by David F.P. (Sources: Official Sites and some Eyewitness Accounts)

As sometimes happens in life, some other concerns took precedence over sports reporting but here’s a recap of the closing weeks of the college gymnastics season from a northeastern perspective. This serves as a summary of all the info you can find on the official sites.

Division 1/EAGL

UNH finished fourth at Regionals including Chelsea Steinberg earning an alternate slot to nationals. UNH topped both Ohio State and Maryland despite being seeded 6th in that competition. New Hampshire finished fourth at EAGLs. Helena Diodati and Steinberg both had top 3 finishes in that meet.

Rutgers Gymnast Laura Sevarino was named USAG Outstanding Senior Athlete of the Year. Her team qualified and placed fourth at USAG Nationals. Teammate Erica Gerlach placed third on the Bars at USAGs, and along with Sevarino, Alyssa Lewandowski, and Leigh Heinbaugh were RU’s qualifiers for event finals. To place fourth at finals the team needed top 4 others to make it to the team finals. Rutgers had previously finished 8th at EAGLs

Division 1/ECACS

Brown’s Chelsey Binkley won All America Honors at USAG National Championships. Binkley, Emily Lutfey, and Julia Meyer all qualified for USAG Nationals this season. The Bears set a new Vault record at the ECAC Championships.

Yale’s Brigitte Kivisto finished 8th in the All Around at regionals as an individual qualifier. She was the only Ivy gymnast to qualify for regionals, and is the ECAC Gymnast of the year. Yale placed sixth at ECACs though Allison Mak won the Balance Beam, Kivisto and Lindsay Andsager also had top three finishes.

Division 2/ECACS

Bridgeport won the ECAC Division II title and the USAG National title this year. The Purple Knights were co-champion last year but this time they won the title outright edging host TWU. Monica Mesalles won the national title on floor exercise at USAGs, Emily Repko finished third on Beam. Lorraine Galow, Emily Repko, and Miranda Der all qualified for Regionals, and Mesalles and Carissa Huggins qualified as alternates. Galow was named division II gymnast of the year.

SCSU’s Justine Basley earned All America honors at USAG Nationals. She qualified for individual event finals on uneven bars. Assistant Coach Linda Mullin was named Division 2 coach of the year for 2010. Sarah Darst, Briana DiPinto, Basley, Samantha Laraway, Jessica Kiback, Stephanie Kuska, and Rebecca Brady all qualified for USAG Nationals as individuals. The Owls finished 2nd at ECAC Division 2 Championships. Coach Jerry Nelson and Assistant Coach Tara Michaels were named Co-Coach of the Year and Co-Assistant Coach of the Year respectively. Darst was named ECAC Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Division 3/ECAC
Springfield hosted Division 3 nationals this year and finished 5th in the team competition, though they sent plenty of individual qualifiers to day two. Christina Pagella and Audrey Lastra both placed in the top 3 at event finals.

NAIGC
The University of Rhode Island Club team won a co national title with Texas A&M as each team edged the Penn State club team. URI’s Lindsay Diamond won the All Around championship, and MIT’s Zara Karuman placed fourth.

(Note: Due to overlapping scheduling, this covers just the team finals, and all around competition friday night and not saturday’s event finals)

SPRINGFIELD, MA- As the first day of the NCGA (Division 3) championships drew to a close the lighting was changed to a more theatrical feel as the teams all marched into await the award presentations. It presented a colorful sites as representatives from nearly all of the teams in D3 stood arrayed waiting for news on how they had done. UW-La Crosse, UW-Whitewater, Winona State, and individuals from every other school in the WIAC had traveled to take on SUNY Brockport, SUNY Cortland, Springfield, and the various individuals from Ursinus, Wilson, and Ithaca. A maelstrom of gymnastics if there every was one.

UW La Crosse entered Blake Arena as defending champions, but they had recently been topped by UW Whitewater at WIACs, and Brockport remained atop the division rankings, with Cortland not far behind. Springfield and Winona had plenty of scoring ability as well entering the meet, and it was as expected, a close one. In the end La Crosse picked up their 14th NCGA title scoring a 186.775 to edge Brockport’s 186.200. Whitewater placed third with a 184.750, Cortland fourth with a 183.425, Springfield College 5th scoring a 182.425, and Winona sixth with a 181.950.

