Bringing it home.
 
In just its second year of existence, the Grand Canyon University Club Gymnastics team flourished in hosting a gymnastics meet for the first time, defeating Northern Arizona University Friday night at the Canyon Activity Center on the GCU campus. The Lopes knocked off the Lumberjacks, 112.35 to 111.4, behind strong team performances in the balance beam and vault. GCU won both of those team events while narrowly earning the team victory by a tenth of a point in the uneven parallel bars. The event – which featured gymnasts from GCU, NAU and the University of Arizona - was the preamble to the St. Patty's Day Gymnastics Invite that the club (and its home gym, Aspire Kids Sports Center) hosted Saturday and Sunday at the CAC.
 
The Lopes' team victory was chalked up to the consistently high scores that the GCU gymnasts earned in each event, but it was also due to the high level of performance that came from GCU freshman Aida Friesen. The Littleton, Colorado, native never scored lower than 9.3 while competing in all four individual events, tying for 2^nd place in the uneven parallel bars with a 9.5, and taking the title in the vault with a 9.45 mark. Friesen finished the all-around with a score of 37.55, which missed out on the overall title by just two-tenths of a point to NAU's Bella Pilon. Meanwhile, fellow Lopes' freshmen Anna Williams (36.8 all around) and Khylie Young-Garayt (36.7) also helped the Lopes' final team score, finishing in 5^th and 6^th place, respectively, in the individual standings. Finally, even though she only competed in two of the four events, Lopes' sophomore Emma Mabini posted one of the highest scores of the entire tournament, winning the balance beam event with a 9.6.
 
"Everyone being excited about being a part of the first-ever event at GCU helped everyone's comfort zone," said Lopes' Student Leader Julia Butler. "We had also been doing a lot of training to prepare for the event, and that obviously paid off. It helps us to prepare for nationals, since the CAC is a big facility, and we had a lot of eyes on us in the stands, so that added pressure gives us the feel of a big meet like nationals."
 
This was the Lopes' final tuneup before they make the coveted trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the 2024 National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs National Championships, which begin on April 10. Butler, fellow Lopes' Student Leader Ashlyn Williams and 2023 student leader Ethan Daharsh were part of a five-gymnast GCU contingent to compete in the event a year ago (in Memphis, Tennessee), and the team plans to send a group double that size next month.