Gymnastics Nearly Matches Season High Score as Ladies Place Third in Sunday Tri-Meet

Gymnastics Nearly Matches Season High Score as Ladies Place Third in Sunday Tri-Meet

Denton, Texas- The Centenary Ladies gymnastics team finished third on Sunday in a tri-meet versus the host Texas Woman's University Pioneers and the University of Oklahoma Sooners at the Kitty Magee Arena.

The Ladies finished with an overall team score of 189.575 as the Maroon and White posted their second-best score of the season, nearly matching the 189.925 they recorded on Feb. 13 in a previous tri-meet against the same pair of teams in Fort Worth, Texas. Oklahoma won Sunday's meet as the Sooners, ranked second in the country in division 1, finished with an overall score of 197.950 and the Pioneers, a DII school, is ranked 44th, placed second, earning a 192.225.

Centenary, currently ranked 51st in the country as the highest ranked division III team in the nation, earned a 47.850 on vault, its highest score in any of the four individual events and finished with a 47.600 on floor, a 47.275 on beam, and a 46.850 on bars.

Ladies' Junior All-American Kendall Sanders (Spring Branch, Texas) finished third in the all-around competition with a score of 37.875. Oklahoma's Anastasia Webb won the all-around (39.850) and TWU's Domi Bonzagni placed second (38.300). Sanders earned scores of 9.675 on beam and floor, her best score of the meet, and earned a 9.500 on vault and a 9.025 on bars She finished in a tie for eight on beam, 10th on floor, 15th on bars, and 16th on vault.

Senior Sierra Ponder (Stone Mountain, Ga.) had a great meet as she earned three new career-best scores on bars (9.725), on vault (9.550), and on beam (9.275). Freshman Isabel Plaza (San Antonio, Texas) made her Ladies' debut and scored a 9.475 on vault. Sophomores Kendall Huff (Riviera, Texas) nearly matched her season-best (9.750) score on vault with an impressive 9.700 on Sunday. Ponder finished in a tie for seventh on bars, Deshler and Sanders tied for eighth on beam, Huff tied for ninth on vault, and Sanders placed 10th on floor for all of the Ladies' top finishes in each event.

Sophomore Lauryn Stiff (Branson, Mo.) earned a season-high score of 9.425 on bars. Junior Xian Baumgartner (Albuquerque, N.M.) recorded a season-best 9.500 on bars. Sophomore Rose Deshler (Hastings, Minn.) earned a new career-best 9.675 on beam. Senior Jerrica Harris (Memphis, Tenn.) recorded a new career-best 9.600 on beam. Senior Jenny Jackson (Monticello, Fla.) scored a season-high-tying 9.400 on floor. Sophomore Leilani Johnson (Wichita, Kan.) posted a season-best 9.575 on floor.

The Ladies will next be in action on Friday, March 12 at home versus TWU as they celebrate their three seniors in the final home meet of the regular season at 6 p.m. Live stats and live video stream will be available.

The Ladies' complete 2021 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/gymnastics/2020-21/schedule.

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