On April 2, the DU gymnastics team traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to compete in the NCAA regional competition. DU finished fourth in the six team regional with a score of 195.700. The University of Florida won first place in the meet.
Senior Maggie Laughlin (Scottsdale, Arizona) tied for fourth on vault with a score of 9.875. On the uneven parallel bars, senior Nina McGee (Cleveland, Ohio) tied for third with a score of 9.850. Senior Emily Barrett (Norman, Oklahoma) scored the highest for the Pioneers on the balance beam with a score of 9.825, which allowed her to tie for eighth place. McGee also earned a first place finish on floor with a 9.950. At every meet this season, McGee has finished first in at least one of the four events.
“We went in as the second seed. Floor was an amazing rotation, but it was a major disappointment that we didn’t make nationals as a team. We put everything we could onto the floor to try to recover,” said McGee.
Floor was the team’s best event of the day, with McGee earning first and sophomore Claire Hammen (Loveland, Colorado) earning third.
McGee’s overall score of 39.350 earned her a second place finish in the all-around and landed her a spot in the NCAA national tournament for the second year in a row. Last year at Nationals, McGee earned second for the floor competition and 11th in the all-around.
“It’s exciting, but I’m still a little bummed that the team can’t go with me this year,” said McGee.
Since the rest of DU’s team will not be present, McGee will be practicing with the University of Alabama’s team. At Nationals, she will be rotating through events with the University of Oklahoma.
“I’m expecting more comfort this year because I had no idea what to expect last time. This year I know what to expect with the crowd being all amped up and as far as performance, I just want to capitalize on everything I made a mistake on, so I’ve been working on improving those aspects,” she said.
Some members of DU’s team will be joining her on her trip to Nationals, which will provide some much needed support. Barrett and senior Morgan Tolman (Northridge, California) will be traveling with McGee.
“I just want to stay calm and confident in the meet and when I get there on Friday. I’m excited even though it’s my last meet forever,” she said.
NCAA Nationals will take place on April 15 and 16 in Fort Worth, Texas.
