Candis Kowalik of Brockport

Our newest contributor Katie Norris takes us through the first full week in D3 competition on the east coast, and shares the must-watch gymnasts from the NCGA East.

CORTLAND vs BROCKPORT

Brockport – 186.575 (first meet)

The Golden Eagles scored a solid 186.575 to take an almost four-point lead over SUNY Cortland’s Red Dragons. The Golden Eagles are hot off last year’s success, where they finished third overall at the 2018 NCGA Championships behind two West DIII teams. Brockport also nabbed the lead on three events, losing to the Red Dragons only on floor, which is notable considering this is usually one of the Golden Eagles’ best events. One thing that especially stands out about Brockport’s debut meet—they were very even-keeled across each event, with scores only ranging from 46.350 (floor) to 46.875 (beam).

Gymnast to watch: Sophomore Taylor Keough.

Keough was a standout gymnast for the Golden Eagles on Tuesday, scoring a 9.425 on bars (second place) and a mighty 9.750 on floor (first place). These scores are impressive for an away season opener. Keough’s clean and dynamic front tumbling on floor and high-flying releases on bars should make her a threat in the upcoming 2019 season.

Cortland – 192.950 (first meet)

The Red Dragons’ debut at home saw some ups and downs. The downs are understandable, with season openers usually proving to be quite tumultuous, as gymnasts are still working on consistency and coaches are playing with lineups. SUNY Cortland gymnasts were most successful on floor, taking the lead on this event with a 46.900. It was hard for them to get ahead with a number of falls counted on some events, but hopefully these bumps will be hammered out as the season progresses.

Gymnast to watch: Senior Rachel Filipski.

Filipski went 9.575 on both vault and floor last week, landing in second and third place, respectively. A seasoned competitor, Filipski is a two-time All-American on vault, and has proved herself multiple times over on floor and vault for the Red Dragons in past years. Keep an eye out for her this year in her fourth and final season.

QUAD MEET AT RIC AGAINST BROCKPORT, SPRINGFIELD, AND URSINUS

Brockport – 186.300

The Golden Eagles once again dominated the competition with a 186.300 team score, three whole points higher than second-place finisher Springfield College. Bars was a standout event for Brockport, with six of their gymnasts placing in the top five (tie). Like last Tuesday, their floor scores were a lot lower than we’re used to seeing from the Golden Eagles. Let’s hope it’s just early season jitters.

Gymnast to watch: Junior Candis Kowalik.

Her impressive 37.975 AA score nabbed her a first-place finish in the all-around, with an additional first-place finish on the balance beam with a 9.635. She came in second place in the all-around at last year’s NCGA Championship meet, as well as taking home three additional individual All-American honors on the beam, floor, and vault, scoring no lower than a 9.750 on each event. She will no doubt be a strong contender as this season progresses.

Springfield – 183.300 (first meet)

The Pride struck a solid second-place finish this weekend with a 183.300 team performance. Their standout performances occurred on floor, which is usually a strong event for the team. Springfield’s floor score—a 47.425—exceeded Brockport’s 46.950 by nearly half a point. The two teams also tied on the vault with a 46.725. Improvements on beam and bars could level the playing field between the two teams down the road.

Gymnast(s) to watch: Senior Jess Clemens and Junior Tali Twomey.

Clemens finished second in the AA behind Kowalik with a 36.700. She had a strong performance on the uneven bars, taking home first place with a 9.575. With bar scores in high demand for The Pride, Clemens should prove herself to be a valuable—dare I say “most valuable”—performer this season.

Twomey, the reigning NCGA national floor champion, picked up where she left off, earning a first-place finish on floor with a beautiful 9.825 routine, which is an incredibly impressive first-meet score. Her 9.500 on vault nabbed another first-place win, making her an important gymnast to watch in this upcoming season.

