Gymnastics to Compete at Perfect 10 Challenge

Meet Notes

LEADING OFF: Coming off a season-best performance at Friday night's Pink Meet, the George Washington gymnastics team will look to continue its momentum when it heads to Oklahoma City to compete at the Perfect 10 Challenge on Friday at 6:45 p.m. CT in Cox Arena.

The meet is contested on podium, an elevated competition floor as seen at the NCAA Gymnastics National Championship, and will feature the Colonials clashing with the 2018 NCAA Gymnastics National Championship runner-up, and currently No. 1 ranked team for the sixth-straight week, Oklahoma. Rounding out the field are 2018 NCAA Regional qualifiers Washington and Arizona State, which currently sit at No. 18 and 19, respectively.

LAST TIME OUT: After three straight meets on the road, GW (5-5, 1-3 EAGL) returned to the Charles E. Smith Center on Friday night and put up its best performance of the season, earning a season-high 195.400 to top the field at its annual Pink Meet. The Colonials totaled their 195.400 behind team scores of 48.675 on vault, a season-high 48.975 on bars, 48.675 on beam, and a season-high 49.075 on floor. East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) foe New Hampshire finished second with 194.925, while Yale took third (194.050) and William & Mary finished fourth (189.925).

ACING THE ALL-AROUND: Fifth-year co-captain Alex Zois was named EAGL Gymnast of the Week after finishing Friday night at the top of the all-around podium for the fourth time this season with a season-high 39.300, the highest all-around mark in EAGL. The Crofton, Md., product accounted for four of GW's eight combined podium appearances, posting a new season-high on vault (9.775), matching her season-high on bars (9.825) and scoring a career-high matching 9.900 on floor. With her score on Friday night, Zois has cemented her position at the top of the EAGL all-around standings with an average score of 39.055 and also finds herself in the top-five on floor (3^rd, 9.825 avg.) and beam (4^th, 9.805 avg.).

SURGE FROM SIMONE: Simone Banen was tabbed as EAGL Rookie of the Week after putting up a trio of solid performances on Friday night. The Wyckoff, New Jersey, native matched her season-high on bars with a 9.800 and also set a new career-high on floor with a 9.800. Banen finished the night with a pair of top-5 finishes, finishing tied-for-fourth on bars and tied-for-fifth on floor. She also added a 9.700 on beam.

FUN ON FLOOR: The Colonials put up their best score of 2019 on floor at Friday's Pink Meet, earning a season-high 49.075. Behind a career-high matching performance from Zois, who scored a 9.900 to take the outright floor title, GW also saw big scores from Cydney Crasa, who finished in a tie for second with a 9.825, along with Rachel Kaplan and Banen, who both set new career highs with matching 9.800s. Katya Karpova rounded out the GW season-high with her own season-high matching 9.750.

RAISING THE BAR: For the second straight meet, the Colonials surpassed their season-high on bars, posting a 48.975 on Friday. Zois highlighted the bars lineup with a season-high matching 9.825 to finish third, followed by a trio of 9.800s from Banen, Julia McLaughlin, and Anna Warhol. First-year Olivia Raymond added a season-high matching 9.750 to close out the season-best performance.

YOUNG GUNS: GW's underclassmen, which make up 12 of 18 gymnasts on the team, have lifted the Colonials' lineups so far in 2019. Of those underclassmen, seven gymnasts have earned a spot on the podium (four first-years, three sophomores) for a combined nine podium appearances. In addition, every sophomore gymnast that has seen action so far in 2019 has either matched or surpassed their career highs, including Hannah Cohen (9.875 BB), Rachel Kaplan (9.800 FX), Katya Karpova (9.750 BB), Chloe Vitoff (9.750 V), and Anna Warhol (9.775 V, 9.825 UB)

EAGL UPDATE: The Colonials moved up one spot in the EAGL standings and currently sit fourth with an average score of 194.430. NC State tops the league (195.042 avg.), followed by New Hampshire (194.700 avg.), and North Carolina (194.620 avg.). Pittsburgh ranks fifth with an average of 194.405, while Towson rounds out the league at 192.540. GW also ranks third on bars (48.560 avg.) and fourth on both beam (48.625 avg.) and floor (48.740 avg.).

ROAD AHEAD: Following the Perfect 10 Challenge, the Colonials will return home for back-to-back weeks in the Smith Center. GW will first host Towson and Eastern Michigan for Brownie and Girl Scout Day on Feb. 22 before welcoming BYU and Maryland to Foggy Bottom the following week for Senior Day on March 1.

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Simone Banen

Hannah Cohen

Cydney Crasa

Rachel Kaplan

Katya Karpova

Julia McLaughlin

Olivia Raymond

Chloe Vitoff

Anna Warhol

Alex Zois

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