NEW HAVEN, Conn.- The Yale women's gymnastics team competed in John J. Lee Amphitheatre for the first time in 2015 Saturday at the Don Tonry Bulldog Invitational. The meet honored Yale legend Don Tonry who had been involved with Yale gymnastics since its introduction. Awards were given out in his likeness and the Bulldogs honored his legacy with yet another team score over 191.000 (191.375), which was good enough for a second place finish. Bridgeport won the meet with a score of 193.450.
The Bulldogs had two all-around competitors. Senior Joyce Li led the way with a score of 38.225, which earned her second place. ECAC rookie of the week Anna Merkuryev also had a strong performance in the all-around, finishing right behind Li in third (37.800).
Yale started the competition on vault where Merkuryev achieved the top score for the Bulldogs on the rotation (9.575). Li and junior Camilla Opperman shared a score of 9.525. The Bulldogs rounded out the rotation with Katherine Lucas (9.475), Allison Bushman making her debut as a Bulldog (9.450) and captain Morgan Traina (7.025).
The Bulldogs then moved to the bars, which was their highest scoring event as a team for the meet with a collective score of 48.325. Traina sat atop the leaderboard on the uneven bars, with a score of 9.750. The rest of the lineup all delivered solid routines to result in tight scores. Tatiana Winkelman was behind Traina, scoring 9.675. Teammates Merkuryev, Li and Bushman followed with scores of 9.650, 9.625 and 9.625, respectively. Anella Anderson started her competition on the uneven bars, scoring 9.450.
The balance beam has been a strong event for the Bulldogs in 2015, and their successes continued Saturday. Winkelman started the Bulldogs off on the event, scoring 9.575, but the top score on beam came from Brittany Sooksengdao (9.750). Li nearly tied a career-high with a score of 9.700. The success continued with Merkuryev and Anderson, who both earned 9.550 on the beam. Traina rounded out the apparatus for the Bulldogs with a score of 9.325.
Floor was the final event of the competition for Yale. Specialist Opperman led the way for the Bulldogs. Her closing performance earned her a score of 9.625. Bushman delivered a strong routine for her first competition scoring 9.525. Sooksengdao was the leadoff gymnast on the event (9.450) followed by Merkuryev (9.025) and Li (9.375). Lucas also competed on floor exercise, scoring 9.400.
The Bulldogs will be back at home Feb. 7 as they take on Springfield College. The meet will serve as the Bulldogs' senior night, youth day and pink meet.
Report filed by Rachel Wofford '17, Yale Sports Publicity
