The strong competitive nature of the Ivy League Championship this past weekend propelled the Bulldogs to compete like they have never before, earning a record-breaking 195.400. Their past highest team score was 195.325 in 2018, showing that the smallest tweaks such as a pointed toe versus a flexed one, can make history. The Bulldogs came in 2nd place, behind Penn by 0.400 points and ahead of Cornell and Brown.

“The Ivy Classic is always a fun meet, where everybody’s competitive, especially this year,” head coach Andrew Leis said to the News. “It was a nail-biter pretty much all the way to the end, so we were excited to see the results. And obviously, all that hard work paid off. It was a big moment for us to celebrate because after 51 years of Yale gymnastics, this team [team 51] now has the highest team score in program history.”

The Bulldogs fought for those extra tenths of a point throughout the whole meet, especially on the uneven bars and vault. 

The daunting vault proved to be no challenge for the gymnasts at this meet as they tied their past program record on vault with a 48.8 team score on the event. Powerhouse Ella Tashjian ’27 tied for first in the event with a 9.825.

Leis called the uneven bar rotation a “big momentum swing” in the meet, because they were able to hit all 6 out of 6 bar routines. In fact, they swept the podium on the event, claiming the first, second and fourth place spot on the event with Sarah Wilson ’24, Lily Aucoin ’27 and Sherry Wang’s ’24 routines, respectively. 

Going into their last event of the day, the balance beam, the team knew they were on the way to make history. So, when there was a fall in the middle of their beam line up, the remaining gymnasts in the line-up didn’t budge, landing every skill on those four inches of wood. 

“They did a really good job of keeping their composure and every routine at that point counted,” Leis said. “We had a lot of stuck landings, which, in the end, was the difference maker whether or not we were going to break that record.”

Emma Mangiacapre ’24 was part of the reason the Bulldogs stayed solid on the beam, scoring a whopping 9.825. 

The Bulldogs still have a lot of fire left in them for the rest of the season. Looking forward, Leis said that the team is “still hungry,” especially with some of their biggest competitions on the way. 

Specifically, this weekend the Bulldogs will go against strong competitors, the University of Maryland as well as the University of New Hampshire at home. On their first day back in the gym post-Ivy Classic the gymnasts agreed that for the next four weeks of their season, Leis said they were going to “give 110 percent” to finish off the season “really strong.”

“We’ve known at the start of preseason that this team was special, and we thought that they were capable of putting up a really solid number if they went in and kind of did their job,” Leis said. “So obviously in a big pressure situation, big moment, it was a big accomplishment for them.”

The gymnasts will celebrate the team’s seniors at this weekend’s home meet against Maryland, University of New Hampshire and Southern Connecticut State University on Sunday. 

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Two weeks ago, the Elis posted a season-high team score of 194.675 against Penn, their highest team score since 2022. This was their first “zero falls” meet, wherein not a single gymnast’s routine with a fall was counted in their entire line-up. Although the Bulldogs had promising scores, they fell to the Quakers. The following weekend, the gymnasts fell slightly short again against the Bears, but still managed to earn a team score of 192.900, more than a point above their team score against Brown last season (191.850). 

“We don’t focus too much on scores, we’re just trying to hit our routines,” said head coach Andrew Leis. “We didn’t count a fall at this meet, but our next goal is to hit 24 for 24. So to have all six routines on all four events consistent, and then I think everything else will take care of itself from there.”

Against Penn, the Bulldogs team score solely consisted of zero fall routines, even though one of the only five out of six of the routines had zero-falls. In collegiate gymnastics, you are allowed to drop one score from your results, in order to maximize the team score point total. Thus, the one fall the team had with their leadoff gymnast on the balance beam, was not counted toward the 194.675 team score. 

Typically in collegiate gymnastics, it is common to see more than one fall on an event if one of the leadoff gymnasts falls on the event. For this reason, it is impressive that the next five routines on the event hit for the Bulldogs. Sporting their respective multi-colored hair ribbons for each class’ “My Cause” of choice, the gymnasts mustered support in their balance on the beam and for general awareness. 

“Our team did a really good job of keeping their composure and fighting through that rotation,” said Leis. “I thought that was a really big barrier for us to kind of cross this past meet. And, you know, obviously, the score we can improve a lot, but the fact that we stayed on after that fall, I thought was a good test for us.”

