Gymnastics Takes On No. 8 Minnesota, No. 22 Utah State, And LIU To Closeout Regular Season – Temple University Athletics

PHILADELPHIA – Women’s gymnastics will be in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn. as they take on No. 8 Minnesota, No. 22 Utah State, and LIU at Maturi Pavilion to closeout the 2022 regular season. The meet will available on Big 10 Network Plus.

 

ONE TOUCH WARMUP

On Wednesday, senior Ariana Castrence was named to her second straight EAGL Gymnast of the Week, her second weekly award this season.

 

Temple is coming off last weekend, where they competed in two meets in four days. On Thursday night, the Cherry and White came in second place behind No. 33 Maryland (196.550) but ahead of SCSU (188.850) and Bridgeport (186.450) with a score of 195.775. Just three days later, the Owls finished in second place on Senior Day behind New Hampshire (195.950) with a score of 195.150. Temple knocked off West Chester during the meet, who scored a 192.950.

 

Last Sunday, the Owls had a record-setting meet as they set the school record on the beam, just barely over a week after doing it at No. 29 N.C. State. Temple scored a 49.325, a .250 increase from the Feb. 25 meet against the Wolfpack. During Sunday’s meet, sophomore Brooke Donabedian tied the school record during the floor exercise with a 9.950, a record that Anne Koerner held since 2000.

 

Temple and Minnesota have squared off just once throughout their programs’ histories. The Gophers picked up that win in 2006. The Cherry and White and Utah State have not met in their respective histories. T.U. has a 5-0 all-time advantage against LIU, with the two teams last competing in a pair of meets earlier this season.

 

The Owls have an NQS of 195.595, good for No. 43 in the country. Minnesota comes in No. 8 with an NQS of 197.340. Utah State has marked an NQS of 196.435, good for No. 22. LIU comes into the weekend meet No. 55 in the NQS standings, 194.300.

 

LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR

Vault

Last Thursday, March 3, senior Ariana Castrence picked up a vault victory for the third time this season as she scored a career-high 9.9 in a quad meet with No. 33 Maryland, Southern Connecticut State, and Bridgeport. Also, in the meet last Thursday, freshman Anna Hill earned her second of her back-to-back career-highs of 9.850, while the team scored a 49.100, the fifth time this season it has achieved the 49.000 or better this season.

 

Bars

During last week’s Alumni Night on Thursday, March 3, Temple scored its third-highest season output on the bars with a 49.000. Freshman Sarah Stallings led the Owls in the meet as she scored a 9.850, finishing in third place overall. Senior Caitlin Gray had an outstanding performance as she scored a career-high 9.825, good for a top 10 finish.

 

Beam

Castrence also led the Temple beam team last Thursday with a 9.8, tying for third overall, and marking the fifth straight meet, she has achieved a 9.8 or better. During March 6’s Senior Day, Castrence and fellow senior Julianna Roland tied the season-high on the beam for the Owls with the first-place score of 9.925, helping set the team school record with a 49.325. Also, in the meet, Renee Schugman and Hannah Stallings were vital with a pair of 9.875’s. For Schugman, the score is a new career-high, while Stallings tied her career-best from Feb. 12 at No. 26 UNC.

 

Floor

The Owls began the week’s floor routines with a 49.100, earning a team win on Thursday as four of the six TU gymnasts scored a 9.8 or better, led by the anchor sophomore Brooke Donabedian’s 9.875, finishing second overall. Faith Leary also had an excellent performance on the floor during the meet, finishing with a 9.850, good for fourth place overall on the night. Three days later,  Temple tied the school record on the floor with a 49.375, with the help of sophomore Donabedian’s school tying record score of 9.95. Schugman led off as she tied a career-high 9.875, while Roland was next up with a 9.850. Veterans Tori Edwards and Faith Leary went back-to-back and gave the Owls a fighting chance at the end with 9.8-plus scores. Edwards would add a 9.875 for the fourth time this season, and Leary added a 9.850, her sixth 9.850 or better this season.

 

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE

Temple drops to No. 43 in the country and fifth in the EAGL with an NQS of 195.595. After last weekend’s pair of meets with record-setting performances, the Owls increased their NQS by .280.

 

The strongest event by far this season for the Temple has been on the vault. The team ranks first in the EAGL with an NQS of 49.085, with four gymnasts ranked in the top 20. On Feb. 25, Temple set the school record on the apparatus with a score of 49.200. Seniors Julianna Roland and Ariana Castrence are the leaders for the Cherry and White, with both gymnasts tied for fourth in the conference with an NQS of 9.845. During that Feb. 25 dual at No. 29 NC State, Roland turned in a school record-breaking performance with a 9.925. Castrence is also fourth tied for fourth. Last week on March 3, in a meet with No. 33 Maryland, Bridgeport, and SCSU, the Waldorf, Md. native, won a share of the vault competition with a score of 9.900. Castrence has won three vault championships this season, giving her 16 for her career. Freshman Hannah Stallings is tied for 14th with an NQS of 9.800. Earlier this season, the freshman scored a 9.9 in just her third collegiate meet at UNH on Jan. 23. Fellow freshman Anna Hill makes her first appearance in the top 20 rankings this season after pair of career-high 9.850’s on Feb. 27 and March 3.

