On Friday Feb. 8, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s gymnastics team dueled University of Wisconsin-Stout in their second home meet. The UWL Eagles extended their undefeated streak, securing the win by 3.825 points. They finished with a final score of 191.475, while the Blue Devils followed with 187.650 points.
Aside from a 47.475 tie on vault, the Eagles dominated all four events against UW-Stout. On the uneven parallel bars, UWL claimed three of the top four spots, finishing with a score of 47.175. The Blue Devils ended with a 45.125 on the uneven parallel bars. UWL’s Lauren Main tied for the top score on the uneven parallel bars as she recorded a 9.625.
On the balance beam, Main yet again tied for first with a score of 9.725, leading the Eagles to finish the event with a 48.525. Although UW-Stout’s Gillian Cummins tied with Main, the team still fell short as they only recorded a total of 47.625 points overall.
UWL swept in the floor exercise with five Eagles taking over the top spots on the leaderboard. Tied for first, Kyla Dickson, Jessica Taylor and Hunter Matulka all scored an impressive 9.725. Not far behind, Grace Edwards and Claire Robbins tied for fourth with a score of 9.700. UWL ended the event with a recorded 48.300 while UW-Stout finished with a 47.425.
“We’re pretty well rounded on all four events… we have a good mix of freshman and upperclassmen in those events, so we’re pretty well distributed on all fronts,” UWL Gymnastics Head Coach Kasey Crawford said.
After competing for UWL from 2004-2008, Crawford went on to be the assistant coach for eight years. She is currently in her ninth year as head coach and is ambitious for a National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) championship win. The Eagles have placed in the top three the last two years, and this year, Crawford is hoping to take home the gold.
“Our second half of the season is a lot more competitive, so we’ll be challenged from here on out…we just have to stay on our A-game,” Crawford said.
Next week the team will head to George Washington University in Washington D.C. where they will battle against Division I, II and III teams. The live stream for the meet will be available on the UWL athletics website.
Although the team will be facing harder competition, Crawford is confident that her gymnasts are up to the task.
“I think our biggest strength is consistency. They [UWL gymnasts] tend to perform at practice how they do in meets and that’s always what you want… they’re very talented,” Crawford said.
The Eagles’ motto this year is “On the Hunt,” as they are hunting for a championship victory. This year’s NCGA championship will be held in Mitchell Hall, marking its return to La Crosse for the first time since 2016.
UWL’s next home meet will be Friday, Feb. 21 against University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
John Fair • Feb 17, 2025 at 12:30 pm
Congratulations to the gymnasts, nice article.