Texas Woman’s gymnastics prominent in GymInfo rankings

by PegNews wire

The Texas Woman’s University Pioneers are ranked 37th amongst all collegiate gymnastics teams (Division I, II, and III) in this week’s GymInfo national rankings.

TWU’s average team score through three meets this season is 191.958. The Pioneers enhanced that average last Sunday, January 27, when they recorded a solid 192.175 team mark in a home quad meet versus Denver University, Maryland, and Air Force.

The Pioneers national ranking is critical this season, as the top 36 teams in the final GymInfo poll of the regular season will qualify for the NCAA Regionals. TWU has never qualified for the NCAA Regional as a team.

“That’s a huge goal for us,” said TWU head coach Frank Kudlac. “We’re off to a good start this season, now we just need to continue to improve and keep climbing up in the rankings.”

For the third week in a row, the Pioneers are ranked first in the USA Gymnastics (USAG) national poll. Additionally, TWU is ranked second in the weekly Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) poll, just behind Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO). On Friday, February 8, at 7:00 p.m., the Pioneers will take on the Redhawks in what will likely be a matchup of the top two teams in the MIC rankings.

“That could be the biggest meet we’ve hosted here at TWU in the thirty-year history of the program,” said Kudlac of the looming showdown with SEMO. “They (SEMO) have gotten off to an excellent start this year, and I expect them to remain at a high level all season long. Hopefully we can pack the arena and really feed off the energy of our fans.”

Several TWU gymnasts are currently in the top three in the individual event rankings for the USAG and MIC. Freshman Mollie Blessing is ranked second on vault in both the USAG and MIC with an average vault score of 9.733. Senior Courtney Arno-Templet is second on bars in both the USAG and MIC with an average bars score of 9.733. A trio of TWU beam workers - freshman Kristie Costa, sophomore Leslie Pladson, and junior Tonya Pipkorn - are third in the USAG on beam with an average score of 9.675. Junior Amie Boles is ranked first in both the USAG and MIC on floor exercise with an average score of 9.775. Junior Amy Hulbert is ranked third in the USAG on floor with an average score of 9.725.

The Pioneers will be in action this weekend on Sunday, February 3, when they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a 1:00 p.m. quad meet at N.C. State with Auburn and George Washington.

Source: TWU