George Washington University Athletics
2016 GW Gymnastics Season Outlook
1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Meet the Team Photo Gallery | @GWGymnastics
Teams returning to competition following a championship are often said to be defending their title the following season.
For the George Washington gymnastics team, coming off a record-setting season that featured the program's first-ever East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship and an appearance at the NCAA Auburn Regional, the word defend is not on anybody's mind.
"We accomplished what we did last year because we were very offensive, and that will not change," said 31st-year head coach Margie Foster-Cunningham. "We are not going to `defend' anything. We are going to continue to be offensive and drive forward because we haven't arrived where we want to go."
Where the Colonials want to go is simple. They want to return to NCAA Regionals for the second straight season, and 12th time in program history, finish in the top two and advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time ever.
"The team saw at last year's Auburn regional that we could have performed better if we realized we were as good as every team there, and that comes down to experience," said Coach Foster-Cunningham. "That experience has made our vision clearer. We can be in the top two at regionals. Why not us?"
GW's roster is loaded with experience entering the 2016 season. The Colonials return 13 letterwinners including National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches All-American and individual Nationals qualifier Cami Drouin-Allaire, reigning EAGL Rookie of the Year Jillian Winstanley and four All-EAGL performers in Chelsea Raineri (1st Team, Vault and Floor Exercise), Alex DeMoura (2nd Team, Vault, Floor Exercise and All-Around), Liz Pfeiler (1st Team, Balance Beam) and Sara Mermelstein (2nd Team, Balance Beam).
"This team is here to get something done," said Coach Foster-Cunningham. "We earned what we did last year and we need to earn it again this year. We will work to get better. We are not bunkering down in any way. Instead we are driving forward and the girls are excited about what more we can do, not just if we can do it again."
The Colonials will face a tough schedule filled with high-profile events and quality competition. GW will be challenged from the start, beginning at this weekend's season opener at the Little Boston Invitational against EAGL rival New Hampshire and Rutgers.
"Everyone is gunning for us this year," said Coach Foster-Cunningham. "We are ranked 35th in the preseason coaches poll and that shows that other teams are taking notice of us. Many of the teams we will compete against this year are in that top-35 so we do not have an easy schedule at all."
The Colonials will take part in the esteemed Perfect 10 Challenge in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in front of a national television audience against Oklahoma, Denver and Utah State. GW will host five meets at the Charles E. Smith Center beginning with the annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational on January 17.
The EAGL Championship will be contested at Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House on March 19.
"The EAGL Championship is no longer the pinnacle of our season," said Coach Foster-Cunningham. "We are looking beyond that. It is just another rung on the ladder. As a coach, I don't want our team to make things bigger than they are. The work is going to be done well before EAGL to get us to Regionals. In these winter months, we are earning right now what is going to happen to us down the road."
SENIORS
Taylor Redmond - Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet Senior - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Redmond: "Taylor is an alternate for uneven bars right now and is also an alternate on floor exercise. She tends to get better as the season goes along and is such a competitor. She will be ready to go. She understands her role and is such a solid leader for this team."
Alexsis Petrikis - Grove City, Pa./Grove City - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Petrikis: "Alexsis is out for the year with a torn Achilles but she has already taken on a leadership role of helping out in the gym. It is a tough situation for her but she has taken it in stride and has done a great job and will be a big part of what we do moving forward."
JUNIORS
Chelsea Raineri - Telford, Pa./Boyertown Area Senior - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Raineri: "Chelsea has improved once again. She added a new release move on uneven bars. She will be an alternate on beam with a hope of working into that event. Right now she is a three-eventer and is excellent on vault and is looking spectacular. She also has a new floor routine, which people are going to love, and we upgraded her tumbling. She just continues to get better."
Alex DeMoura - Garden City, N.J./Garden City - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on DeMoura: "Alex is back with a vengeance after missing last season. She wanted so badly to be a part of last season, and she certainly was from the sidelines, but she is a competitor. She is doing the all-around for us and is in the best shape of her life. She is ready to make a statement. She will be our floor starter this year and she has embraced that role and is ready to go. She also upgraded her beam routine and her floor tumbling. She is going to be impressive this year."