However, their scores did prove powerful against Penn. Their vault score (48.750) was only half a tenth from their vault program record, with Gigi Sabatini ’26 and Sherry Wang ’24 scoring a solid 9.8 and 9.775, respectively. 

The uneven bars, which, according to Leis, is the team’s favorite event to start on, were no challenge for the Elis, as they scored a solid 48.525 on the event as a team. Leis said that other teams get “nervous” when they start on bars, but that his team “looks forward to it.” But, no matter what event they get randomly chosen to start on, they will “not worry about the stuff [they] can’t control.”

As usual, the gymnasts dominated on the floor, scoring three 9.825s and a cumulative 49.025 points. The team continues to have “really strong individual performances,” but are still working on what they can accomplish as a unit, Leis said. 

The Bears also proved to be strong competitors, continuing their winning streak from last year’s Ivy Championship win.

According to Leis, “[Brown has] come out their first couple of weeks looking strong as well. So, our focus this week in practice is just to get where we’re trying to get every routine to improve by one half tenth. And then that will add up, you know, when you do the math over four events, that’s over a point on your team score.”

Although they weren’t able to do just that, their performance against Brown improved from last season. Sabatini competed on all four events, with her vault continuing to be a leader on the event for the Bulldogs. 

Wang, Sarah Wilson ’24 and Lily Aucoin ’27 also put up strong performances on the uneven bars right at the start of the meet. Ella Tashjian ’27, the team’s newest GEC Newcomer of the Week, leaped and landed on the floor perfectly, meaning a 9.825 and tying for second place on the event. 

Leis described her as “humble” and “business as usual,” but said that he also knows that Tashjian has the team in mind because “we’re big picture — we want to win as a group,” he said.

Looking forward, Leis and the team know that the four Ivy League teams are going to be strong and competitive forces this season, but they have faith in their abilities after putting up solid performances only three meets into the season. 

“I think this weekend proved to everybody and to us and to them that we’re going to give them a good challenge this year,” he said. “It’s going to be exciting.”

The team will be back home this weekend for their annual tri-meet at the Tonry Invitational. 

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With a team total of 192.350, the gymnastic team fell just short of the University of New Hampshire and Long Island University, yet they placed first on the floor — possibly one of their strongest events this season. All but one first year out of the five competed this past Sunday and have stepped into a majority of the lineup. 

“This past weekend, I thought floor and vault were our standout events,” said head coach Andrew Leis. “I feel like we have a strong group on the floor this year here, so I feel like it’s going to be one of our better events consistently throughout the season.”

In fact, new collegiate competitor, Ella Tashjian ’27 scored a near-perfect 9.9 on the floor, perfectly executing and landing a double pike, double tuck and a front full front lay and winning the event. The newcomer also performed well on two other events — the vault and the balance beam — a “pretty exciting” feat for a first-time collegiate gymnast, said Leis.

Additionally, after only her second collegiate meet ever, Tashjian was named Gymnastics East Conference Newcomer of the Week yesterday afternoon. The last gymnast to win this accolade on the team was Gigi Sabatini ’26 last season during her first year on the team. 

The former Eli newcomer of the week came second in the all-around in Brooklyn and was Yale’s best vault performer for the second time in a row. 

According to Leis the team had a bit of a “hiccup” on the vault event last weekend at George Washington University, but there were big improvements this week, although they “still have some room to grow” he said. Specifically, just behind Sabatini was Sarah Wilson ’24 with a solid 9.750 on the event. 

The four-inch beam always poses uncertainty for any team, but seniors Wilson and Emma Mangiacapre ’24 performed with elegance, ease and balance, scoring first and second highest for the Bulldogs, respectively. 

The rest of the newcomers also made elegant and powerful strides on Sunday setting a positive tone for the rest of the season. Chloe DeJoy ’27 is now a part of the uneven bars and floor lineup, and is set to exhibit her balance beam routine for the first time this coming weekend. 

Additionally, first years Evangeline Chu ’27 and Lily Aucoin ’27 both debuted new routines on the beam and floor, respectively, this past weekend.

