, and whenever you’re trying to go for perfection, it can be a tricky line,” Lyst said. “I think everyone expected a lot from each other, and we had plenty of errors that were people changing things to try and be something they didn’t need to be when they just needed to be themselves.”
The Golden Eagles, who entered as the No. 1 ranked team in the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise posted first, fourth and fifth place finishes respectively in the events. They also finished in fifth place on the balance beam.
The NCGA East Regional champions had four gymnasts claim All-American honors with top eight finishes in their events. Sydney Schumaker (Vault), Kyra Figurelli (Vault), Maren Eramo (Vault) and Emma Grace Sargent (Vault and Uneven Bars) earned the honors.
Schumaker earned her second consecutive All-American status with a score of 9.775, placing her second in the vault. Figurelli posted a 9.750 to take fifth place on vault. Eramo and Sargent both tied for eighth with a 9.700 on vault, and Sargent added a 9.725 to secure third place on the bars.
Brockport ends their season with a record of 15-3, matching last season’s school record of 15 wins. As they move forward into next season, Lyst is hoping they can learn from the disappointing finishes of the last two seasons.
“Sit in this disappointment for a little bit and feel what it feels like because we want to be successful more than we want to fear failure. I told them to keep reminding themselves of that feeling when we’re up against big challenges, that’s something we’ll be taking with us into next season,” Lyst said.
