Women’s Gymnastics: Freshman standouts not enough to propel Ohio State to win in loss to Iowa

Megan Russell
Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:16:46 +0000
Gymnastics, News, Sports, Alexis Mattern, Big Ten, Buckeyes, gymnastics, jamie stone, janelle mcclelland, jenna swartzentruber, Meredith Paulicivic, morgan lowe, ohio state, Ohio State gymnastics, Ohio State women's gymnastics, olivia aepli, Stefanie Merkle, women's gymnastics

Ohio State junior gymnast Jamie Stone performs on balance beam against Denver on Feb. 24. Credit: Megan Russell | Lantern reporter

The Ohio State women’s gymnastics team (0-3, 0-2 Big Ten) fell to Iowa (2-3, 2-0 Big Ten) in a close match of 195.725-195.300 Friday in Iowa City, Iowa.

Ohio State did not exit the competition empty-handed. Freshman Jenna Swartzentruber posted a final score of 39.100 to earn her first collegiate title and the No.1 spot in the all-around individual completion.

Ohio State registered a season-best final score of 195.300, a 0.375-point increase from its meet last weekend at Michigan.

For the third straight meet, the Buckeyes opened on uneven parallel bars, where their performances earned a 48.825 mark. Swartzentruber led the team to take third place for the event with a 9.825, which tied her career high.

The Hawkeyes tied the Buckeyes at 48.825 on vault.

The Buckeyes switched to vault next and posted a 48.875 tally. Freshman Morgan Lowe set a career high of 9.800 and tied for second with sophomore Olivia Aepli.

Iowa pushed past Ohio State in its second rotation, posting a 48.975 mark on uneven parallel bars.

Ohio State took to the floor exercise in its third rotation, when senior Alexis Mattern and junior Janelle McClelland each put up 9.775, team highs for the event, to put the Buckeyes at 48.675.

Iowa lost the lead in its third event on balance beam with a 48.775 tally for the event. At this point, Ohio State led 146.625-146.575.

The adjustment to the balance beam lineup paid off when Ohio State finished at 48.925, a season high on the event. Swartzentruber and Lowe each recorded 9.850 scores, their second career highs of the night, to claim first place in the event.

The Hawkeyes earned a 49.150 on their last event on floor, ending the meet at 195.725-195.300 for Iowa.

Both Swartzentruber’s 39.100 and Mattern’s 39.025 were good enough to earn the gymnasts first and third for the meet, respectively.

Ohio State will compete at home for the first time this season in a tri-meet against Minnesota and Illinois State at 4 p.m. Saturday at St. John Arena.