Yale is set to compete in their first home meet of the season in the John J. Lee Amphitheater this coming Sunday against GEC preseason poll first-place team, Penn. 

“It’ll be a great challenge for us,” said Leis. “We’re excited. Anytime we get to go head to head with them, it’s a big meet, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Yale will host the GEC Championships for the first time in the John J. Lee Amphitheater in March.

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The team, which boasts five new first-year athletes, ranked third in the Gymnastics East Conference preseason poll. These projections place Yale behind the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University, although they won second place in the GEC last season. Throughout the season the Bulldogs will fight to score well both as a team and in the individual events at the Ivy Classic, the GEC Championship and the NCAA Regionals and Nationals. 

At the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. last Sunday, the Bulldogs took to the competition floor for the first time in their 2023-24 season, competing against Penn, George Washington University, Cornell University and Temple University. 

In addition to the entire team’s first meet of the season, the event was three first-years’ — Lily Aucoin ’27, Chloe DeJoy ’27, and Ella Tashjian ’27 — debut on the collegiate competition floor. Aucoin and DeJoy both competed on the uneven bars, while Tashjian took the lead amongst the Bulldogs on floor, with a whopping 9.8250. 

Tashjian is also on the list for CollegeGymNews’ “most anticipated on vault,” with her clean yurchenko 1.5 twist stuck landing. 

Yale gymnastics veterans Gigi Sabatini ’26 and Emma Mangiacapre ’24 both scored the highest for the team on vault and beam, respectively. The two tied on the balance beam with a 9.8520. Additionally, Sabatini took home an all-around gold for the team with a high score of 38.8250.

Sabatini was one of eleven gymnasts on the team that received the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-American Honors for the 2022-23 season. The award is only given to student-athletes with a GPA of 3.5 or higher for the academic year, of which Yale had many.

Ahead of their first home meet of the season in two weeks, the gymnasts will make their way to Brooklyn, New York, this weekend for a quad-meet versus Long Island University, New Hampshire and Southern Connecticut. Last January, the Bulldogs fell to LIU by just over four points.

The inaugural GEC competitive season was in 2022. 

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The gymnasts faced the other Ivy League gymnastics teams — Brown University, Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania — at the Ivy Classic this past Sunday at Brown’s Pizzitola Sports Center. The team fell short of their championship-winning performance last year, placing third overall, ahead of Cornell but behind Penn and Brown. Although the Bears snagged the first place spot, the Bulldogs’ own Raegan Walker tied the record for Yale’s best bars score in program history, earning a 9.950 in the event. 

“Our team is full of fighters with a never-give-up attitude,” said head coach Andrew Leis. “We didn’t quite have the start to the Ivy Classic that we were hoping for, but I was proud of the way they finished. We have more work to do in the gym and I know this team is going to keep showing up and our best is yet to come!”

The balance beam, the team’s first event of the meet, proved shaky for the Bulldogs — it was their lowest score overall, at 47.600. Despite the wobbles and occasional falls from the beam squad, Emma Mangiacapre ’24 was able to tie for fifth overall in the event with a 9.750, sticking to the four inches of beam after her back handspring back layout. 

Hana Strause ’26 and Sarah Wilson ’24 were the highest scorers on the floor exercise, the event that saw the Bulldogs start to make their comeback. Both tied with a 9.725; Strause nailed her 2 ½ twisting layout to front tuck and Wilson nearly stuck her double pike tumbling pass. 

In response to the team’s loss, Wilson, the Week 4 GEC Gymnast of the Week, chose to look towards the future. 

“I am most excited in watching my team grow in confidence throughout this season,” Wilson said. “We have great talent and grit, so I know that greatness awaits.” 

The vault team had their best performance of the season, earning a 48.775, the second-best vault team score in all of program history. According to Leis, “they put in a great week of practice and it showed in the competition.”

First year Gigi Sabatini ’26 continued to stand out in the event, scoring a 9.825 with her incredibly difficult Yurchenko full. This was Sabatini’s Ivy Classic debut, in which she placed second on vault and second overall in the all-around with a total score of 38.775, just 0.175 from first place — a remarkable showing from a first-year Ivy competitor. She attributes her success to her team. 

