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    • VIDEO: Darian  Burns floor routine

ANCHORAGE – Darian Burns captured first place in both the vault and floor exercise competitions and was second in the all-around late Friday for Seattle Pacific, which was edged for the team title by host Alaska Anchorage in a women's gymnastics dual meet at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
Burns earned the meet's highest mark with a 9.900 on the floor, her fifth consecutive score above 9.8 on that event. Last week in her final home meet, the senior recorded a floor score of 9.925 that is the second-highest in school history. Friday's 9.900 tied for the fifth-best floor figure all-time for an SPU gymnast.
 
"Darian had another awesome meet and hit a big floor routine tonight," said first-year SPU coach Sarah Jean Marshall. "Everybody loves to watch her routine, so going to new places and seeing how the crowd gets into it is pretty awesome."

DARIAN BURNS FLOOR EXERCISE ROUTINE

 Burns topped the vault field with a 9.725.
 
Her four-event total of 38.875 featured a fourth-place score of 9.750 on the uneven bars and 9.500 on the balance beam.
 
The all-around crown was claimed by the Seawolves' Isabelle Fox with 39.025 points. Included in that figure was a first-place total of 9.875 on the bars.
 
UAA's Hope Nelson had a winning tally of 9.825 on the beam and Falcons junior Haven Lanzador placed second, tying her career-high of 9.775 on that apparatus.
 
"That was a great routine for Haven," Marshall exclaimed. "She came in today looking really sharp and confident and carried that through all the way to her dismount. She really set us up in a great spot from that leadoff position."
 
The teams were never separated by more than one point during all four rotations, but Anchorage wound up on top at the end with 192.550 team points. The Falcons weren't far behind with 191.800.
 
That reversed the result of this season's previous meeting, won 193.575 to 192.900 by Seattle Pacific on Jan. 31 in Seattle.
 
The Falcons led by a point, 48.100 to 47.100, after Friday's first rotation. They opened on the bars and then rotated to the vault. Despite placing five gymnasts among the top-seven vaulters, SPU lost ground to the Seawolves.
 
Anchorage registered the highest event score of the meet for either team with 49.000 points on the bars, sweeping the top-three places and putting all six competitors among the top-seven finishers. Burns broke up the monopoly with a fourth-place showing.
 
That spectacular bars set propelled UAA into first place for good with a 96.100 to 95.975 lead at the halfway mark.
 
 

On the vault for SPU, Burns was first (9.725), Lena Wirth third (9.625), Shelbi Spivey fourth (9.550), Kayla Chan tied for fifth (9.500) and Alixandra Pierce seventh (9.475).
 
Joining runner-up Lanzador in the beam standings was teammate Miyuki Matsune, who performed a 9.675 routine and was rewarded with fifth place.
 
Four Falcons finished among the top-six scorers on the floor paced by Burns atop the leaderboard. Pierce placed third (9.725), Chan fourth (9.675) and Jadacie Durst sixth (9.575).
 
Seattle Pacific is competing in Alaska for the first time since 2015 when Anchorage hosted the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships. The Falcons competed in a regular-season meet at UAA for the first time since 2013.
 
"It's great to be in Alaska, it's been awhile since we've been up here. It was really good to compete against another school in the MPSF that we'll see in a few weeks at the conference meet," Marshall said. "We're very comparable schools so the meet was exciting. We went back-and-forth, but unfortunately we did not end up on top.
 
"Overall we saw some really solid things from our girls. We had a great bars set and really solid vault during the first half of the meet. The scoring was very tight, tighter than what we have been experiencing at this point in the season."
 
Next Meet
The two MPSF rivals square off again Saturday night in another 8 p.m. Pacific Time dual meet in Anchorage.
 
That marks the first time this year that the Falcons compete on consecutive days, which is rare in gymnastics.
 
"This is a new experience for them, so I'm excited to see how they react and how tough they can be," Marshall said.
 
"They all see areas where they can improve and they're anxious to get back into the gym to do that. We talked about where we can improve and how we can trust our training and technique even if we have sore bodies."
 