Kaila Solomon - Woodcliff Lake, NJ/Garden City - Balance Beam, Vault, Floor Exercise
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Solomon: "Kaila is concentrating on balance beam right now and will be ready to go if called upon. It is a competitive lineup but she is that turtle in the race in that she is slow and steady. But she is reliable and I know she will be ready when we need her."
Kaitlin Cowles - Canton, Conn./Canton - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Cowles: "Kaitlin will be out for awhile with shoulder surgery. It is the nature of the beast because this is such a physically demanding sport. It is hard for her because she is the kind of kid who has trained her butt off for all of these years. She is already focused on getting healthy and will be with us each step of the way this season."
SOPHOMORES
Alex Zois - Crofton, Md./Archbishop Spalding - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Zois: "Alex missed all of last year with a knee injury but she is back and has looked fantastic. She is going to be competing in two events. She will be our uneven bars starter and will compete on balance beam. Her vault is coming along nicely, as is her floor exercise. It is like having another freshman. She is a very serious competitor and is very mentally tight. She is just a beautiful addition to the team and we are really glad to have her back."
Cami Drouin-Allaire - Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Drouin-Allaire: "Cami is just crisp. Everything she has done is more polished, which is hard to imagine. Her confidence level is extremely high. She has been sharing her knowledge and experience at Nationals with everyone and it is helping out the team as a whole. She can't wait to compete. This is what Cami lives for, the competition. She is ready to go."
Jillian Winstanley - Arlington, Mass./Arlington - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Winstanley: "Jillian looks unbelievable. She gets it now, all of the sophomores do. They know what is expected and what they need to do and are preparing accordingly. She upgraded her uneven bars routine and now has a major gienger release that is absolutely gorgeous. She is still doing the yurchenko one-and-a-half on the vault. She also upgraded all of her floor tumbling and her beam is just gorgeous. She will be going in the all-around for us along with Cami and Alex."
Liz Pfeiler - Decatur, Ga./The Paideia School - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Pfeiler: "Liz will be competing in three events for us this year compared to two last year. She is in the vault lineup with a beautiful yurchenko full. She has never competed vault before, so I expect a little bit of up-and-down because of the learning curve but she has been very solid. She did a great job at the scrimmage and has earned a spot in the vault lineup. She will also be on bars and beam."
Jessica Mishlove - Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain - Vault, Uneven Bars
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Mishlove: "Jessica has had a few nagging injuries and will be a late bloomer for us this season. We are working with her to get her up to speed and once she is she will be relied upon to make an impact by providing depth for us."
Sara Mermelstein - Northport, N.Y./Northport Senior - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Mermelstein: "Sara is this mighty mite who you think is seven feet tall by the way she performs. She is our vault starter this year and her beam and floor both look outstanding. Plus she is training on uneven bars. She is a solid three-eventer and is in great shape. She is pushing people in the gym because she is right there on the cusp of entering the all-around."
Madeline Seibold - Tampa, Fla./Home School - Balance Beam, Floor Exercise
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Seibold: "Madeline came back in really good shape. She is going to be in the floor exercise lineup and is a beautiful worker on that event. She is really close to breaking into both the vault and balance beam lineup and she is training on uneven bars. She has found traction this year. She is really doing well in the gym and continues to build her skills. She will be ready to go on any event when we need her. She keeps getting better and is no longer a fearful freshman."
FRESHMEN
Yurina Harada - Ridegewood, N.J./Ridgewood - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Harada: "Yurina has been training really hard and got injured but she is coming along. She is currently working three events on vault, floor and uneven bars. She is a very hard worker and has her sights set on trying to break into the floor exercise lineup."
Julia McLaughlin - Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls - All-Around
Coach Foster-Cunningham on McLaughlin: "Julia is working the all-around. Her balance beam routine was fantastic in the intersquad scrimmage and she is the alternate on the vault right now. She is working on a yurchenko full for the first time. Hopefully, she will compete as an exhibition on vault in the early meets. Her uneven bars are coming along well and she is right there on floor exercise. She is really a strong competitor and she hit all of her routines in the scrimmage."
