Scoreboard

2011 UAA Gymnastics Season Recap

Women's Gymnastics UAA Media Relations

2011 UAA Gymnastics Season Recap

2011 Alaska Anchorage Gymnastics Season-End Release

BRIEF SEASON RECAP: After a slow start, the Seawolf gymnasts finished strong by topping the 190-point mark in their final five meets. UAA earned a home victory over Centenary on Mar. 11, then two days later posted 192.575 points to mark the 6th-best score in program history and the 2nd-best ever in a home meet. At the MPSF Championships, junior Kelsey Fullerton became just the third Seawolf to earn multiple titles in her career as she scored a winning 9.825 on floor exercise. Senior Maria Puricelli, meanwhile, finished with the No. 2 season bars average (9.650) all-time at UAA and was among six Seawolves to earn a place on the MPSF All-Academic Team.

ALL-MPSF TEAM: Junior Kaelei Spoor  earned recognition on two events as she and Seawolf teammates Kelsey Fullerton, Maria Puricelli and Shakea Sanders were named to the 2011 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Conference teams, announced Mar. 21 by the league office … the all-league teams are decided by the top eight regional qualifying scores (RQS) among the conference's gymnasts … Spoor was the league's 4th-highest scorer on both beam (9.575) and floor (9.710); the Rome, N.Y., native now has four career all-league certificates, earning spots on floor as a sophomore and beam as a freshman … Sanders earned her fifth career honor by finishing with a 2nd-place RQS of 9.680 on vault. It was her third straight All-MPSF showing on vault, along with floor honors in her first two seasons … Puricelli earned her second straight honor on uneven bars with the league's 3rd-best RQS (9.665) … Puricelli's season average of 9.650 on bars ranked No. 2 in Seawolf history behind only the 9.662 of former All-American Dominique Ingram in 2005 … Fullerton made All-MPSF on vault this year (9.650 RQS) after earning honors on floor in 2008 and 2010.

MPSF REVIEW: Competing in her final routine as a collegiate gymnast, UAA's Kelsey Fullerton came away with the individual title on floor exercise on Mar. 19 as the Seawolves concluded the 2011 season at the MPSF Championships in Colorado Springs … the Seawolves were second after four rotations in the tight, four-way meet, but wound up finishing fourth as a team with 190.475 points … UC Davis defended its title with 192.975 points … Fullerton, UAA's team captain, recorded a 9.825 on floor to re-capture the title she shared as a true freshman in 2008 … with her big performance, Fullerton joined Jessica Portlock and Lauren Agostino as the only Seawolves with multiple individual conference crowns … the Flower Mound, Texas, native was a junior in eligibility this year but is moving on from gymnastics after her May 2011 graduation … the Seawolves were strong overall on vault, placing three gymnasts in the top seven, including a runner-up 9.775 score by junior Shakea Sanders … on bars, senior Maria Puricelli finished her outstanding season on that apparatus with a 4th-place 9.725, and freshman Emily Petersen tied for 6th with a 9.65 … junior Kaelei Spoor was UAA's top performer on balance beam, placing 6th with a 9.725.

UAA/MPSF HISTORY ...
Year Place    Score    Team Champion    UAA individual champs
2003 6th (6)  187.300  Sacramento State None
2004 4th (6)  193.750* San Jose State   None
2005 6th (6)  189.275  Sacramento State Ingram-V (tie), 9.875
2006 3rd (4)  190.950  Seattle Pacific  Portlock-AA, 38.900
                                        Portlock-V, 9.775
                                        Portlock-FX, 9.775
                                        Agostino-FX, 9.775
2007 3rd (4)  187.850  Seattle Pacific  None
2008 3rd (4)  192.825  UC Davis         Fullerton-FX (tie), 9.825
2009 1st (4)  192.825  UAA              Boswell-UB, 9.8
                                        Agostino-V (tie), 9.8
2010 4th (4)  190.725  UC Davis         None
2011 4th (4)  190.475  UC Davis         Fullerton-FX, 9.825
*school record

MPSF LEADERS: Four Seawolves finished among the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation leaders in terms of regional qualifying score (RQS) in the regular season … junior Shakea Sanders had the highest placing with the No. 2 vault RQS (9.715), while also placing No. 5 in the all-around (37.065) … junior Kelsey Fullerton was No. 5 on vault (9.695), junior Kaelei Spoor was No. 5 on balance beam (9.635), and senior Maria Puricelli had the No. 6 mark on uneven bars (9.690).

PURICELLI MVP: Senior Maria Puricelli received the 2011 Team MVP award on Apr. 22 when the UAA gymnastics squad held its annual end-of-year banquet at Lone Star Steakhouse … Puricelli finished her 4-year career by posting the 2nd-best uneven bars average in school history at 9.650 this season … the Chesterfield, Mo., native was also the recipient of the team's 'Key To Success' award … she was an All-MPSF honoree on bars and was the MPSF Gymnast of the Week for Feb. 21-27 … other major team awards to senior Kristy Boswell (Most Inspirational, Most Improved) and junior Kathleen Mantell (Coaches' Award).

TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves posted two of the top 15 team scores in program history in 2011, scoring 192.250 (6th) against Centenary on Mar. 13 and 191.475 (15th) against Centenary on Mar. 11 … UAA's 48.400 bars score on Feb. 27 at Michigan State was No. 4 all-time on that apparatus for a Seawolf team, along with other top-10 scores of 48.125 on bars vs. Centenary, Mar. 11 (8th); 48.375 on vault vs. Centenary, Mar. 11 (t-8th); 48.300 on vault at New Hampshire (t-10th); and 48.100 on beam vs. Centenary, Mar. 13 (9th).

MORE GYMNAST NOTES: Senior Kristy Boswell posted the 10th-best uneven bars average in program history at 9.536, scoring 9.625 or better on five of nine routines … with her 9.775s at UC Davis and Cal, junior Kaelei Spoor equaled the 3rd-best beam score of her career and the 17th-best mark in program history … Spoor led the Seawolves on beam with a 9.536 average, ranking 7th on the program's single-season lists … Spoor's averages on floor (9.619, 13th) and vault (9.594, 14th) also ranked in the top 15 all-time at UAA … junior captain Kelsey Fullerton earned no worse than a 9.425 on either vault or floor in eight of nine meets this year … Fullerton's floor score at MPSFs was highest on any event by a Seawolf in 2011, while her 9.8 vault at Central Michigan (Feb. 24) tied for highest UAA mark on that apparatus and set a career-high … Fullerton led UAA in floor average (9.664) and vault average (9.606), ranking 8th and 12th, respectively on those UAA single-season lists … junior Shakea Sanders was 2nd-best on the team and narrowly behind Fullerton for No. 13 on UAA's single-season vault average list at 9.603 … the Washington native's 9.8 vs. Centenary tied Fullerton for UAA's high vault score this season … senior Maria Puricelli (Mar. 13 vs. Centenary) and freshman Emily Petersen (Feb. 27 at Mich. St.) earned UAA's top beam scores in 2011 at 9.775, tying for No. 16 on the program's all-time list … Petersen's 9.475 bars average was 3rd-best on the team and ranked 17th on UAA's single-season list.

INJURY REPORT: Freshman all-arounder Melissa Doucette suffered a leg injury on Jan. 30 before returning to compete on vault in the final three meets … freshman Shelby MacDonald overcame a preseason injury to appear in the final six meets on bars and beam.

SMART SEAWOLVES: Four Seawolves were honored for their classroom success May 20 when the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation announced its 2011 Women's Gymnastics All-Academic Team … senior Kristy Boswell, a marketing/management major, led the way for UAA with a 3.56 overall grade-point average … Boswell and fellow senior Maria Puricelli both received the third all-academic honor or their careers, with Puricelli earning a 3.50 GPA in psychology … junior captain Kelsey Fullerton earned her second career honor with a 3.53 in marketing/management, while junior Kathleen Mantell was a first-time honoree with a 3.23 in psychology … to be eligible, a student-athlete must carry a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA, be in at least her second season, and compete in at least 50 percent of meets.
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Players Mentioned

Lauren Agostino

Lauren Agostino

5' 1"
Sophomore
Kristy Boswell

Kristy Boswell

5' 6"
Freshman
Kelsey Fullerton

Kelsey Fullerton

5' 3"
Freshman
Maria Puricelli

Maria Puricelli

5' 3"
Freshman
Shakea Sanders

Shakea Sanders

5' 5"
Freshman
Kaelei Spoor

Kaelei Spoor

4' 10"
Freshman
Melissa Doucette

Melissa Doucette

5' 4"
Freshman
Shelby MacDonald

Shelby MacDonald

5' 1"
Freshman
Kathleen Mantell

Kathleen Mantell

5' 0"
Junior
Emily Petersen

Emily Petersen

5' 4"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Lauren Agostino

Lauren Agostino

5' 1"
Sophomore
Kristy Boswell

Kristy Boswell

5' 6"
Freshman
Kelsey Fullerton

Kelsey Fullerton

5' 3"
Freshman
Maria Puricelli

Maria Puricelli

5' 3"
Freshman
Shakea Sanders

Shakea Sanders

5' 5"
Freshman
Kaelei Spoor

Kaelei Spoor

4' 10"
Freshman
Melissa Doucette

Melissa Doucette

5' 4"
Freshman
Shelby MacDonald

Shelby MacDonald

5' 1"
Freshman
Kathleen Mantell

Kathleen Mantell

5' 0"
Junior
Emily Petersen

Emily Petersen

5' 4"
Freshman