Elis relinquish ECAC trophy

A surprising and rare event occurred 10 days after Yale won the ECAC gymnastics championship. A clerical error in scoring was discovered by the coach of James Madison, and the new results gave the championship to William and Mary, which posted a score of 192.825 to Yale's 192.725—the smallest margin of victory in ECAC championship's history.

REBECCA ROSENTHAL/YH

In a show of good sportsmanship, Yale offered William and Mary the trophy. ECAC commissioner Phil Buttafuoco praised the Yale team. "I am tremendously proud of the Yale women's gymnastics team to determine that William and Mary was the true competitive champion in this meet," Buttafuoco said. "Although William and Mary was declared the event champion, the Yale Bulldogs certainly are champions in the eyes of many." Gymnastics Captain Lisa Crowley, ES '01, echoed that sentiment. "The news was really upsetting at first, but after stepping back and looking at the whole situation, I realized that the meet we had was by far our best in my four years here at Yale," she said "Regardless of our final standings, I'm really proud of every-one's performance and am honored that we earned second place at the meet."

In NCAA meets, coaches may present their objections to scoring up to 10 hours after the completion of the meet. After the 10 hours, all point results are final. However, since the ECACs is not a NCAA meet, no rules exist regarding scoring challenges. The error was brought to the attention of the judges a day and a half after the final scores had been entered. Although the Yale gymnasts are upset with the loss of its title, the team is still thrilled with its overall season. The Bulldogs won their first Ivy League championship since 1996, and many players set personal and Yale records. Crowley commented, "It was such an exciting season, and everyone really worked together to achieve what only a true team can do. I give them my warmest wishes for continued success, and knowing the way they work, I'm confident they'll achieve it." The Bulldogs now look ahead to next season where they plan to defend their Ivy League championship and look to capture their first ECAC title.

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