Ohio State freshman Morgan Lowe performs on balance beam on Jan. 27 in a tri-meet against Minnesota and Illinois State. Credit: Megan Russell | Lantern Reporter
The Ohio State women’s gymnastics team (5-3, 2-2) claimed its second victory of the season in a quad meet at Rutgers on Saturday.
The Buckeyes posted their second-highest final score of the season (195.850) to defeat Rutgers (194.800), West Chester (191.600) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (191.275).
Ohio State took first place on uneven parallel bars, the first event of the night, with a mark of 48.875. On her second performance of the season, Ohio State senior Kaitlyn Hofland posted a 9.825 to take the top slot, followed by teammates redshirt sophomore Amanda Huang and senior Alexis Mattern, who both tied for second with scores of 9.800.
The Buckeyes then claimed first on the balance beam with a 48.800. They held just a 0.025 lead against Rutgers in the event. Junior Jamie Stone led Ohio State with a career-high mark of 9.825 to earn second place. Freshman Morgan Lowe took third place in a three-way tie of 9.800 with Rutgers’ Erin McLachlan and Libby Groden.
In its third rotation on floor exercise, Ohio State claimed its highest event score of the night with a 49.000. Stone led the team again, pulling a 9.875 to earn first in the event. Freshman Brooke Chesney earned a career-best 9.800 tally to tie for third place with Mattern.
The Buckeyes finished the night with another season-high score of 49.175 on vault and swept the top spots on the podium. Lowe earned another career high with a 9.875 to tie for first place with Mattern. Sophomore Olivia Aepli earned a 9.850 to share third with Rutgers’ Jenna Rizkalla.
Ohio State took home the gold with a 195.850 score, but not before Mattern gained another title. She placed first in the all-around competition with a 39.150 finish, her first personal win of the season.
Ohio State returns home in St. John Arena for a co-ed meet against Penn State at 6 p.m. Friday.
