Results - Gymnastics

April 11-12, 2003

WOMEN WIN NAIGC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

The Notre Dame - Saint Mary's women's gymnastics team took first place at the 2003 NAIGC national gymnastics competition in Austin, Texas on April 11-12. Despite being one of the smallest of the thirty three-teams competing at the meet, the six member squad turned in a stellar performance in the team competition to edge out the 2002 national champions the University of Texas by a mere four tenths of a point.

Impressive performances on beam and floor exercise helped secure the Irish victory. Senior Emily Smith, sophomores Mary Blazewicz, Susan Jennings, and Caitlin O'Brien, and freshmen Liz Maher and Anne St. Clair all contributed to the Irish's season high team score of 140.775. Other teams rounding out the talented field included Texas A&M, Ohio, Syracuse, Ohio State, Illinois, Miami of Ohio,California Berkeley, Eastern Michigan, Virginia Tech, and Purdue. The Irish were led by Emily Smith, who won the national championship on bars with an outstanding score of 9.35 and earned 7th place in the all around competition, and Anne St. Clair, who took first place on vault and captured the national all around title, averaging over 9.25 on each event.

Four Notre Dame gymnasts qualified to the individual event finals including Emily Smith, Anne St. Clair, Mary Blazewicz, and Caitlin O'Brien. The Irish had at least two gymnasts finish in the top twenty on each event. Other top placements included Emily Smith's 7th place vault and 9th place 9.35 beam performances, Anne St. Clair's 5th place 9.575 floor and 7th place bars finishes, Mary Blazewicz's top 20 vault performance with a score of 8.70, and Caitlin O'Brien's 6th place 9.40 floor and 9th place bar finishes.

The Notre Dame men's gymnastics team also capped off a successful season with an 11th place team finish at the 2003 NAIGC national championships. Texas A & M University took home the gold in the team competition and other teams present included the University of Texas, Purdue University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Eastern Michigan University, University of California Berkley, University of Illinois, and Miami of Ohio. Individuals contributing to the Irish's team score were senior Pete Blouin, junior Todd Moffat, sophomore Dana Collins, and freshmen Mike Garter, Aaron Roberts and Andrew Roberts. The men's team turned in season-high performances on still rings and the floor exercise. Pete Blouin was the top Irish gymnast and qualified to perform in the individual event finals with an impressive 8.20 on the floor exercise.

The women's and men's teams will graduate a total of two seniors this year, so the 2004 season also looks promising for the Irish.

March 29-30, 2003

The Notre Dame women took first place at the Clover Classic, held Saturday at the club's home gym, Gymnastics Michiana. The Irish women finished ahead of second place Purdue by nearly 5 full points, with teams from University of Minnesota, Miami of Ohio, Penn State University, Indiana University, and Washington University rounding out the final standings. Highest individual all-around honors went to freshman Anne St. Clair, who averaged a 9.2 on each event and took first place on floor and vault, third place on beam, and fifth place on bars. Senior Emily Smith, competing in her last regular season meet for Notre Dame, placed third all-around, and also took fourth on vault, second on beam, and second on floor. Sophomore Caitlin O'Brien placed sixth all-around and second on vault, while her classmate Mary Blazewicz placed fifth on vault. Susan Jennings, Danielle Reyes, Liz Maher, and Kristi Peterson also contributed to the Irish victory.

The Notre Dame men turned in impressive individual performances, particularly on the floor exercise. Mike Gartner lead the Irish men on floor, with a 9.0, while freshman Aaron Roberts contributed an 8.05 to the team total. The Irish men placed fourth, behind first place Purdue, second place Northern Illinois, and third place Miami of Ohio. Both the men's and the women's teams from Notre Dame will travel to Austin, Texas, on April 11-12 to compete in the national competition sponsored by the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs.

February 21-23, 2003

The Notre Dame women's gymnastics team claimed third place at Indiana's Big Red Invitational this weekend, as Ohio State and Illinois claimed first and second respectively. Purdue, Washington, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Indiana completed the field.

Freshman Anne St. Claire took first on uneven bars, balance beam, and all around, and third on vault and floor to pace the club. St. Claire's signature performance was on the balance beam, where she twisted and flipped her way to a 9.85. Sophomore Caitlin O'Brien captured fourth on both the vault and uneven bars. Teammates Liz Maher, Kristi Peterson, Susan Jennings, and Mary Blazewicz all contributed to the Irish scoring.

Although the men's team finished out of the rankings, there were some memorable performances. Freshman Aaron Roberts earned a career high 9.10 and first place on the floor exercise, edging senior Pete Blouin, who finished second with a 9.05. Fellow senior Eric Eddy was awarded a personal best 8.0 on the rings. Dana Collins and Andrew Roberts, Mike Gartner, and Todd Moffat all performed well in both floor and balance beam competition.

February 14-16, 2003

The Notre Dame / Saint Mary's gymnastics club captured first place in women's competition and third in men's at Purdue's Golden Grips Invitational this weekend. The women edged out talented squads from Ohio U., Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, Xavier, Eastern Michigan, and Indiana, which finished in that order. Freshman Anne St. Clair won the beam and floor exercise competitions, and also placed second on bars to finish second overall. Senior captain Emily Smith finished third overall, as she won the vault and took third on both uneven bars and balance beam.

Sophomore Caitlin O'Brien placed sixth on the beam, while classmates Mary Blazewicz, Susan Jennings, Danielle Reyes, and freshman Liz Maher all contributed to the team's first place finish.

A stellar team performance on the floor exercise propelled the men's squad to a third place finish behind Illinois and Purdue. Co-captain Pete Blouin and freshman Andrew Roberts were awarded season-high scores of 8.9 and 8.2 respectively in the floor to highlight the men's competition for the Irish. Eric Eddy, Mike Gartner, Todd Moffet and Dana Colllins all earned points as well for the club.

February 7-9, 2003

Building upon a rich heritage of success, the Notre Dame/Saint Mary's gymnastics club opened its season in Oxford,OH at the Miami Cup. The women's squad has been ranked among the top seven teams in the country for each of the past five years, while the men's squad boasts five top five finishes, including two national championships. This year's squads may lack the depth of recent editions, but the club still has some impressive performers.

At Miami, the women's squad placed second among ten teams, including Purdue, Ohio State, Washington State, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Xavier, and Miami. Senior Emily Smith and freshman Anne St. Clair placed first and second, respectively, in the all-around competition. Smith took first on the uneven bars and the balance beam, while St. Clair placed second on uneven bars and in the floor exercise. Sophomore Caitlin O'Brien placed second on the vault and fourth on the balance beam, while Mary Blazewicz and Kristi Peterson also scored points for the Irish.

Pete Blouin was the top performer for the men, competing in floor exercise, still rings, and high bar. Mike Gartner, Eric Eddy, and freshmen Aaron Robers and Andrew Roberts completed the Irish line-up.