Yale Athletics

Yale gymnasts delivered a solid performance this Monday evening at the Carmichael Arena, placing second behind University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and ahead of University of Wisconsin, Stout. 

The team secured strong scores overall, placing gymnasts on the podium for all four events. Gymnasts scored a combined score of 48.000 or above on the vault, the uneven bars, the balance beam and the floor exercise. 

“Our season is just getting started, and we’re really starting to see our energy and confidence grow out on the competition floor,” said Riley Meeks ’23. “Our team camaraderie is unmatched, and this creates such an incredible environment.”

Rookie Hana Strause ’26 continued to make a strong first impression on the floor, placing third on the floor exercise with a 9.80 and a perfect stick in her two-and-a-half back twist to a front tuck. Additionally, Sarah Wilson ’24 scored a 9.750 on the floor and contented as an all-around competitor with an impressive 38.775 all-around score. 

“We came into this competition looking to improve our consistency and confidence, and that is exactly what we did,” Meeks told the News. “By accomplishing those goals, the scores responded, and we saw a huge improvement in our team score, which we are extremely proud of.”

The Bulldogs ended the meet with a total of 194.250 points, almost three full points above their team score of 191.850 from last weekend. They scored two points below UNC and nearly three points ahead of Wisconsin-Stout. 

The team enjoys competing against more prominent state schools such as UNC because of the sheer size of the arena and because it proves that “[the team] can show up in any environment and do our job and stay focused on our own team and our own gymnastics,” said Meeks. 

Aimee Titche ’23 agreed with teammate Meeks, saying state school arenas generally mean “packed, loud and energetic” crowds. 

“Feeling the enormous energy created by huge crowds in the stands and being able to harness and feed off of that energy within our team and ourselves truly elevates the competition,” Titche said.

Vault continued to be one of the stronger events for the Bulldogs, with all gymnasts scoring above 9.600. Sherry Wang ’24 and Gigi Sabatini ’26 both scored above 9.700 on the event, landing double-twisting vaults. 

The team score was the season high so far — when the team realized this, Titche said, there was a lot of energy and excitement among the group. 

“The success of YGT is never defined by our rankings or scores in comparison to the teams we compete against. Instead, we focus our energy inward and work to improve our own team scores every weekend,” Titche told the News. 

Raegan Walker ’23 stood out again on the balance beam this week, securing a third-place podium finish with her impressive 9.825 and no major wobbles. The event was the team’s highest-scoring event in the meet with a score of 48.775. 

Looking forward, the team is eager to “tap into their potential,” said Titche, as they face more state schools and head into mid-season meets. The team will travel to Durham, New Hampshire, to face the University of New Hampshire, Penn State and University of Wisconsin, Whitewater this Sunday at 2 p.m. 

Titche was named team captain for this season by a team vote for the gymnasts’ 50th competitive season.