“Everyone is always building each other up and working so hard at practice every day and this motivates me to do everything that I can do so we can achieve our team goals,” Sabatini said.

The team ended the meet with a season high on the bars rotation with a 48.9. In addition to her program and career highs, Walker received a 10.00 from one of the judges on the event — the highest possible, perfect and extremely rare score. 

“The best moment of the meet was definitely Reagan’s bar routine. She works so hard in practice and so seeing her hit a perfect routine in competition and getting rewarded with the score was really special,” said Sabatini. 

Additionally, Caitlin Henry ’23 was in the anchor position for the uneven bars, scoring a 9.675 with a performance that her head coach said is always a “highlight.” Leis added that Henry’s “hit routine allowed us to drop a missed routine and put us into third place for the competition.”

The gymnasts have four big meets left this season, the next one being the senior meet and last home meet in the John J. Lee Amphitheater. 

“I know we will be ready to put on a show,” Leis said. “We will get back into the gym this week and work on our consistency and all of the little details that make our team great.”

The Bulldogs will face the University of Bridgeport and Rhode Island College at their senior meet this Sunday at 1 p.m. in the John J. Lee Amphitheater. 

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Wilson has been flipping her way through competition floors around the country with the team,  all the way from Alpharetta, Georgia to Yale’s John J. Lee Amphitheater. She has consistently put up scores that help the Bulldogs succeed. Notably, she posted a career-high all-around score of 38.925 at a meet on Jan. 29 at the University of New Hampshire. Wilson was also named Week 4 Gymnastics East Conference Gymnast of the Week, a reward given by the GEC to one gymnast each week. 

“Her gymnastics stands out on every event, and she is so reliable in pressure situations,” said Yale head coach Andrew Leis. “This award and nomination is a testament to the hard work she put into every practice and is so well deserved. She comes in every day with a smile on her face and pushes herself to be the best she can be on a daily basis … a true leader by example!”

Wilson is an all-around performer, but her specialty and favorite event has always been the uneven bars. Just recently, Wilson scored a 9.800 on the event, placing third against Temple. She has been a part of the competing bars group for the past two seasons, and the team overall relies on this event to set the tone for every weekend meet, said Leis.

The bars enthusiast is excited to work on her “poise” and “consistency,” Wilson told the News, but she also excels in the three other events. In particular, she is working on upgrading her vault from a tucked Yurchenko full to a layout Yurchenko full — a challenging skill to compete at college-level meets.

Wilson is one of two Black gymnasts on the Yale team. She and Raegan Walker ’23, who recently won GEC Gymnast of the Week two weeks in a row, are consistent competitors for the team’s recent successes. 

“Yale has done a fantastic job in supporting me as a Black student-athlete through endorsing and supporting organizations like the Af-Am House and Yale Bulldogs for Change,” Wilson said. “These programs create a safe space for me and other Black student-athletes alike.” 

Leis and his entire team try to maintain a welcoming, accepting environment through the team’s recruitment process, activities and overall atmosphere. He said the team focuses on “empowering out student athletes of diverse backgrounds” and making inclusivity central to team culture. 

Wilson said she is grateful for her team’s support that is “more than skin deep,” as they care for her — as a student, athlete and person.

“One word to describe my Black student-athlete experience here at Yale is ‘unity,’” Wilson said. “I believe that the Black student-athlete community is strong because we are unified by the common goal of trailblazing a path for future Black student-athletes.”

Wilson emphasized her hope that the celebration of Black excellence will not be limited to Black History Month. 

“As a Yale community, I hope that we can remain reflective of the contributions of Black heroes past and present all year long,” she said. “Specifically, I hope to see Yale continue to emphasize education of African-American history in ways that are accessible to all Yale students.” 

Wilson has been doing gymnastics since she was eight years old, and her home gym in Alpharetta, Georgia is Infinity Gymnastics Center. Her former head coach, Elena Piskun, was a former Belarusian artistic gymnast who won two World Championship gold medals in the 1990s and competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics. 

Wilson trained with this team for the majority of her six-year Level 10 gymnastics career, helping her become a Yale gymnast. 

“Sarah always tried to be a perfectionist,” Piskun told the News. “It was a great challenge as a coach to teach her that even though a turn may have not been perfect, it was still beneficial.”