VAULT
• Vault scoring was strict for both teams, but SPU's 47.875 team total was its third-best of the season and 0.775 points superior to the Seawolves.
• Falcons claimed four of the top-six places, led by Darian Burns mark of 9.725 that secured her third consecutive vault victory and fourth first-place showing in the last five meets.
• No season or career-high performances, but a super steady set of scores with the counters ranging between 9.475 and 9.725.
 
SPU vault scores in competition order
1-Alixandra Pierce 9.475, 2-Kayla Chan 9.500, 3-Jadacie Durst 9.375, 2-Shelbi Spivey 9.550, 5-Lena Wirth 9.625, 6-Darian Burns 9.725, EX-Delaney Fields 8.875. Team Total–47.875.
 
BARS
• The Falcons opened on the bars and despite no season-best marks, turned in a fine team total of 48.100.
• Darian Burns spoiled Anchorage's attempt at a sweep of the top-six spots with a fourth-place mark of 9.750.
 
SPU bars scores in competition order
1-Jadacie Durst 9.575, 2-Sienna Brane 9.575, 3-Ciello Magsanide 9.600, 4-Corrin Coons 9.550, 5-Shelbi Spivey 9.600, 6-Darian Burns 9.750, EX-Delaney Fields 8.600. Team Total–48.100.
 
BEAM
• A couple falls prevented a 48 for the Falcons, who settled for 47.575 team points.
• Leading off in spectacular fashion was Haven Lanzador, who matched her career-best score with a 9.775.
 
SPU beam scores in competition order
1-Haven Lanzador 9.775, 2-Lena Wirth 9.450, 3-Darian Burns 9.500, 4-Kayli Tran 8.150, 5-Alixandra Pierce 9.175, 6-Miyuki Matsune 9.675. Team Total-47.575.
 
FLOOR
• The seventh straight meet above 48 points on the floor produced a team score of 48.250.
• Darian Burns continued an impressive streak of five consecutive floor routines that scored above 9.8, with a 9.900 performance that was second only to her career-best 9.925 last week.
• For the sixth time in nine meets, freshman Alixandra Pierce reached the 9.7 figure on the floor with a 9.725.
 
SPU floor scores in competition order
1-Miyuki Matsune 9.375, 2-Kylie Reese 9.325, 3-Jadacie Durst 9.575, 4-Alixandra Pierce 9.725, 5-Kayla Chan 9.675, 6-Darian Burns 9.900, EX-Delaney Fields 8.850. Team total-48.250.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage
Friday, Feb. 28, 2020
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Ak.
 
Team Scores
1, Alaska Anchorage, 192.550
2, Seattle Pacific, 191.800
 
All-Around
1, Isabelle Fox, UAA, 39.025
2, Darian Burns, SPU, 38.875
3, Kenadi Brown, UAA, 38.500
4, Hope Nelson, UAA, 38.350
 
Vault
1, Darian Burns, SPU, 9.725
2, Isabelle Fox, UAA, 9.650
3, Lena Wirth, SPU, 9.625
4, Shelbi Spivey, SPU, 9.550
5t, Kayla Chan, SPU, 9.500
5t, Kenadi Brown, UAA, 9.500
 
Uneven Bars
1, Isabelle Fox, UAA, 9.875
2, Louisa Marie Knapp, UAA, 9.850
3, Sophia Hyderally, UAA, 9.825
4, Darian Burns, SPU, 9.750
5t, Kenadi Brown, UAA, 9.725
5t, Hope Nelson, UAA, 9.725
 
Balance Beam
1, Hope Nelson, UAA, 9.825
2, Haven Lanzador, SPU, 9.775
3, Isabelle Fox, UAA, 9.750
4, Kenadi Brown, UAA, 9.725
5, Miyuki Matsune, SPU, 9.675
6, Sophia Hyderally, UAA, 9.650
 
Floor Exercise
1, Darian Burns, SPU, 9.900
2, Isabelle Fox, UAA, 9.750
3, Alixandra Pierce, SPU, 9.725
4, Kayla Chan, SPU, 9.675
5, Rachel Decious, UAA, 9.625
6, Jadacie Durst, SPU, 9.575
 
 
Next SPU Meet
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, Feb. 29, 8:00 p.m. PST
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska