Shreveport - The Centenary Ladies gymnastics team opened its 2021 regular season with a third-place finish in a tri-meet against the Air Force Falcons and the Texas Woman's University Pioneers on Sunday afternoon at the Gold Dome.
The Ladies finished with an overall team score of 185.725. TWU finished first with a score of 195.125 and Air Force placed second, scoring 192.575. The meet was the fifth for the Pioneers this season, fourth for the Falcons and just the first for the Ladies after their season-opening event, the Tennessee Collegiate Classic, was cancelled last month.
Junior Kendall Sanders (Spring Branch, Texas) had the Ladies' top individual scores of the meet with a 9.675 on bars and a 9.450 on floor. Sanders is coming off of a fantastic sophomore campaign in which she was named to the 2020 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association DIII regular season All-America Team in the all-around and was also named a 2020 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Nationals All-American as she received second team honors in the all-around. She scored a 37.075 in the all-around on Sunday.
Sophomore Kendall Huff (Riviera, Texas) scored a 9.675 herself on vault, setting a new career personal best mark. She also scored a 9.375 on floor. Sophomore Leilani Johnson (Wichita, Kan.) scored a 9.575 on vault, the Ladies' second-best score of the night in the event, and juniors Kendall Knaps (Prairieville, La.) and Xian Baumgartner (Albuquerque, N.M.) each had the Ladies' top scores on beam at 9.550.
Seniors Sierra Ponder (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Jenny Jackson (Monticello, Fla.) had the second and third best scores on bars on Sunday as Ponder scored a 9.600 and Jackson earned a 9.400. Senior Jerrica Harris (Memphis, Tenn.), sophomore Kennedy Stephens (Bella Vista, Ark.), and sophomore Rose Deshler (Hastings, Minn.) also competed on Sunday.
Sophomore Lauryn Stiff (Branson, Mo.) made her Ladies debut after not competing last season. She recorded a 9.450 on vault and an 8.900 on bars. Freshman Courtney Tripp (Bridge Creek, Okla.) also made her collegiate debut and scored a 9.425 on vault.
Centenary hits the road for the first time next weekend as the Ladies are scheduled to compete in the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas on Feb. 13 as they face TWU, Oklahoma, and Iowa State. The Ladies will then see TWU for a third week in a row as the Pioneers will host Centenary on Feb. 19 in Denton, Texas at 6 p.m. The Ladies will celebrate their three seniors in their final home meet of the regular season on March 12 against TWU at 6 p.m.
The Ladies' complete 2021 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/gymnastics/2020-21/schedule. Live stats and live video are available for both of the Ladies' home meets of the season.
#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
