George Washington University Athletics
Gymnastics Plays Host in Season Opener Sunday
1/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 18, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington University gymnastics team opens its 2008 season Sunday, January 20, at its own GW/Lindsey Ferris Invitational, at 4:00 pm at Charles E. Smith Athletic Center. Also slated to compete against the Colonials are East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) rivals North Carolina and Rutgers, as well as ECAC members Cornell, Temple and William & Mary. Sundays Invite will be televised on CN8 on two separate occasions, Saturday, Jan. 26 at 9:30 pm and Saturday, Feb. 2 at 3:30 pm. Commentary is provided by legendary gymnast Shannon Miller, and multiple Emmy Award winning sports reporter Lou Tilley.
Head Coach Margie Foster-Cunningham enters this season with 431 head-to-head victories, all at GW. Those 431 wins are the most by any coach while at GW. Foster-Cunningham's Colonials finished 5th at last year's EAGL Championships, GW's best since entering the league in 2005. The Colonials will be led by senior tri-captain McKenzie Parrack, who recived All-EAGL honors on both bars and vault in 2007. Sophomore Christa Devine is the only other returning All-Conference performer as she was named All-EAGL on bars. Devine also finised third on the event at the EAGL Championships with a career-high 9.850.
Other returning performers for the Colonials include senior tri-captains Gillian Coleman (bars, beam, floor) and Carolyn Marckesano (beam, floor, vault) juniors Kristen Simpson (vault, floor, beam), Erin Quigg (vault, bars) and Bree Plotsker (bars, beam, floor) and sophomores Megan Quinn (bars, beam, floor), Danielle Parretti (beam) and Lindsay Tom (beam).
Sunday's meet will mark the collegiate debuts of two freshman: Local product Leslie Delima (Virginia Beach, VA) and Kirstie Viens (Mansfield, CT), whom will be competing against her sister Danielle Viens from Temple.
2008 Season Preview
With the return of 10 letterwinners from last year's roster and combined with a talented duo of freshmen, Head Coach Margie Foster-Cunningham expects the 2008 Colonials to be among the 36 best teams in the country and qualify for NCAA Regional Competition. This year, standards for regional qualifying have changed so the teams with the top Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS) will advance. "No more `within the region' qualification, it is a national pool so it will be very difficult to attain this goal," said Foster-Cunningham. "This is a huge challenge for us. but one that is within our reach."
The Colonials return a talented mix of seniors who will each lead GW in three events. Tri-captain Gillian Coleman was one of the most consistent performers last season with the uneven parallel bars as her best event. Coleman recorded at least a 9.525 in every meet. Hailing from Boston, MA, Coleman posted season bests in all three of her events during a second place team finish at Towson. Tri-captain McKenzie Parrack was named team MVP last season after being named to the EAGL second team on both vault and bars. Parrack was the only Colonial to average at least 9.6 in two of her events (vault and bars), while narrowly missing the mark in floor. In a dual meet vs. James Madison, the younger sister of former Colonials gymnast Maggie Parrack rewrote the GW record book by winning vault with a 9.9, tying her for the second best vault performance in school history. Second-year tri-captain Carolyn Marckesano has competed in every meet since she arrived on campus as a freshman. Consistency has been her theme each year as she always competes to the level of her competition.
Qualifying for the Southeast Regional will be more likely if a gifted trio of juniors can recover from various injuries sustained during the last two seasons. Kristen Simpson leads the talented class as she was a standout in vault once again. A very powerful gymnast, Simpson recorded 9.7 or better on the event in six of 12 meets, and tied her career high of 9.9 in a victory over James Madison. Simpson gets extremely vertical when getting spot time in floor exercise, making her routines always exciting to watch. Injuries over the last two seasons have prevented Erin Quigg from being a full-time competitor at GW. Missing her entire freshman season, the local product competed in just two meets last season. With a year of rehab behind her, Quigg should specialize on the vault and floor exercise this year. The Colonials were devastated when Bree Plotsker went down with an injury early in the 2007 season. Competing in just the first three meets, Plotsker recorded highs of 9.75 on bars and 9.675 on beam. The Wantagh, NY, native will be asked to make her biggest contributions on beam once again as GW recorded their best total scores when they scored at least a 48.0 in that event.
This year's sophomores should all benefit from their first year of college experience. The Colonials received significant contributions from three of them as Christa Devine led the way. Devine was named to the EAGL second team on bars and capped off her season finishing third on the event at EAGL's with a career high 9.850. Lindsay Tom was one of three returning Colonials who took an individual title at a meet last season. The former High School All-America competed in 11 meets as a freshman, all on balance beam. She saved her best performance for the home finale as she posted a career high score of 9.750, leading the team and finishing third overall. Megan Quinn did not look like a freshman as she performed her best when it meant the most. At the conference championships, Quinn posted career highs on both bars and floor exercise while also leading the team on beam. Like Plotsker, Danielle Parretti should also make her biggest impact on beam. She missed the entire 2007 season but impressed the coaching staff with her work ethic and dedication.
The Colonials have recruited a small freshman class this year. But the talent of a pair of national qualifiers will be evident as soon as they step in the gym. Set to make an instant impact for GW is Kirstie Viens (Mansfield, CT). "Kirstie is an excellent competitor and was a 2007 national qualifier. This competitive experience will add depth to our roster in all-around. She has a tremendous work ethic, which will benefit her in breaking into the line-up this season," said Foster-Cunningham. Leslie Delima (Salem, VA) is a very powerful gymnast who makes the short trip to Foggy Bottom after winning the Virginia State Championship in 2007. "She is a diamond in the rough. Although she also was a national qualifier, I believe her strongest years are yet to come. Leslie also will make an instant impact on our team's goals," added Foster-Cunningham.
The Colonials face a grueling schedule in 2008, highlighted by matchups against 10 NCAA Tournament qualifiers and four home meets, including their season opening GW/Lindsey Ferris Invitational January 20. After hosting their annual Invite, the Colonials will be on the road for four straight meets before returning home to face the Pittsburgh Panthers. Coach Foster-Cunningham will return to University Park the following week as GW visits her alma mater, Penn State. The Colonials then head back to DC to host EAGL rivals West Virginia and Maryland as well as Kent St March 9. The regular season concludes on March 18 where seniors Gillian Coleman, Carolyn Marckesano and McKenzie Parrack will make their final appearance at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center in a head-to-head battle against Towson. West Virginia hosts the EAGL Championships March 29, which should be the Colonials final test before heading to the NCAA Regionals April 12.
Players Mentioned