Wilson’s success did not begin in college. With her home team, she was a five-time USA Level 10 Region 8 Regional Qualifier and the Bars runner-up in the 2019 Region 8 Regionals competition. Additionally, she qualified for the USA Level 10 Nationals many times. 

Piskun is proud of Wilson’s personal growth, both as a gymnast and as a young woman.

“She is extremely smart, and that in itself is incredible,” she said. 

Wilson’s hard work has not stopped since high school, and she continues to spend endless hours in the gym. Every practice, she said she is reminded of “the unmistakable opportunity that [she is] given each day to do gymnastics for the team and for the school that [she] love[s].”

Wilson will join the other gymnasts at the Ivy Classic this Sunday in Providence, Rhode Island. 

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The gymnasts posted their second-highest score of the season, 194.075, improving upon the mark they set last week at the “My Cause, My Ribbon” meet against Temple. Overall, they scored almost two points above the runner-up, Southern Connecticut State University. The meet honored the founder of Yale Women’s Gymnastics, Barbara Tonry, and her husband, Don Tonry. 

“Losing Barb was very hard for the team as she was everyone’s hype woman, always managed to put a smile on our faces and believed in us when we did not even believe in ourselves,” said Cassie Clement ’23. “Barb started the Yale gymnastics program from the ground up and has left her mark on not only our program but on NCAA gymnastics as a whole.”

Barbara died of cancer on July 12, 2021, after leading the program at Yale since its inception in 1973. Ms. Tonry had achieved many titles, including but not limited to 16 Ivy League championships, membership in the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Hall of Fame and the Texas Hall of Fame and the title of the longest-tenured coach in NCAA gymnastics.

The meet, which used to be called the Don Tonry Invitational, is now known as the Tonry Invitational. 

“My class, the class of 2023, had the pleasure of being the last class to be coached by Barb our freshman year,” Clement said. “She transformed my view of the sport and honestly of myself and I cannot thank her enough for everything she did for me and this team.”

Clement entered college gymnastics with a chronic injury that ended her career early. However, she recalled Barbara believing in her even when she struggled to believe in herself. Barbara continued to be supportive even when Clement informed her that she was medically retiring from the sport. 

Regardless of whether they had known or met the Tonrys personally, the entire team performed this past Sunday in honor of the couple. 

Oren Aviad ’25 and Gigi Sabatini ’26 earned tying scores of 9.725 on the vault, both with variations of a Yurkchenko twisting vault. Continuing their strong uneven bars streak, the team scored a 48.675 on the chalked-up two wooden bars. Raegan Walker ’23, who recently was named GEC gymnast of the week, and Sherry Wang ’24 both performed solid routines, each ending with a stuck landing on their respective dismounts.

Coming in right behind the uneven bars was the daunting balance beam, which saw the gymnasts collectively score a 48.550, with almost no wobbles. Megan Brueck ’26 worked hard to make the balance beam line-up, making her successful debut this past weekend in the event. 

Additionally, Sabatini and Emma Mangiacapre ’24 made their individual debuts on the floor exercise. The floor event only had one major mistake, leading to a 48.425 event score by the team. 

Regarding the three gymnasts taking on new events, team captain Aimee Titche ’23 said, “All three of these routines on Sunday were outstanding and showed the drive each of them has to contribute to YGT in any way possible.”

Many of the past team members, including Titche, did not know how ill Barbara was until she passed. Titche said that the passing of her old coach was sudden, so she had no time to thank her for all that she had done for her. 

“To me, each Tonry Invitational is another chance to thank Barb for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such an outstanding organization with such an amazing group of women,” Titche said. “When I step out onto the competition floor, I know everything I do will be for her, for this team, and for the program as a whole.” 

Barbara’s husband Don Tonry, who passed away in 2013, also contributed significantly to Yale gymnastics, transforming the Yale Gymnastic Club into the varsity men’s team that won three straight Ivy League Gymnastic Championships. In addition, he was Yale’s associate director for physical education at the time and taught a class on movement at the drama school that included Meryl Streep ’75.

This meet is also a chance for Yale gymnastics alumni to come and celebrate the coaches’ legacy. 