In the very close all around competition, Kira Oldham-Curtis of Ursinus picked up a 38.375, UW-Stout’s Meghan Hargens was second scoring a 38.050, Jessica Bolduc of Ithaca placed third with a 38.000, Justine Weyer of Whitewater was fourth scoring 37.975, Lauren Gildemeyer of Brockport scored a 37.825, and Courtney Gonzales of La Crosse finished 6th adding a 37.625. Four other gymnasts cracked 37 in the pursuit.

The other order of business was the first round of individual competition, with the top 14 scorers from each event advancing to finals. The results of Day 2 should be up on the Springfield website at this point as there was quite a few. But I will mention just a few of the high scorers from day 1 keeping in mind this was just a qualification round.

Gildemeyer had a 9.725 to lead all vault scorers, Weyer had a 9.7 for the second highest of the day, Chris Cate of Cortland added a 9.675, Springfield’s Jeanna Bradle, Cortland’s Jenn Najuch, and Ithaca’s Jessica Bolduc had 9.650s and Oldham-Curtis had a 9.625.

The top Uneven Bars scorer of the day was Meghan Hargens as she picked up a 9.700, Weyer was the 2nd highest scorer with a 9.525, La Crosse’s Hailey Sommer and Whitewater’s Annie Mix had 9.450s for the third highest Bars score of the day. Christina Baggetta of Brockport had a 9.425, Bolduc and Oldham-Curtis added 9.4s.

SC’s Audrey Lastra and UW-Stout’s Naomi Delara both hit 9.75s on the Beam, Christine Haungs of Cortland posted a 9.675 behind them, La Crosse’s Kelsey Matula added a 9.650, Danielle Schultzenberg and Oldham-Curtis had 9.575s as well.

On the Floor, Oldham-Curtis led the way with a 9.775 score, Gildemeyer had the second highest score of 9.650 along with Bolduc. Gabi Hooper of La Crosse and Mary Kate Young of Whitewater scored 9.625s, and Kaitlin Dewey had a 9.600.

by David F.P.

DURHAM, NH- The EAGL Championships brought together all eight teams in the conference in a contest to determine the team champion and individual champions. Also not out of sight is NCAA regionals set for two weeks from now. The North Carolina State Wolfpack arrived in Lundholm Gymnasium as the defending champions, but would face a tough fight to keep the title against a variety of top 36 teams and teams on the edge of that list. The North Carolina Tar Heels pulled out to a lead, and traded it back and forth with the host UNH Wildcats, as the Wolf Pack, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pitt Panthers, and Maryland Terrapins especially threatened to jump a few places. Due to the rotation order, Maryland and West Virginia finished first with WVU’s 195.075 being set as the score to beat. NC State, UNH, UNC, and Pitt then too part in the last rotation and as the scores were flashed up it was clear that NC State had broken past West Virginia, but North Carolina had topped NC State as well if the scores held up leading the gymnasts to cheer wildly amidst their rotation aware of what was about the happen. The final score for the heels was 196.025 to NC State’s 195.700.

New Hampshire ended he day with a 194.700, Pitt a 194.400, Maryland a 194.200, GW a 193.575, and Rutgers a 187.550. The teams scored relatively close to each other on the Vault and Floor, it was essentially the Bars and Beam that would prove to be Achilles heels (not pun in intended) for the various contenders.

While every team wanted to win, there was also the individual merits to go around. In the all around competition, Maryland’s Abigail Adams, NC State’s Taylor Seaman, and UNC’s Kara Wright all won 1st place each scoring 39.325. Adams got there by scoring no lower than 9.8 on any event, Seaman propelled herself up with a 9.9 on Vault and 9.925 on Floor especially, and Wright used a pair of 9.875s and a 9.85 on the journey to first. North Carolina’s Morgan Evans was right behind them with a 39.225, Pitt’s Alicia Talucci and UNC’s Christine Nguyen had 39.2’s, WVU’s Amy Bieski added a 39.1, and Brittany Vontz’s 8th place finish was the last score above 39.

in the Vault event competition, Seaman and UNC’s Zoya Johnson were first with 9.9s, edging UNH’s Helena Diodati and a 9.875, Talucci and Dani Bryan of PITT and Wright had 9.85s, Courtney Connors and Austyn Fobes of the host Wildcats had 9.825s which were personal bests. This tied them with their teammate Chelsea Steinberg, Pitt’s Meaghan Biros, and WVU’s Tina Maloney.

