KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After posting its second highest team score in school history last time out, the Western Michigan gymnastics team followed it up with another score that ranks in the top-15 but it wasn't enough as the Broncos fell short to the Flames of Illinois-Chicago with a final of 195.475 – 195.275.
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The Broncos' 195.275 tied for the 15th highest team score in school history while WMU's 48.975 event total on the vault and 49.225 on the floor were the eighth and sixth best in program history. The Brown & Gold also posted top individual finishers in the beam and floor.
Junior
Rachael Underwood recorded an impressive 9.950 on the floor exercise, as the score is the second highest in program history. With the help of the floor routine, Underwood claimed the all-around for her second consecutive meet on a score of 39.175. She also tied for second place overall on the vault with a career-high 9.850 while taking eighth on bars (9.725) and seventh on the balance beam (9.650).
Senior
Jessica Juncaj scored the second highest program score on the beam with a 9.925, including a perfect 10.0 from one of the judges. Juncaj took the event with the career-high along with leading the Broncos on the uneven bars on a 9.825. She finished the day tying a career-best and tying for third overall on the floor exercise (9.825).
As the Broncos scored their highest score this season on the vault, two other gymnasts notched career highs including freshman
Sarah Shirley (9.800) and
Stacie Harrison (9.850). Harrison also scored a 9.600 career-high on the beam to help her post an all-around score of 38.875.
On floor, Western Michigan posted another season-high team score that was highlighted not only by Underwood but also career-best routines from Juncaj (9.825),
Kelsey Hood (9.825) and
Morgan Spence (9.850) as the Broncos claimed the top four spots.
The other team event totals for WMU were 48.275 on beam and 48.800 on bars.
Western Michigan heads to Eastern Michigan on Friday, March 16 for the last Mid-American Conference dual of the season at 6 p.m. The 2018 MAC Championships are scheduled for Saturday, March 24 in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
