MEET NOTES

West Chester University closes out the regular-season portion of its schedule Friday aftenoon with a dual meet against Gymnastics East Conference (GEC) opponent Cornell University at 11 a.m. inside the Sturzebecker Health Science Center. It marks the second meeting of the year between the two schools. Cornell scored higher than West Chester at Rutgers on March 2. The two GEC rivals will meet up once again on March 23 when the GEC Championships are held at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

WCU LAST TIME OUT
West Chester University set a new record in the floor exercise in leading the Golden Rams at the Temple Quad Meet Sunday afternoon inside McGonigle Hall.
 
West Chester scored a 193.8 in the meet, but it was not enough to overcome two season-best performances and a second-best score for the season from the other. Host Temple won the meet with a season-high 196.225 while William & Mary, which had just hit a season-high on Friday at West Chester, bettered that number on Sunday with a 194.925. Long Island University was third with a 194.7.
 
The story of the day for the Golden Rams was on the floor where the Golden Rams posted a 49.175 to shatter the school record. All five scores West Chester counted on the floor were 9.8, or better. Corinne Gruber (Barto, Pa.), Kiley Fred (Highland Mill, N.Y.) and Caroline Cascadden (Ashburn, Va.) all posted a 9.85. Sarah Eskew (Pittsburgh, Pa.) put up a 9.825 while Lily McFarland (Baltimore, Md.) posted a 9.8. Gruber and Eskew set new career highs while Cascadden and McFarland equaled their previous career bests.
 
The balance beam, which has been a strong event for the Golden Rams of late, continued its stellar performance. Cascadden, who put together two fabulous meets this weekend, shined again on the beam with a 9.825 that was good for a third-place tie. She hit a career high 9.9 on Friday at home. Macarthy Keane (Trumbull, Conn.), inserted into the lineup this weekend for the first time, scored a 9.725 to finish 10th overall on the beam. McFarland scored a 9.7 as well.
 
Junior Kristina Rodriguez (Cincinnati, Ohio) tied for first place on the uneven bars with a career high 9.85. Melina Ringas (Glen Allen, Va.) tied for eighth with a 9.8, that was also a career best, while Hyla Betts (Shannock, R.I.) scored a 9.75.

Eskew finished tied for fourth on the vault with a 9.8 that tied her career high. Rodriguez posted a 9.675. In all, four new career marks were set while three others were equaled.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
CORNELL
An emotional final home meet of the season turned into a historic one for the Cornell gymnastics team on Sunday, as the team earned a 195.025 - 188.225 victory over Centenary College from Newman Arena. Alongside the victory, its score bested the previous program record (195.000) from the 2018 USAG Collegiate National Semifinals held in Denton, Texas and the highest team score of the season for the Big Red.

Junior captain Sydney Beers was named Gymnastics East Conference Gymnast of the Week for the third time this season, the conference announced on Wednesday afternoon. Since arriving in Ithaca in 2021, the Bellmore, N.Y. product has received Gymnast of the Year a record six times.

Beers snags the honor after another historical performance in Cornell's final home meet against Centenary College on Sunday, setting a new program record in the all-around with 39.275. That score is .050 points higher than Lyanda Dudley's 39.225 set at the 2017 Big Red Invitational. Alongside the all-around title, Beers took home individual championships on both floor (9.875) and as the anchor on vault (9.875). She also earned a season-best 9.775 on uneven bars to earn second overall behind teammate Natalia Tehrani and a tie for third on beam with Centenary's Rylie Molina. As a team, the Big Red also set a new program record team score in the event (195.025), besting the previous high by .025 during the 2018 USAG Collegiate Nationals in Denton, Texas.

Coming into today, Beers sits eighth in the North East region with a 39.060 average score in the all-around, according to Road to Nationals.

CASCADDEN NAMED GEC SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
West Chester University senior gymnast, Caroline Cascadden (Ashburn, Va.), was named the Gymnastics East Conference (GEC) Gymnast of the Week it was announced Wednesday afternoon by that organization.
 
Cascadden turned in an amazing double meet weekend for the Golden Rams. On Friday, she hit her career high of a 9.9 on balance beam, breaking the individual balance beam record for the second time this season, also finishing in first place and helping her team break the school record with a 49.150. She also shined on the floor exercise, where she scored a 9.8 and tied for a second-place finish.
 
On Sunday, Cascadden performed just as well earning a 9.825 on balance beam, which was enough for a tie for second place at Temple. On the floor exercise, she scored a 9.85 which was the fourth highest score of the meet. Her efforts on floor helped her team break the school record, scoring a 49.175.
 
It is the third time this year that a West Chester gymnast has been lauded for their efforts in the gym. Lily McFarland was the co-Gymnast of the Week in Week 7 while Jordan Coleman was specialist of the week the first week of the season.

BALANCE BEAM LEADS THE WAY FOR GOLDEN RAMS
West Chester has been performing the best on the balance beam of late. The Golden Rams have scored a 49, or better, in two of the last three weeks and set the school record on beam their last time out with a 49.15. All five Golden Rams who scored on the beam last Friday set personal bests. Additionally, West Chester has recorded five of its top 13 scores all-time this winter alone. It's 194.375 two days ago was the fourth-best team score in school history.