ITHACA, N.Y. – Southern Connecticut State University gymnastics finished seventh out of eight teams at the 2026 Gymnastics East Conference Championships hosted by Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Owls senior Abby Royer won the Floor Exercise Championship with a score of 9.925 and the Owls posted a season-best 49.00 in the Floor Exercise.
Royer became the second Owl to win a GEC Championship after Angel Lee won the 2023 GEC Balance Beam Championship. Royer, also named a GEC Floor First Team selection and also a GEC Scholar-Athlete, entered the competition with the highest National Qualifying Score (NQS) of any GEC athlete with a 9.895 in the Floor Event. Royer averaged a 9.891 average and a high score of 9.95, which she hit twice and is a program record.
Penn won the GEC Championship with a score of 195.025 followed by Yale at 194.625. Brown was third at 194.525, followed by Cornell (194.150), William & Mary (193.800), Bridgeport (192.475), Southern Connecticut (192.350) and West Chester (192.250).
Vault
Lola Sepulveda led the Owls with a 9.675 on the Vault which tied for fourth in the first session. Ava Kelly finished at 9.600 for 11th and Autumn Everett and Libby Allen at 9.575 for a tie fo 12th. Hanna Fitzgerald posted 9.550.
Uneven Parallel Bars
Gabriela Dinisoe led the Owls on the Bars with a season-best 9.725 for a tie of fifth in Session I. She was followed by Sepulveda at 9.625. Zoe Axell and Grace Christensen both scored a 9.550, which was a season-best for Christensen, followed by Gianna Schibi at 9.475.
Balance Beam
Angelina Stanfa had a team-leading and season-best 9.725 for third place in Session I on the Beam while Dinisoe followed with a 9.675 for a tie for seventh place. Mia Damiano posted a 9.575 while Libby Allen had a 9.525.
Floor Exercise
Royer competed out of the anchor spot and closed the Owls' rotation with a 9.925 – her second-best score of the season. Ava Kelly finished tied for third after she posted a 9.800 followed by Sepulveda at 9.775 in fifth place. Zoe Axell and Kiersten Lewis rounded out the Owls field with a 9.750, each, for a tie of sixth place. Southern combined for a 49.000 in the event – their top score of the session.
Southern will travel to the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championships (WCGNIC) on Friday, March 27. The Owls will compete in the second session at 7 p.m.