On the Uneven Bars, Evans took first picking up a 9.9, with Adams and Wright scoring 9.875s, Diodati, Kaitlin Joseph of UMD, and Seaman all had 9.850s. Diane Grey’s last bar routine in Lundholm netted her a 9.825, her teammate Katie Lawrence had one as well, Maryland’s Kesley Cofsky, and NC State’s Jess Panza, and Lauren Deuser, as well as Johnson, and fellow heel Durkac, and… WVU’s Alysha Pretzello all scored that mark as well.

On the nefarious Balance Beam, Nguyen of UNC posted a 9.875 for the win, Steinberg was second scoring 9.85, Talucci, Adams, and Kristina Jacob of UNC third with 9.825s, and WVU’s Kiersten Spoerke and Evans had 9.8s.

Finally on Floor, NC State’s Brooke Barr joined her teammate Seaman in scoring a 9.925 and the pair shared 1st. Their teammate Panza, and Wright had 9.875s. Nguyen added a 9.85, and Adams, NC State’s Brittany Vontz, NC’s Taylor Brown and Evans, and Bieski all had 9.8s.

After the meet numerous EAGL merits were announced including co rookie of the year honors which went to PITT’s Meaghan Biros, and Maryland’s Kesley Cofsky. Christine Nguyen won another EAGL gymnast of the year honor, and her teammate Kara Wright was scholar athlete of the year. North Carolina coach Derek Galvin was named 2010 EAGL coach of the year as well.

Now for many of the gymnasts and teams, all eyes turn to NCAA Regionals.

The site will be “Gym and More” in Woburn, MA. Meet starts at 2pm Saturday March 27th between Boston University and the University of Connecticut Club teams.

by David F.P. [Video Coverage is up on Gymnastike]

MORGANTOWN, WV- It was senior day and West Virginia honored their four seniors as well as the graduating student athletic trainer on Friday night. Chelsi Tabor, Shelly Purkat, Ashley Wilson, and Kiersten Spoerke all received recognition in front of their family and friends as they close out their careers. Though if things go well, they will compete at regionals on the floor of the coliseum one last time.

But tonight the Bridgeport Purple Knights were in town having made the long trip down from the nutmeg state. UB has been posting high scores at home and on the road on their own voyage to USAG Nationals and in Coach Byron Knox’s ongoing pursuit to provide new challenges to the team.

The result would be a 194.725 for the Mountaineers and a 190.850 for UB. WVU’s Amy Bieski won the all around with a 38.850, followed by UB’s Miranda Der, and Lorraine Galow. Bieski has been EAGL gymnast of the week four times this year, which is a feat rarely ever accomplished. She also won Floor with a 9.875, posted 2nd on Vault with a 9.825, and Uneven Bars with a 9.8. She also made it onto the WVU all time career points list due to her meet’s performance.

Senior and 2009 EAGL vault champ Chelsi Tabor went out with a bang when she hit a 9.9 on Vault to win that event, she added 9.775 on Floor as well as part of WVU’s high impact FX lineup. Her teammate Nicole Roach scored a 9.825 to win the Bars competition, and senior Shelly Purkat of Mountaineers tied for 1st with a 9.850 on the Beam, including hitting her triple element connection. Bridgeport’s Emily Repko also posted a 9.850 to highlight a tougher than usual day for the Purple Knights.

More highlights for WVU included Alaska Richardson hit a 9.8 on Vault, senior Ashley Wilson scored a 9.7 to place 3rd on the Bars, and fellow senior Kiersten Spoerke placed 3rd on Beam with a 9.775 to put all four WVU seniors within the top 3 of at least one event. On the floor, Chelsea Goldschrafe posted 2nd with her 9.825, in addition to Bieski, Purkat, and Tabor’s scores, Tina Maloney flipped to a 9.750 and Spoerke a 9.725 putting the entire rotation above 9.7. Tabor also exhibitioned on the Bars despite not training on the event or competing on the event in years.