 

Speaking of Stallings, the Raleigh, N.C. native is ranked fifth in the EAGL with an NQS 38.875 in the all-around. She won five straight all-around competitions before her streak was broken on Feb. 12 in Chapel Hill, where she finished third overall with a 39.000. Stallings 39.250 on Jan. 30 at the LIU Dual Meet tied for the fifth-best score in school history, tying her with teammate Ariana Castrence’s mark from 2020. She also tied Castrence’s mark in her third meet of the season with the third-highest score in school history with a 39.275.

 

Over on the floor exercise, Temple has the second-best EAGL NQS of 49.175. The Owls have tied the school record with a 49.375 twice this season.

 

On Feb. 4 at the Towson Quad Meet, the Cherry and White tied the school record on the floor with a 49.375, and just last week (March 6), during Sunday during Senior Day, they came up big with the same exact score. During those meets, 11 of the 12 routines were capped by scores of 9.825 or better. On March 6, Donabedian put on a record-setting performance as she tied Anne Koerner’s 2000 mark with a 9.95. So far this season, the team has four gymnasts ranked within the top 15 of the conference. Donabedian leads the way, ranked fourth with NQS of 9.875. The Maple Valley, Wash. native, has been the most consistent gymnast of the four with 10 consecutive 9.8’s or better, including the school record score. Tori Edwards is tied for the fifth-best NQS with a 9.860. Faith Leary is 9th with an NQS of 9.850. Sophomore Renee Schugman jumped into the top 15 after back-to-back 9.8 or better scores last weekend. Schugman carries a 9.820 NQS while earning six 9.8’s or better this season.

 

Temple has made strides over the past four weeks on the beam. Last Sunday, on March 6, the beam team set the school record with 49.325. Four of the six gymnasts either tied or set career-highs during that meet. Castrence and Roland earned a share of first place with matching 9.925’s. Castrence earned her career-high in the last home meet of her career, while Roland pulled off the score for the second time this season. In addition, 26 of the last 36 routines for the Cherry and White have resulted in at least a 9.700 score. As a result, the team has increased its NQS by .245 to 49.130, good for a fourth-place ranking.

 

The Owls are the fifth-best team in the conference on the bars, with an NQS of 48.865. Against NC State on Feb. 25, Temple would set the school record with a 49.300. The Owls have two gymnasts in the top 20 of the league rankings. Castrence is the leading Owl in the top 20 with an NQS of 9.815, good for 16th, while freshman Sarah Stallings is tied for 20th with a 9.800.

 

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

The Golden Gophers come into Saturday’s meet No. 8 overall in the nation and second in the Big 10. UM comes into the meet with an NQS of 197.340.

 

Following a school-record performance, 198.025 on Feb. 25 versus Iowa, the Gophers followed it up on March 4 with a 197.850, the second-best team score ever and highest road score in school history at No. 4 Utah. In addition, Ona Loper tied for the all-around crown, Mya Hooten won the vault, and three other Gophers, including Hooten, Lexy Ramler, and Halle Remlinger, posted a 9.925 on the floor.

 

SCOUTING LIU

The Sharks come into Saturday’s meet ranked seventh in the EAGL with an NQS of 194.300 and No. 55 in the nation.

 

On March 6, LIU garnered a program-best score against North Carolina in its final home meet of the season but fell 196.475-195.075. Sophomore Mara Titarsolej scored a 10.000 on bars for the first time in program history. Three days later, she was named the EAGL Specialist of the Week for her performance.

 

SCOUTING UTAH STATE

The Aggies come into Saturday’s meet ranked No. 22 in the country with an NQS of 196.435.

 

Junior Rebecca Wells and freshman Brie Clark highlighted the Aggies’ third-place finish at the Washington Huskies Tri-Meet on March 6. Wells earned the win on the vault with a 9.875, while Clark won the floor exercise with a 9.900. USU finished third overall (195.775) in a tri-meet against Washington (196.825) and No. 20 Stanford (196.425).

For complete coverage of Temple gymnastics, follow the Owls on social media @TUWG (Twitter), facebook.com/ TempleWGymnastics (Facebook), @templegymnastics (Instagram), or visit the official home of Temple University Athletics at owlsports.com and on TikTok @templeowls.