George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Towson Invitational
Mantak Paces Gymnastics to Towson Invitational Championship
2/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Feb. 18, 2002
Towson, Md. - Senior Jessica Mantak (Colonia, N.J.) finished second in the all-around competition with a 39.30 score as 32nd-ranked George Washington University used a seasonal high 195.025 team score to edge host Towson University and win the 17th annual Towson Invitational Meet in the Towson Center on Sunday afternoon.
The championship marked the third consecutive year that the Colonials won the Towson Invitational title by edging the host team. Towson had a seasonal high 193.875 team score, finishing second in the meet. Yale University finished third with a 190.000 score, while Pennsylvania placed fourth (188.175). Temple University took fifth place with a 185.925 score.
Mantak led the Colonials to the championship with a solid performance in each event. She tied for first place on the balance beam with a 9.825 score and tied for sixth place in vault (9.75). Mantak also finished second on bars (9.85) and placed fourth on the floor exercise (9.875). Her scores mark her new season highs in each event.
Senior Devin McCalla (Dallas, Tex.) of GW, who was the Towson Invitational all-around champion the last two years, had another solid meet. She finished first on bars with a 9.90 score, which sets the new current team record, and tied for first place on the floor exercise with junior Jenn Baierlein (Levittown, N.Y.) of Towson. McCalla and Baierlein each had a 9.925 on the floor, marking McCalla's new season high on that event. McCalla, who tied for sixth place in vault (9.75), took fourth place in the all-around competition (38.80).
Junior Kristen Presutti (Toms River, N.J.) of Towson won the all-around competition with a 39.325 score, the second best performance of her career. She finished first in vault with a 9.85 and tied for seventh on bars (9.775). On the balance beam, she took fourth place (9.80). Presutti closed out the meet with a 9.90 score on the floor exercise, taking third place behind McCalla and Baierlein.
The Colonials won the meet with very strong performances on bars and floor. Led by McCalla and Mantak, GW clinched the championship with a 49.15 team score on bars, its final event. The Colonials also earned a 49.20 team score on floor as four Colonials finished in the top seven.
Sophomore Rachel Mann (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior Kelley Banks (Council Bluffs, Iowa) contributed to the Colonials' strong showing on floor by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. Mann was fifth with a 9.825, her new season best, while Banks tied for sixth with a 9.80. Banks also tied for third place on bars (9.825) and achieved season highs on bars, beam, and floor.
Senior Jamie McNally and freshman Amber Melvin also finished in the top six in at least one event. McNally finished third on vault with her season high score of 9.800. Melvin achieved season highs on both vault (9.775) and bars (9.800) finishing forth and sixth, respectively.
College Gymnastics:
Towson Invitational:
1. George Washington 195.025
2. Towson 193.875
3. Yale 190.000
4. Pennsylvania 188.175
5. Temple 185.925
Vault: 1. Kristen Presutti (TOW), 9.850, 2. Jenn Baierlein (TOW), 9.80, Jamie McNally (GW), 9.80, 4. Jamie Green (YALE), 9.775, Amber Melvin (GW), 9.775, 6. Jessica Mantak (GW), 9.75, Devin McCalla (GW), 9.75.
Bars: 1. Devin McCalla (GW), 9.900, 2. Jessica Mantak (GW), 9.850, 3. Sarah Adams (TOW), 9.825, Juliya Kovaliova (TOW), 9.825, Kelley Banks (GW), 9.825, 6. Amber Melvin (GW), 9.800.
Beam: 1. Jenn Baierlein (TOW), 9.825, Jen Clarke (TOW), 9.825, Jessica Mantak (GW), 9.825, 4. Kristen Presutti (TOW), 9.800, 5. Sarah Adams (TOW), 9.725, 6. Lindsay Parks (GW), 9.700.
Floor: 1. Jenn Baierlein (TOW), 9.925, Devin McCalla (GW), 9.925, 3. Kristen Presutti (TOW), 9.900, 4. Jessica Mantak (GW), 9.875, 5. Rachel Mann (GW), 9.825, 6. Sara Forti (TOW), 9.800, Kelly Banks (GW), 9.800.
All-Around: 1. Kristen Presutti (TOW), 39.325, 2. Jessica Mantak (GW), 39.300, 3. Jenn Baierlein (TOW), 38.900, 4. Devin McCalla (TOW), 38.800, 5. Sara Forti (TOW), 38.45, 6. Jamie Green (YALE), 38.425, 7. Christy Green (PENN), 37.600, 8. Erin Davis (TEMP), 37.550.
