Juniors pace Seawolves in opener at Sac State

Sacramento (Jan. 11) - Claudia Lessig earned a 38.000 all-around and fellow junior Jamilia Duffus posted a solid three-event effort to lead the UAA gymnastics team in its season-opening meet Sunday at The Nest.

The Seawolves fell to rival Sacramento State in the dual competition, 193.925-190.050.

"I thought we performed well overall, especially with first-meet jitters," said UAA coach Marie-Sophie Boggasch. "It was unfortunate the way we closed on beam, but otherwise we showed a lot of potential. It will be exciting to get back in the gym this week and get ready to impress our home fans 12 days from now."

UAA performed best on bars with a 47.700 total to start the meet, led by a 9.675 from junior Avery Tillmanns and a 9.625 from junior Jada Niles. Lessig earned 9.6 on bars, a 9.525 on balance beam, and tied for third on floor exercise with a 9.65.

Duffus also scored 9.65 on floor to record a career high and lead a 47.625 team score on that apparatus. Seniors Ariana DeSouza and Madelyn Gomez added 9.625 and 9.5 on floor, respectively.

Duffus also paced the team on vault with a 9.625, alongside a 9.6 from sophomore Verena Wong and 9.475s from DeSouza and sophomore Jordan Grindol.

Freshman Alexandra Karkowski debuted with a team-best 9.575 on beam, while DeSouza earned a 9.55.

The Seawolves return to action Jan. 23 (7 p.m.) and Jan. 25 (2 p.m.) against Wilberforce in their home openers at the Alaska Airlines Center. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.