Pitt finishes seventh at EAGLs

By MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Natalie Sulpher scored a career-high 39.025 points and finished ninth overall individually,… Natalie Sulpher scored a career-high 39.025 points and finished ninth overall individually, as the Pitt gymnastics team finished seventh in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League championships on Saturday.

The New Hampshire Wildcats, who hosted the event, took their first league championship with a score of 196.75. Pitt finished behind North Carolina State, North Carolina, Towson, Maryland and West Virginia, and ahead of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Sulpher, who was honored earlier in the day by being named to the all-conference second team for uneven parallel bars, scored a 9.75 to finish 28th in that event. Sulpher competed in every event for the Panthers and posted Pitt’s second-best score on the vault with a mark of 9.775.

Freshman Roslyn Singleton had the highest individual showing for the Panthers, as she finished seventh in the floor exercise with a score of 9.85. Heather Launse also finished strong on the floor for Pitt, scoring 9.825 to finish 12th.

Launse matched her 9.825 in the balance beam, as she tied teammates Lisa Yarosh and Alyse Zeffiro for 18th place.

Pitt’s best finish in the history of the eight-year competition was in 2000, when the Panthers hosted the event at Fitzgerald Field House and finished second.

The Panthers will wait to see if their postseason will continue. They hold fourth place in the Northeast Division entering the NCAA Regional qualifying meet, which will take place this Saturday.