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Rutgers gymnastics scored a team total of 195.750 this past weekend at the 2022 Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio. It was the program’s best score in competing at the Big Ten Championships, topping last year’s score of 195.675. This year’s score also tied for the ninth highest in program history. The team floor score of 49.200 and the team vault score of 49.125 were both fifth highest in program history in those respective events.
The Scarlet Knights were led by junior Hannah Joyner, who finished tied for seventh overall in the all-around with a score of 39.350. She was named to the All-Championship team after finishing in sixth place on the beam and tied for seventh on the floor with a score of 9.900. Graduate senior Belle Huang tied Joyner with a 9.900 on the floor. Both gymnasts are team captains and earned First Team All-Big Ten honors for this season earlier this month.
In addition, sophomore Emily Leese tied Joyner with a score of 9.850 on the vault. On the bars, top performers for Rutgers were sophomore Avery Balser and freshman Mya Pringle with both scoring a 9.800.
For full results of the Big Ten Championships, click here.
As a team this season, Rutgers has posted six of the top sixteen highest overall scores in program history.
It was announced on Tuesday that three Rutgers gymnasts qualified for the NCAA Regionals, the most for the program since 2018. Hannah Joyner and Belle Huang are multiple qualifiers while Emily Leese will make her first career appearance.
Joyner qualified for the all-around for a second straight season after last year becoming just the third Rutgers gymnast ever to advance to NCAA Nationals and first ever in the beam. She ranks No. 34 nationally in the all-around (39.320 NQS), No. 36 on beam (9.905 NQS) and No. 44 on floor (9.910 NQS). Joyner has matched her school record of 9.950 on the beam this season and has scored higher than 9.9 in both that event and the floor five times this year.
Huang becomes a four-time NCAA Regional qualifier in her career. She’ll compete on the beam and the floor, where she ranks 30th nationally with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 9.920 this season. Huang scored 9.9 or better in the floor eight times this season that includes a career high of 9.975 earlier this winter.
Leese will make her NCAA Regionals debut after qualifying on the vault with an NQS of 9.855. She produced a career high of 9.900 this season, which is the second highest score in the vault in program history. The team leader in this event has scored 9.85 or higher seven times this season.
All of the NCAA Regionals will be take place Wednesday, March 30 through Saturday, April 2 and will air live on ESPN+. We will have a preview for the NCAA Regionals next week.