George Washington University Athletics
Gymnastics Announces 2009 Recruiting Class
5/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
May 27, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - George Washington University head gymnastics coach Margie Foster-Cunningham has announced that Amanda Murphy (The Woodlands, TX), Monique Blount (Canberra, Australia) and Brittany Burnham (Oak Hill, VA) have all signed a National Letter of Intent to compete for the Colonials in the 2009 season.
Murphy, an early signee in the fall, has competed for the Woodlands Gymnastics Academy (WGA) Texas for the last 13 years. A three-time Junior Olympic National qualifier, Murphy was the Region 3 Champion on the floor exercise in 2008, and finished second in the all-around. Murphy also finished second on vault and third on both the bars and beam. Additionally, Murphy was the State Champion on the balance beam in 2006.
"Murphy will be one of the strongest recruits coming to GW ever," said Foster-Cunningham. "She will impact our starting lineup on every event. Amanda is a dynamic athlete that will be exciting to watch."
Foster-Cunningham has also added some local and international flavor with Blount and Burnham.
Blount was born in Washington, DC, but was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder the last seven years. A member of the Australian National Team from 2001-2006, Blount also was a World Championships participant in 2005. The year she qualified for Worlds, Blount finished second in the all-around at Senior Nationals, while winning the floor exercise and taking second on beam. Blount finished 36th in the World on beam in 2005.
"Blount will add beauty and experience to the GW team in 2009," commented the 24th year head coach. "Monique's international experience is unmatched in our history. Her skills are of an elite level that will be spectacular to watch!"
Burnham will be familiar to many faces at GW as she competed at Chantilly Academy Gymnastics under Colonials assistant coaches Barry Kistler and Justin Watson, as well as former Colonials gymnast Anne Foster. Burnham was a 2007 Level 10 Regional qualifier as well as a two-time Level 9 National qualifier where she took second place on both the vault and balance beam. Rising senior Erin Quigg, as well as former Colonials Erin Aiken and Jess Guilbert also trained at Chantilly Academy Gymnastics.
"Brittany comes to GW following a senior year that found her recovering from an ankle injury," commented Foster-Cunningham. "Burnham has had a strong recovery and is ready to contribute to this fantastic freshman class. Her strong events are Beam and Bars but she will be competitive on all events for us."
Foster-Cunningham enters her 24th season as head coach at GW where she has amassed a total of 444 career victories, was named her Region's Coach of the Year in both 1991 and 1992, a four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (1988, 1998, 1999 & 2001), and led the Colonials to 10 NCAA Team Regional Appearances.
GW finished 13-18 overall in 2008, finishing seventh at the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championships, but finished fifth in the final team standings. The Colonials return nine letterwinners from last year's squad including NCAA Regional qualifiers Leslie Delima and Kristen Simpson, as well as fellow All-EAGL performers Christa Devine and Megan Quinn.
Players Mentioned
