With 8,018 fans in attendance, the Clemson gymnastics team (1-0) defeated William & Mary to kick off its inaugural season on Friday night, outscoring the Griffins 196.325 to 190.050.

The Tigers started off strong on vault for their first rotation. Junior Lauren Rutherford led with a score of 9.825, with junior Trinity Brown right behind her with a score of 9.800. William & Mary struggled early on bars with a missed landing to start off its rotation, allowing Clemson to take an early lead with a score of 48.875.

Throughout the second rotation, when the Tigers were on bars, they were able to maintain their lead thanks to strong scores. Redshirt freshman Lilly Lippeatt produced a 9.900 on her bar routine, while teammate graduate Kaitlin DeGuzman finished close behind with a score of 9.875. The Tigers held on to their lead to close out the second rotation with a score of 49.225, while William & Mary closed out its second rotation at 47.600.

Rotation three saw the Tigers on beam and William & Mary on floor. Multiple missed landings from the Griffins forced them to collectively produce the lowest scores of the meet — the Tribe produced a low score of 8.500 and a high of 9.700 from Michelle Ngo. To conclude the third rotation, redshirt senior Rebecca Wells put up a score of 9.875 on beam for the Tigers to lead with strong momentum heading to the floor.

To close out the meet, Clemson competed on the floor and had a high score of 9.900 by Rebecca Wells, who went on to win floor champion of the inaugural meet.

Clemson will be back in Littlejohn Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 4 p.m. to take on Pittsburgh, the team’s first ACC opponent of the inaugural season.