Winona State University had their first Gymnastics showoff of the season at home against the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. The home opener also celebrated Parents Night, with nearly 350 fans piled into the gym to honor the supportive parents of the Warriors on the team.

This was the Warrior’s second season appearance, where they scored 183.500 points overall. However, the overall highest scorer of the night was the UW-Oshkosh team with a total score of 190.225 points.

The night began with a performance from the Warriors at the vault and the Titans on uneven parallel bars. As gymnastics is an individual sport (aside from competitive team spirit), the real competition is typically how the performers can be better than one another in their particular events. It does not matter who wins the night, rather, it matters who scored how many points. At the end of the season, the two teams with the highest points go to the finals.

Both teams scored their highest team points in the vault. The Warriors scored 47.375 points whereas the UW-Oshkosh team scored 48.200. From Winona State, a promising score came from Madysen Disekrud and Izzy Kropiwiec. Both scored an average of 9.550, which was the highest of the team. Reanna McGibboney from UW-Oshkosh stole the show by scoring 9.775 points which is the highest among both teams.

The Titans brought out their best skills on the bars. Kaylie Berens scored 9.6 points on average, which is the highest among all the competitors of the night. All six athletes from the opposing team scored more than 9.2 points in this round which made their average score 46.950 points.

Bars suffered a particularly rough performance for Winona State during this meet. Only two out of their six athletes scored more than nine points on average with their lowest score sitting at just 7.45 points in this event.

“We have a really young squad on our bar squad and so they’re just lacking a little bit of the experience, but they definitely have the talent,” Head Coach of Winona State, Dr. Stephanie Geislinger said. “We just need to find the confidence in their skills.”

Both teams gave their fans, parents and students alike, a stunning show on the beam. Warrior Taryn Sellner scored 9.375 points, which was the highest for the team. On the opposing team, Anna Zoromski scored 9.6 points which was the highest average from their team.

“I do a lot of visualization before I do beam,” said Sellner.

All the girls rocked the floor with elegant performances and athleticism. Sellner scored 9.625 on average, wracking up the highest points for the team. From UW-Oshkosh, Jay Ratkowski scored 9.725 points, which was also the highest point for their team.

With a comparatively new team, the Winona State squad is trying its best to make it to nationals. They have already faced two of the toughest competitors in the tournament. Their next match will require them to hit the road to face SEMO and Talladega College on Jan. 26, 2024.