Ursinus – 180.125 (first meet)

In their debut meet of the season, The Bears finished third with a 180.125 team score. This wasn’t a regular first-meet-of-the-season debut—it also marked the debut of a team with an entirely new coaching staff. Kim Valenti replaced Jeff Schepers as head coach of the Bears for the 2018-2019 season after his retirement following 18 years as the Bears’ head coach. She comes to Ursinus from the University of Pennsylvania, where she spent the majority of the past six years serving as an assistant coach to the UPenn Quakers. Her assistant coach, Brittany Montalbano, is also brand new. She has coached levels 7-10 and served as Ball State’s assistant coach during the 2015-16 season.

It will be interesting to see how the Bears fare with the new leadership. On Saturday, their floor performance was particularly noteworthy, coming in second with a 47.100, which put them in second place on the event behind The Pride. Their performance on beam was also a highlight, as it usually is—their 45.525 was the second highest on the event behind the Golden Eagles. The bar performance was unusually low; improvements to this event could markedly improve their overall score in meets to come.

Gymnast to watch: Junior Eleanor LaFountain.

LaFountain, as always, shone on the floor exercise at the 2019 season opener, finishing in second behind Twomey with a 9.775. Her consistency will make her a key athlete to watch in the upcoming season, as it did last season. She’s scored at least a 9.700 on eight of her last 10 performances on the event. This was her debut as an all-around gymnast and she was exceptional, landing a 36.375, the third-highest all-around score of the competition.

Rhode Island College – 177.200

The Anchorwomen posted a 177.200 all-around score at their season-opener quad meet at home. Their strongest performance was on the floor exercise, where their 47.075 was just beat by the Bears’ 47.100 floor score. I’d point out that they scored higher on floor than Brockport, who took first place overall. Three Ancherwomen earned career-best scores in this debut meet—a promising start to the 2018-2019 season.

Gymnast to watch: Senior Allie DiBiase.

DiBiase was named the team MVP in her sophomore season, and has qualified for NCGA Championships as an all-arounder two years in a row. She has also been named an NCGA All-Around Gymnast of the Week twice. She came in fifth in the all-around last Saturday with a 35.650 finish. Her floor is typically her strongest event, and last weekend was no different; she came in sixth with a clean 9.575 score to round out a solid overall performance. She will no doubt continue to prove herself as a leader for the Anchorwomen this season.

RIC vs ITHACA

Ithaca – 187.000 (first meet)

The Bombers posted a 187.000, making them the highest-ranked DIII team after week one (East and West combined). Their team score also was the highest score the Bombers have earned in a season-opening meet in the past 16 seasons. Ithaca out-competed the host team on all four events, with standout performances on vault and floor, which were high enough to rank them first nationally (DIII) on these events as well. Off to a promising start for the bombers, and certainly a team to watch as the season progresses.

Gymnast to watch: Senior Carolyn Nichols.

Her performance last Sunday was no surprise given she’s an All-American on both floor and vault. Nichols posted a 9.675 on floor and 9.525 on vault, securing first and second place, respectively, in her last-first meet as a DIII gymnast. Her dynamic tumbling and powerful vault should make her a strong individual contender and a key team player in the upcoming season.

Rhode Island College – 176.275

The Anchorwomen’s defeat on Sunday by No. 1-ranked Ithaca was nonetheless marked by a number of small victories. Seniors Miranda Murphy and Allie DiBiase, who were being celebrated at their last home meet of the season, took first and second place in the all-around. Junior Grace Davis posted a career-best 9.5 on floor exercise, which just beat her previous career-best 9.45, which she had earned the day before. Talk about consistency.

Although their team score on day two was a point lower than Saturday’s finish, this is not unusual given that early-season scores often swing wildly until teams are able to find their stride. It’s also understandable given that it was the Anchorwomen’s second day in a row competing.

Gymnast to watch: Junior Grace Davis.

Also like DiBiase, Davis will help the Anchorwomen on the floor exercise. Her consistency and clean form should help anchor (I couldn’t help myself) the team on this event. Keep an eye out for Davis as the season unfolds.

Article by Katie Norris