Titans Suffer Narrow Loss To Two-Time Defending Conference Champion

Leane Blais (Fr. • Salisbury, N.C.) earned the highest score on both the balance beam and uneven bars as the UW-Oshkosh women's gymnastics team dropped a 176.70-174.425 decision to UW-Whitewater on Saturday (Jan. 14) in Kolf Sports Center.

Scoring a 9.20, Blais defeated 10 other competitors on the uneven bars. She then posted a score of 9.35 on the balance beam to beat 10 other participants. UW-Oshkosh's Jill Lindberg (Sr. • Meridian, Idaho) finished second to Blais on the balance beam with a mark of 9.05.

Ashlan Millikan (Fr. • New Castle, Ind.) contributed a pair of third-place finishes for the Titans. She earned 9.125 points on the vault and 8.90 on the uneven bars.

UW-Oshkosh's Leah Herchenbach (Fr. • Libertyville, Ill.) and Lindsay Hermsen (Jr. • Green Bay) both compiled third- and fourth-place results. Herchenbach took third in the all-around competition with 34.775 points and fourth on the uneven bars with 8.80. Hermsen had a third-place score of 9.125 on the vault and a fourth-place figure of 8.55 on the balance beam.

Abby Zubella (Jr. • Appleton) was the Titans' top finisher in the floor exercise. She placed third in the event with a score of 9.25 while adding a sixth-place mark of 8.40 on the balance beam.

UW-Oshkosh's Amanda Bergesen (Sr. • Lake Geneva) added a sixth-place score of 8.775 in the floor exercise.

UW-Whitewater, the two-time defending WIAC champion, owned the winner in three categories. Kaitlyn Weber won the all-around competition with 35.25 points and CiCi Talcott the floor exercise with a mark of 9.425. Kathryn Thompson and Siri Wischmann shared the top listing on the vault with a score of 9.375.

UW-Oshkosh meets Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) next Saturday (Jan. 21) in St. Peter, Minn.