“Every year, the alumni leave with the confidence that Barb and Don’s work was not in vain; that YGT is here to stay and will continue to thrive and grow as time goes on,” Titche said. 

In the coming weeks, the team will be preparing for the Ivy League Championship in Providence, Rhode Island, by working on their landings, details and consistency.

Barbara Tonry won the AAU Sullivan Award in 1954 and 1958.

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The meet on Sunday held extra weight as it was also their “My Cause, My Ribbon” meet, in which each gymnast competed in support of a unique cause. Gymnasts raised awareness for a wide variety of issues, among them sexual assault, neuroblastoma and liver cancer. 

“Everyone chose a cause that they feel passionate about, either from personal experience or hardships or the experience of family or friends that they want to bring light to,” said Oren Aviad ’25. “Mine was spinal cord injury awareness, specifically tied to one of my teammates, Melanie Coleman, who passed away a few years ago due to a spinal cord injury as a result of a gymnastics accident.”

Coleman was a 20-year-old gymnast at Southern Connecticut State University who died in November 2018 after suffering a spinal cord injury when she slipped from the uneven bars. 

The team tries to have themes or causes for which they wish to compete at many of their home meets. However, according to Aviad, “we [the team] wanted to make it more personal and give everyone the opportunity to highlight the cause they feel passionate about.”

The team did just as that as seniors Aimee Titche ’23, Alexa Berezowitz ’23, Caitlin Henry ’23, Cassie Clement ’23, Raegan Walker ’23 and Riley Meeks ’23 raised awareness for mental health, suicide prevention, pancreatic cancer, spinal cord injuries, breast cancer and sexual assault, respectively. 

In the meet itself, Gigi Sabatini ’26, and Walker posted Yale’s highest scores on vault, 9.725, tying for fifth place. Aviad was less than 0.1 behind her teammates in this high-powered event. 

“Now that we have a few meets under our belts, we are trying to clean our routines up and start focusing on the details,” Sabatini said.

Sabatini competed this past weekend in support of mental health awareness because members of her family have struggled with their mental health, and it is a prevalent issue overall in college athletics. 

Sarah Wilson ’24 and Sherry Wang ’24 took third and fourth, respectively, on the uneven bars. The team score on the uneven bars was the team’s second-best of the day, just behind the floor team score of 48.700. 

On the spring floor, up-and-coming first-year student Megan Brueck ’26 flipped, tumbled and leaped her way to a second-place finish with a 9.775. 

On the aggregate, the team was just slightly under a point below their season-best team score of 194.250 that they earned against the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

Head coach Andrew Leis told the News agrees with Sabatini’s point of focusing on the details to improve the scores overall. 

“The consistency is improving daily in practice and competition, so getting every tenth back by sticking dismounts and doing error-free gymnastics is our focus going forward,” Leis said.

Leis said he enjoys competing against bigger state schools such as UNC and Temple, no matter the team. 

“Every time we step out onto the floor, we want to win, and that is what motivates us on a daily basis,” he continued. 

The Bulldogs will host their sentimental Tonry Invitational this coming Sunday at 1:00 pm in the Lee Amphitheater. This is the team’s yearly chance to honor Barbara Tonry’s life as a coach, gymnast and contributor to Yale Gymnastics. 

The late head coach died in July 2021.

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The team secured strong scores overall, placing gymnasts on the podium for all four events. Gymnasts scored a combined score of 48.000 or above on the vault, the uneven bars, the balance beam and the floor exercise. 

“Our season is just getting started, and we’re really starting to see our energy and confidence grow out on the competition floor,” said Riley Meeks ’23. “Our team camaraderie is unmatched, and this creates such an incredible environment.”

Rookie Hana Strause ’26 continued to make a strong first impression on the floor, placing third on the floor exercise with a 9.80 and a perfect stick in her two-and-a-half back twist to a front tuck. Additionally, Sarah Wilson ’24 scored a 9.750 on the floor and contented as an all-around competitor with an impressive 38.775 all-around score. 

“We came into this competition looking to improve our consistency and confidence, and that is exactly what we did,” Meeks told the News. “By accomplishing those goals, the scores responded, and we saw a huge improvement in our team score, which we are extremely proud of.”

