Barile, UNH take first at meet

Hannah Barile tied for first place on floor exercise and placed second on vault Sunday to lead the University of New Hampshire gymnastics team to its second consecutive tri-meet victory with a score of 195.425, which bested George Washington (194.750) and Yale (191.225) at Lundholm Gymnasium.

The Wildcats improved their record to 6-1 and 3-0 in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) competition by topping the Colonials (5-5, 1-2 EAGL) and the Bulldogs (0-6).

Barile, who received the Katie Baldwin Expression Award for her performance, guided the Wildcats to a strong lead in the first rotation by recording a personal best 9.825 on vault to finish behind GW’s Elena Corcoran (9.850). Austyn Fobes and Courtney Connors registered matching scores of 9.800 to share third place. The team amassed 48.725 in its first event of the day.

Jen Aucoin and Fobes tied with an event-best score of 9.825 on uneven bars to highlight the second rotation. Erika Rudiger followed the pair with a score of 9.775 for third place, as the ‘Cats amassed a team mark of 48.775.

Kayla Gray paced New Hampshire on balance beam with a meet-high score of 9.875, tying her season high. Fobes notched a 9.800 for third place, followed by Elissa Solomon, who set a personal best with a 9.775 for a share of fourth place. The Wildcats registered a total of 48.875 in their only runner-up placement of the meet; the Colonials posted a 48.900.

In the final rotation, Fobes and Barile registered equal marks of 9.850 on floor exercise to share the event victory.

Gray followed the duo by recording a score of 9.825 for fourth place, Rudiger claimed a share of fifth place with a 9.775 and Jannelle Minichiello tied her personal best with a score of 9.750 to finish in a deadlock for seventh place. Erin Machado rounded out the Wildcat scoring with a 9.675 for a team total of 49.050.

Fobes, the reigning EAGL co-Gymnast of the Week, made it back-to-back first-place scores in all-around with a 39.275 to edge GW’s Stephanie Stoicovy (39.000).

The Wildcats return to action when they travel to 15th-ranked Maryland for an all-EAGL tri-meet against the Terrapins, Towson and 24th-ranked North Carolina State on Friday, Feb. 8 (7 p.m.).

UNH will return to Lundholm Gymnasium to take on Towson, Yale and Brown in the annual UNH Invitational on Saturday, March 2, at 4 p.m. That will be the Senior Day meet for Aucoin, Connors, Fobes and Becca Marrama.