For Bridgeport, Monica Mesalles led the team on Vault with a 9.775, Tiara Land and Miranda Der were close behind. Lorraine Galow’s 9.6 was the top score on the Bars. In addition to Report’s 1st place tying score, Mesalles and Breanna Collins both posted 9.725s. On the floor, Der led the team with a 9.725, followed by Mesalles and Galow’s 9.7. Der has moved to anchor the rotation with her full in.

West Virginia entered the meet ranked 1st in the EAGL entering the meet and made a strong case for staying atop the ranking. They have won their last three meets. They will be at EAGL Championships next week in New Hampshire to take on the rest of the league.

Bridgeport heads home to host ECAC D2 Championships next week and continues to prepare for USAG Nationals.

It’s been a busy week and so the preview is going to have to be extra brief:

UNH at TWU 3/19/10 7pm
The Wildcats and the Pioneers will meet on Senior Day in Denton.

Bridgeport at WVU 3/19/10 7pm
UB has been doing well on road meets, and West Virginia is in the top 36 and picking up plenty of EAGL merits.

Rutgers at UNC 3/20/10 1pm
The two EAGL teams will go at it in Chapel Hill.

Yale, George Washingt, Auburn at Maryland 3/20/10 4pm
Nationally ranked Auburn visits Maryland, and fellow EAGL team GW heads outside of DC. Yale travels down from New Haven to join the party.

SCSU, Brown at Towson 3/20/10 7pm
After a few weeks off the Bears of Brown are back in action, the Owls of SCSU also will be at Towson where the Tigers will play host to them.

by David F.P.
3/12/2010 [Photo Gallery]

DURHAM, NH- It was senior day in Lundholm Gymnasium as Kelsey Alwin, Helena Diodati, Diane Grey, Taryn LaFountain, Julie Sauchuk, and Keeley Smith all competed in their last regular season home meet. The six would be honored with an extensive ceremony after the meet, but first it was competition versus the top 36 ranked and EAGL conference member North Carolina State.

In Rotation One, the Wildcats took the lead posting a 48.675 on Vault to the Wolfpack’s 48.525 on Bars. Headed into rotation 2, a vault of 48.975 edged the visitor’s closer, as UNH posted a 48.950 on the unevens. The score was now 97.625 to 97.500. UNH headed to the Beam and scored a 48.325 opening the door for NC State to take a lead as they scored a 49.025 on the Floor Exercise. But, the beam would prove low scoring for the visitors as well and in rotation 4 they scored a 47.300, while UNH posted a 49.150. The final score 195.100 to 193.825 UNH.

Despite losing the team competition, the Wolfpack did produce top finishers in 4 of 4 individual events. Brooke Barr led the meet on the Vault with a 9.900. UNH’s Helena Diodati had a 9.850, and NC State’s Brittany Hardiman was third with a 9.825.

On the Bars, Rachel Fincham of the Wolfpack won the event with a 9.850, UNH’s Katie Lawrence, Ali Carr, and Danielle Reibold all had 9.825s for 2nd place.

Lauren Deuser of NC State led Balance Beam scoring a 9.8. UNH’s Julie Sauchuk, Katie Lawrence, and Chelsea Steinberg were tied for 2nd with a 9.750s.

On the Floor, Steinberg, Sauchuk of UNH, and Jess Panza, and Barr of NC State all had 9.85s to win the event.

Steinberg’s 39.050 was first in the all around, Barr was second with a 38.6, and NC State’s Taylor Seaman third with a 38.2.

Some of the highlights for the UNH seniors included Alwin scored a 9.7 on Vault, Diodati scored a 9.850 on Vault, Grey had a 9.8 on the Bars, LaFountain had a 9.825 on the Floor, Sauchuk tied for 1st on Floor with her 9.85, and had a 9.75 on Beam, and Smith posted a 9.775 as she anchored floor on senior day. UNH’s senior class has been a major part of the lineup the past few years in varying roles.

North Carolina State is headed to Georgia this Sunday, and New Hampshire heads to Texas next week to take on TWU. Both teams will be back in New Hampshire in two weeks for the EAGL Championships.

My contribution to Gymnastike has all the routine videos here.