The Bulldogs ended the meet with a total of 194.250 points, almost three full points above their team score of 191.850 from last weekend. They scored two points below UNC and nearly three points ahead of Wisconsin-Stout. 

The team enjoys competing against more prominent state schools such as UNC because of the sheer size of the arena and because it proves that “[the team] can show up in any environment and do our job and stay focused on our own team and our own gymnastics,” said Meeks. 

Aimee Titche ’23 agreed with teammate Meeks, saying state school arenas generally mean “packed, loud and energetic” crowds. 

“Feeling the enormous energy created by huge crowds in the stands and being able to harness and feed off of that energy within our team and ourselves truly elevates the competition,” Titche said.

Vault continued to be one of the stronger events for the Bulldogs, with all gymnasts scoring above 9.600. Sherry Wang ’24 and Gigi Sabatini ’26 both scored above 9.700 on the event, landing double-twisting vaults. 

The team score was the season high so far — when the team realized this, Titche said, there was a lot of energy and excitement among the group. 

“The success of YGT is never defined by our rankings or scores in comparison to the teams we compete against. Instead, we focus our energy inward and work to improve our own team scores every weekend,” Titche told the News. 

Raegan Walker ’23 stood out again on the balance beam this week, securing a third-place podium finish with her impressive 9.825 and no major wobbles. The event was the team’s highest-scoring event in the meet with a score of 48.775. 

Looking forward, the team is eager to “tap into their potential,” said Titche, as they face more state schools and head into mid-season meets. The team will travel to Durham, New Hampshire, to face the University of New Hampshire, Penn State and University of Wisconsin, Whitewater this Sunday at 2 p.m. 

Titche was named team captain for this season by a team vote for the gymnasts’ 50th competitive season. 

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Jan. 8 marked the opening of the gymnastics season, with Yale losing to LIU even as Sarah Wilson ’24 won the individual all-around award. Yale improved on their performance the following weekend, beating Brown at home in the John J. Lee Amphitheater by just shy of a full point.

“The team has been working really hard in the gym, and we made some big strides from our first meet,” said head coach Andrew Leis. “The exciting part for our team is that there is still so much more potential to improve going into this weekend as we get more consistent and confident with our routines.”

At LIU, Wilson scored the highest for her team on the uneven bars and continued her success on the vault, nailing the landing. Fellow teammate Raegan Walker ’23 also dominated the latter event, scoring a 9.625. 

The first meet of the season also saw first-year Hana Strause ’26 make her debut on the competition floor. She earned the third highest score in the vault with a double twisting layout to a front tuck.

Sherry Wang ’24 performed her signature dismount, a full-twisting double back, off the uneven bars, scoring highly as well. 

But at LIU, the team also suffered from three falls on the floor exercise.

“Heading into the heat of the season, we’re looking to build off how we’ve started, consistency with routines and starting to clean up skills,” Wang said. 

One of the team’s big mottos this year is “1 percent better every day,” according to Wang. Overall, the team aims to focus on the little improvements that will add up in the long run. 

The gymnasts had a chance to be cheered on at home during their match-up with Brown, where their hard work paid off. 

“It was nice being in front of our fans and home crowd. We definitely felt the energy!” said Leis.

Walker secured the overall win on the balance beam, and Wilson stood out once again with an impressive all-around score of 38.050. The Bulldogs shined on the vault, with all gymnasts scoring above a 9.5. The first years continued to make an impression as Gigi Sabatini ’26 scored the highest on vault for the team and second-highest in the entire meet.

According to Leis, “[the team’s] goal every weekend is to hit 24 for 24 routines. If we do that, the result will be what we want. With a few meets under our belt, I know this team will start to fine-tune all the little details that can make us great.”

The team is traveling down South this weekend to the University of North Carolina to compete against the Tar Heels and University of Wisconsin-Stout. Wang told the News that she is excited to compete against these bigger teams and “feed off the energy” of the three future home meets the Bulldogs have in their schedule. 

Leis wants the team to show “how great they can be” and how their “potential is limitless,” he said. He is confident their hard work in the preseason will pay off in the long run during the more crucial meets later on in the season. 

The Bulldogs will face UNC on Jan. 23. Fans can watch along on ESPN+.

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