Washington set for final home meet of the season

The Washington gymnastics team (1-8) is set to compete in its final home meet of the regular season as it takes on Seattle Pacific tonight at 7 p.m. at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The meet will be Senior Night, as seniors from both squads will be honored before the competition. Washington has three seniors who will make their final home appearances against Seattle Pacific.

“I’m really proud of our three seniors because they are showing great leadership for the team,” coach Joanne Bowers said. “They have really matured into being about the team. They’re keeping [the team] something strong and special. It’s special to be a UW gymnast.”

Nikki Waiss, Jennifer Chang and Raimey Iselin are the three seniors who led the team this season. The 2008 class started out with eight women, with only Chang and Iselin making it the whole four years. Waiss is a fifth-year senior who joins Chang and Iselin this year in their class.

“I have mixed emotions,” Waiss said about finishing out her career. “It’s been a great experience, but it goes way too fast. I have no regrets. I’ll be happy when it’s over just to know that I’ve made it through.”

Waiss has been finishing up her career with distinction. She was named Pac-10 Event Specialist of the Week for the week of March 4-10. She is the UW’s first gymnast ever to win the Event Specialist of the Week honor. The Mill Creek, Wash., native scored a team-high and season-best 9.875 on the bars against No. 5 LSU last Friday. Waiss took home second place in that event against the Tigers, her highest placing of the whole season.

“I was just randomly looking at the Pac-10 Web site when I saw it,” Waiss said. “It felt great. It was the last thing I expected, but I was super excited too.”

That same week, teammate Ashley Houghting was named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week for her performance against LSU. The junior scored 9.925 on the vault, 9.775 on the beam and 9.875 on floor. Houghting was a major factor in the team, scoring their highest total score of the season with a 195.175.

After their performance against LSU, the Huskies now stand at No. 26 in the country. With the top 36 teams making it to the NCAA regional, the Huskies have a good chance of making it to the postseason.

“We’re in a good place as a team,” Bowers said. “We’re hoping to peak at Pac-10s and we’ve been improving all season, so I don’t think we’ve peaked yet.”

Before Pac-10s, however, the Huskies will have to worry about the Falcons. SPU is ranked No. 63 in the nation right now with a regional qualifying score of 187.515. Last weekend, the Falcons posted a season-high team score of 190.075 at the Sacramento State Hornets Nest meet.

[Reach reporter Rebecca Rogers at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]