COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Senior Alise McDonald and sophomore Avis Hixon tied for first place on vault to cap a stirring comeback as unbeaten Towson University (5-0) came from behind on the final rotation to win the Ursinus College Quad Meet on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers posted a 190.225 score to edge Bridgeport (189.025), Temple (188.950) and Ursinus (180.950).
McDonald and Hixon led the Tigers to a 48.900 team score on vault as they tied for first place in the event with remarkable scores of 9.90. Junior Megan Wooden took third on vault with a 9.775 score while sophomore Kady Sullivan (9.70) was fifth. Sophomore Kacy Catanzaro capped off the Tigers' dominating performance on vault with a 9.625 score, good for seventh place.
"We did a great job on vault," said Towson Coach Dick Filbert. "Our vault team really came through for us and we were able to barely win this meet. We started very slowly in this meet. We struggled on bars, our first event. Then, we were OK on beam and did a little better on floor. By the time we reached vault, we knew we needed a great performance and we got one."
On their way to their comeback win, the Tigers earned a 48.175 team score on floor. Hixon and McDonald also tied for first place on floor with 9.70 scores. Wooden tied for sixth place on floor (9.65) and sophomore Alyssa Dittman took 11th place (9.55).
Dittman was also the Tigers' top performer on balance beam. She finished fourth with a 9.65 score. Catanzaro was fifth with a 9.625 score.
Senior co-captain Jackie Schweitzer turned in another strong effort on bars as she finished first for the third consecutive meet. Schweitzer shared the bars title with Lorraine Galow of Bridgeport. Each of them had 9.55 scores. McDonald finished fifth on bars (9.425) while sophomore Lindsay Poplaski tied for eighth place (9.275).
McDonald, who shared titles on vault and floor, won her first all-around title of the season. She finished first in the all-around with a 38.425 score. Catanzaro placed seventh in the all-around (37.20) while Wooden (36.75) finished eighth.
The Tigers open their home schedule on Saturday, January 30 when they host William & Mary in the Towson Center at 2:00 p.m.
Team Scores: 1. Towson 190.225; 2. Bridgeport 189.025; 3. Temple 188.900; 4. Ursinus 180.950.
VAULT: 1. Avis Hixon (TOW) 9.900; 2. Alise McDonald (TOW) 9.900; 3. Megan Wooden (TOW) 9.775; 4. Kaity Watson (TEM) 9.725; 5. Kady Sullivan (TOW) 9.70.
BARS: 1. Jackie Schweitzer (TOW) 9.550; Lorraine Galow (BPT) 9.550; 3. Kira Oldham-Curtis (URS) 9.525; 4. Johanna Warren (URS) 9.45; 5. Alise McDonald (TOW) 9.425.
BEAM: 1. Emily Repko (BPT), 9.85; 2. Corrine Williams (TEM) 9.725; 3. Breanna Collins (BPT) 9.70; 4. Alyssa Dittman (TOW) 9.650; 5. Kacy Catanzaro (TOW) 9.625.
FLOOR: 1. Kira Oldham-Curtis (URS) 9.70; Corrine Williams (TEM) 9.70; Avis Hixon (TOW) 9.70; Alise McDonald (TOW) 9.70; Breanna Collins (BPT) 9.70.
ALL-AROUND: 1. Alise McDonald (TOW) 38.425; 2. Miranda Der (BPT) 37.775; 3. Lorraine Galow (BPT) 37.75; 4. Kira Oldham-Curtis (URS) 37.675; 5. Jean Alban (TEM) 37.525.
