Doucette delivered with a team-best 9.65 in the floor exercise, good for second in the event and crucial to UAA (2-0) securing a victory over SUNY Cortland (0-2) -- 188.125-187.25 -- for the second time in three days.
"The vault is my most consistent event, but the floor is my strongest," Doucette said.
Doucette won the vault earlier in the meet and finished second in the uneven parallel bars on her way to an individual victory in the all-around. Her 37.975 was the highest all-around score by a UAA gymnast in two seasons.
Despite being young, this UAA gymnastics team may have some of the best all-around athletes in recent memory, said UAA coach Paul Stoklos. Freshmen Jeanette Conrad and Sariaye Jensen finished third and fourth in the all-around, respectively -- Conrad earned a second-place finish on the beam and Jensen tied Doucette for second on the bars.
"It's a pretty inexperienced group, but we've got potential for some great all-arounders." Stoklos said. "We've got some people who can really fill the void."
Just eight of 12 Seawolves were competing Tuesday, the other four sitting out with injury, so it was helpful to have versatile athletes in the mix.
Going into the final event UAA trailed the Red Dragons 141.2-140.4, due mostly to a poor performance in the balance beam by the Seawolves.
"It's killing us," Stoklos said of the beam.
Five UAA gymnasts fell at least once during their routine on the beam, losing .05 points for each fall. Doucette fell during her routine on her way to an eighth-place finish in the event.
UAA's Morgan Cook was one who didn't fall off the beam, winning the event with a 9.525. Cook was also impressive during the floor exercise, finishing third with a 9.60.
SUNY-Cortland's Courtney Mangini won the floor exercise with a 9.725, and she tied Cook for fourth in the all-around at 37.45. Sarah Nadrowski was the Red Dragons' top performer, taking second in the all-around with 37.875.
The beam was the Red Dragons' final event, and they suffered their share of falls, aiding the Seawolves' comeback.
Doucette said the beam is one of the toughest events to master, but she expects the Seawolves will dedicate an extra portion of their 20 hours of practice to the beam this week.
"We're going to do a lot more, just doing numbers," she said.
Daily News reporter Jeremy Peters can be reached at jpeters@adn.com or by calling 257-4335.
UAA 188.125, SUNY-Cortland 187.25
All-around --1) Melissa Doucette, UAA, 37.975; 2) Sarah Nadrowski, SUNY-Cortland, 37.875; 3) Jeanette Conrad, UAA, 37.7; 4) (tie) Sariaye Jensen, UAA; Courtney Mangini, SUNY-Cortland, 37.45.
Vault -- 1) Melissa Doucette, UAA, 9.8; 2) (tie) Sarah Nadrowski, SUNY-Cortland; Elise Konikoff, UAA, 9.7; 4) Marissa Goodstein, SUNY-Cortland, 9.675; 5) Kaelei Spoor, UAA, 9.6.
Parallel Bars --1) Shelby MacDonald, UAA, 9.675; 2) (tie) Melissa Doucette, UAA; Sariaye Jensen, UAA, 9.6; 4) Allie Osmundsen, SUNY-Cortland, 9.5; 5) Cady Tinney, SUNY-Cortland 9.475.
Balance Beam -- 1) Morgan Cook, UAA, 9.525; 2) (tie) Jeanette Conrad, UAA; Sarah Nadrowski, SUNY-Cortland, 9.45; 4) Courtney Mangini, SUNY-Cortland, 9.25; 5) Ashley Fleming, SUNY-Cortland, 9.225.
Floor Exercise -- 1) Courtney Mangini, SUNY-Cortland, 9.725; 2) Melissa Doucette, UAA, 9.65; 3) Morgan Cook, UAA, 9.6; 4) Jeanette Conrad, UAA, 9.525; 5) Sariaye Jensen, UAA, 9.475.
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