MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Towson University gymnastics team placed third at the West Virginia University's quad meet with a season-best team score of 194.775 on Sunday afternoon. The host Mountaineers won the meet with 196.300 points, followed by the University of Denver (195.900) and Temple University in fourth-place (193.625).
 
The Tigers faced a pair of top 25 programs at the meet, as Denver was ranked seventh nationally and West Virginia is ranked 25^th in the Road to Nationals Rankings.
 
Towson set season-best team scores on three of the four events; vault (48.425), uneven bars (48.875) and balance beam (48.950). The Tigers had gymnasts set or match six season-bests and five career-bests.
 
Event Scores
Vault: 48.425
Uneven Bars: 48.875
Balance Beam: 48.950
Floor Exercise: 48.525
 
How it Happened

• Towson opened the meet on floor, scoring a team total of 48.525. A trio of Tiger in Bayleigh Fobes, Gabriella Yarussi and Erin Tucker, posted matching 9.750 scores on floor to tie for 11^th-place. Corti Baker scored 9.725 to tie for 14^th-place. Yarussi's performance on floor exercise was a career-debut for the junior.
• The Tigers then moved to vault for the second rotation, scoring a season-best team total of 48.425. Gabriella Yarussi was the Tigers' top finisher on vault as she scored 9.725 to place 13^th overall. Erin Tucker followed in 16^th-place (9.700) while Tyra McKellar and Bayleigh Fobes had matching scores of 9.675 to tie for 17^th-place. Noelle Harada made her season-debut on the event, scoring 9.650 (21^st-place).
• Towson posted a season-best team total of 48.875 on the uneven bars in the third rotation. Tyra McKellar tied for fifth on the uneven bars with a score of 9.875. Cortni Baker finished 10^th with a score of 9.800. Brittney Ranti tied for 11^th-place with her score of 9.775.  
• Towson's final rotation of the meet was the balance beam as the team posted a season-best total of 48.950. Mary Elle Arduino was the runner-up on the balance beam with a score of 9.900. Gabriella Yarussi scored 9.850 to tie for fourth-place. Bayleigh Fobes tied for 10^th with her score of 9.775 in her career-debut on the event, followed by Tyra McKellar in 12^th-place (9.750).
• Gabriella Yarussi competed in the all-around for the first time in her career, finishing second with a score of 39.050. Noelle Harada also competed in the all-around, scoring 38.075 to finish sixth.

 
Behind the Numbers

• Towson's team score of 194.775 was a season-best and the Tigers' highest team total since scoring 195.275 at George Washington's quad meet on Feb. 28, 2016.
• The Tigers posted its highest event scores of the season on vault (48.425), the uneven bars (48.875) and balance beam (48.950).
• Towson had the highest balance beam total of all four teams at the meet with its team score of 48.950.
• Mary Elle Arduino posted a season-best score of 9.900 on balance beam. Bayleigh Fobes set a season-best 9.675 on vault. Noelle Harada's score of 9.725 on the uneven bars was a season-best. Tyra McKellar posted a season-best of 9.675 on vault and a season-best 9.850 on uneven bars. Gabriella Yarussi matched her season-best of 9.725 on vault.
• Cortni Baker had a career-best of 9.800 on the uneven bars. Melissa Temkov set a career-best of 9.675 on balance beam. Gabriella Yarussi set a career-best of 9.725 on the uneven bars. For a third-straight week, Erin Tucker matched her career-best of 9.750 on floor. Brittney Ranti matched her career-best of 9.775 on the uneven bars.

 
Up Next
Towson travels to the University of North Carolina for a quad meet on Friday, Feb. 3. That meet, which will begin at 7 p.m., will also feature William & Mary and Wisconsin-Whitewater.