Cape Girardeau, Mo. – The Centenary gymnastics team will begin its regular season on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference tri-meet against host Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and Greenville University set for 2 p.m. at Houck Field House.
Live results and live video via ESPN+ are available for the meet at the links below:
Results: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=439759
Video: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/c1d4056c-12d7-4810-bf59-995a58a6ef47
The Ladies will begin a new era on Saturday versus the Redhawks and Panthers as first-year head coach Meg Crowley makes her collegiate coaching debut for the Maroon and White.
Crowley, a Spring, Texas native, is a former Centenary gymnast (2009-13) and was coached by longtime head coach Jackie Fain, who retired at the end of last season after 11 successful seasons at the helm. Crowley helped lead the Ladies to a third-place finish at the 2013 USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals, also finishing third on floor and served as team co-captain her senior year.
Joseph Hodges joins Crowley as an assistant coach. Hodges, a former University of Illinois at Chicago student-athlete, was born in Rochester, NY and attended Webster Christian School before his successful collegiate career at UIC. He was a three-time ECAC Rookie of the Week in 2011 and a member of the 2011 ECAC Championship team. He was an NCAA qualifier in 2011, 2012 and 2013, as well as a Pan-American Qualifier (Columbia) in 2012. He was named ECAC Gymnast of the Week in 2013. He was also named 2012 ECAC Conference Champion on Pommel Horse and 2013 ECAC Conference Champion on Horizontal Bar.
“Joseph and I are very excited for the season,” said Crowley. This 2023 team has a ton of potential. We can’t wait to see the upgrades and improvements from last year out on the competition floor!
“This team had a challenging preseason with the unexpected coaching changes, but they have worked hard to overcome and be ready for season. They truly are living out our core values of passion, loyalty and perseverance.”
The Ladies finished strong last season as they finished fifth in the 2022 Midwest Independent Conference Championships in March in Denton, Texas as they recorded a 189.350 team score. Centenary recorded its highest score on floor (48.575) since the 2018 season on Senior Night (March 12 vs. TWU) and highest vault score (48.275) since 2015.
Headlining the list of returnees for the Ladies this season is a trio of decorated gymnasts – senior Kendall Huff (Riviera, Texas), sophomore Emma Lavelle (Mandeville, La.), and senior Taylor Ann Wilson (Memphis, Tenn.). Huff turned in another solid season as she competed in all nine of the Ladies’ meets and qualified on vault for the 2022 USAG Collegiate Nationals hosted by Cornell University where she tied for 15th with a season-high 9.70 in the prelims. Her other season-high scores were a 9.725 on floor, and an 8.825 on bars. She was named an Academic All-American by the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA).
Lavelle capped a fantastic freshman season by qualifying for the 2022 USAG Collegiate Nationals after posting an average score of 37.158 in the All Around. She competed in all eight of the Ladies’ regular-season meets as well as the MIC Championships prior to her appearance at the USAG Collegiate Nationals. She finished 21st in the preliminary round at the USAG Nationals with a 9.65 on floor. She was named an Academic All-American by the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA).
Wilson had another stellar season with the Ladies in 2022 as she was named a First-Team All-American by USA Gymnastics as she earned her honor on bars. She finished in a tie for fifth place with a 9.825 score at the USAG Collegiate Nationals hosted by Cornell University in April. Wilson was also named a First-Team Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division III Regular Season All-American and named an Academic All-American by the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA)
As a sophomore, she claimed the individual bars title at the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championship at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She scored a career-high 9.875, to cap a season which can only be described as improbable, or possibly fairy-tale like. She became a national champion just one day after making her collegiate debut in the event and made history as she becomes the first Centenary gymnast to win an individual title at the USAG National Championships in the division III era (2012-present).
The Ladies return nine other experienced gymnasts – seniors Rose Deshler (Hastings, Minn.), Leilani Johnson (Wichita, Kan.), Kennedy Stephens (Bella Vista, Ark.) and Lacey Wedge (Belle Chasse, La.), juniors Rylie Molina (Moss Bluff, La.), Roxanne Myers (Prairieville, La.), and Isabel Plaza (San Antonio, Texas), and sophomores Carissa Martinez (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Mylia Vidtor (The Colony, Texas).
The Ladies welcome four new freshmen – Claire Flores (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Amy Foret (Bedford, Texas), Sophie Schmitz (Trophy Club, Texas), and Olivia Stratmann (Houston, Texas).
Centenary will face host Texas Woman’s University along with Air Force and Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Denton, Texas on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. The Ladies then welcome Hamline University to the Gold Dome for their home opener on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. That meet will serve as the Ladies’ annual Sylvia Keiter Memorial Meet and will also be Alumni Night.
The Ladies begin the month of February on the road in Normal, Ill. versus host Illinois State and Bowling Green on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. On Sunday, Feb. 5, Centenary will be in St. Charles, Mo. to face host Lindenwood and Greenwood at a time TBD. The Ladies’ second home meet of the season will take place on Friday, Feb. 10 against TWU on Youth Night at 6 p.m. Centenary then finishes the month back on the road at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. at 1 p.m.
The Ladies, along with TWU, will compete in the Rose City Classic on Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. in Tyler, Texas. A week later, Centenary will host Lindenwood for its annual Senior Night on Saturday, March 11 at 5 p.m.
The annual MIC Championships will be held on Friday, March 17 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. at 7 p.m. and hosted by SEMO. The Ladies finished fifth in the 2022 MIC Championships as they recorded a 189.350 team score.
The NCAA Regionals are set for April 1 at a site TBD and the USAG Collegiate Nationals will be held in Denton, Texas April 6-8.
See the Ladies’ complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/gymnastics/2022-23/schedule
Live stats and live video are available for all home meets.
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests.
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