Department of athletics, physical education and recreation
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Harrison Shines as MIT Finishes Second at Quad Meet
Jan. 20, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Senior Sophia Harrison put on a stellar performance in MIT's quad meet on Saturday afternoon, as the Laguna Hills, Calif., native won the vault and uneven bars and finished second on the beam and floor exercise en route to a first-place finish in the all-around competition. The captain's efforts helped her team earn an overall score of 179.075, good enough for second-place ahead of Rhode Island College (165.150) and Wilson College (160.750) but just behind Ursinus College (181.650). With the 2-1 record on the afternoon, the Engineers improved to 3-2 overall. Harrison's all-around score of 37.850 was less than two-tenths of a point away from the magic number of 38.000 and nearly a full point better than second-place finisher Kira Oldham-Curtis of Ursinus (37.225). Tech junior Julia Zimmerman, the defending National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) All-Around National Champion, finished third with a tally of 37.000. Perhaps most impressively, Harrison's score of 9.725 on the uneven bars was just 0.025 points away from matching the Institute record in that event, as Merritt Tam's mark of 9.750 is the current standard. Harrison also won the vault (9.400) and placed second on the beam (9.275) and floor exercise (9.450). Zimmerman was impressive as well, winning the floor exercise (9.650) and placing fourth on the bars (9.450) and vault (9.250) to help aid her third-place finish in the all-around. Junior Laura Kelly finished sixth in the all-around with a score of 33.800, due in large part to a seventh-place ranking on the uneven bars (8.900). Sarah Trowbridge was also a standout on the uneven bars for the Engineers, as the senior captain notched a 9.000 in the event. Freshman Kristen Watkins (8.950) and junior Rachel Tatem (8.825) put together solid performances on the vault, while sophomore Katie Mingo (8.800) and freshman Elizabeth Stavely (8.650) had high marks on the beam and floor exercise, respectively. Assistant coach Eduardo Ovalle was delighted for the team overall, but reserved particular praise for Harrison. "It was a great effort from the entire team today, but Sophia in particular had a fantastic meet," he said. The Cardinal and Gray will return to competition on Sunday, Jan. 27, when it will travel to Providence, R.I., to take on host Brown University along with Bowling Green State University, West Chester University and the University of Bridgeport. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. |
