No. 26 Gymnastics Opens 2019 Season on Sunday

Sunday, January 13

Washington, DC

1:00 PM

George Washington University

Lindsey Ferris Invite

1/11/2019 9:37:00 AM | Gymnastics

Colonials kick off 2019 slate with 12th Annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational

2019 Preseason Notes

LEADING OFF: The No. 26 George Washington gymnastics team is set to kick off its 2019 season on Sunday at 1 p.m. when it welcomes Cornell, North Carolina, and Ball State to Charles E. Smith Center for the 12^th annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational. The season opener will be live streamed on Facebook Live.

2018 REWIND: The Colonials are coming off a strong 2018 season where they made their fourth consecutive trip and 14^th all-time NCAA Regionals appearance. The squad wrapped up the season by boasting high national ranks on three events, as they ranked 11^th on vault (49.200 RQS), 11^th on balance beam (49.235 RQS), and 15^th on floor exercise (49.200 RQS). GW also matched its highest score in program history with a 196.875 on Senior Day and surpassed the 195.000 threshold in 12 of 13 meets last season.

WHO'S BACK: In 2019, fifth-year Alex Zois and senior Julia McLaughlin will serve as team captains, leading a squad that consists of five first-years, seven sophomores, two juniors, two seniors, and two fifth-years. Zois is coming off a career-best season where she was named to the All-EAGL First Team (all-around) and All-EAGL Second Team (vault, beam, floor), posting a career-high 39.400 on Senior Day behind a personal-best performance on vault (9.825), a 9.775 on uneven bars, and season- and career-high 9.900s on beam and floor. The Crofton, Maryland, product also scored a 39.000 or better in the all-around in eight meets during 2018.

The Colonials also return junior Cydney Crasa to the lineup, who earned All-EAGL Second Team recognition (floor) for the first time in her career and posted new career-highs on vault (9.825) and floor (9.875). Fifth-year Brooke Bray and senior Julia McLaughlin will also play a large role in 2019 along with sophomores Hannah Cohen, Rachel Kaplan, Katya Karpova, and Anna Warhol.

WHO'S NOT: The Colonials will be without the five seniors they graduated last season, each who had a strong impact on GW's lineup. Most notably, GW will miss the presence of Cami Drouin-Allaire, who competed at the 2018 NCAA National Championship for a program-record third time last season. In addition to being named EAGL Gymnast and Senior of the Year, Drouin-Allaire was recognized as an American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) Award Finalist, an award that is given to the most outstanding female gymnast in the country. Drouin-Allaire also boasted a regular-season 9.910 RQS on vault to earn All-American honors for the second time in her career.

The Colonials will also be without Jillian Winstanley, who was one of only two gymnasts to be named to the All-EAGL First Team on each event, Sara Mermelstein, Liz Pfeiler (All-EAGL First Team [vault, beam], All-EAGL Second Team [uneven bars]), and Madeline Seibold (All-EAGL Second Team [floor]).

NEW FACES: The Buff and Blue welcome a quintet of newcomers to the squad in 2019. Deja Chambliss is expected to make an immediate impact in the lineup along with Olivia Raymond. Chambliss is the reigning 2018 Virginia State Champion on vault and bars and closed out her junior career with a third place score of 9.775 on vault at Nationals. In 2017, she helped her team claim first place honors at the National Championships along with earning an individual nod of fifth place on vault.

A North Starts Gymnastics product, Raymond also had a decorated junior career. She was a four-time Junior Olympic National Championship qualifier (2018-14) and a 2016 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup qualifier. Chambliss and Raymond are joined by fellow first-years Paige Apperson, Simone Banen, and Olivia Zona.

BEST IN THE BUSINESS: Head coach Margie Foster-Cunningham, entering her 34^th season at the helm in 2019, earned her third straight, and fourth overall, EAGL Coach of the Year award last season. Assistant coach Stephanie Stoicovy Worrell, who was recognized as the EAGL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018, returns for her fourth season along with fellow decorated GW gymnastics alum Chelsea Raineri, who joins the staff in 2019 as an assistant coach after graduating in 2017.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Colonials have performed some of their best routines at home and boast a 40-1 record in the Smith Center, dating back to the 2015 season. In 2018, GW went undefeated in its own house and tied its program record score of 196.875 on Senior Day (March 11).

ABOUT LINDSEY FERRIS: Lindsey Ferris was a four-year performer on the gymnastics team and graduated magna cum lade with a bachelor's degree in communication in 2001 before serving as a Presidential Administrative Fellow (PAF) while earning her masters in forensic science in 2003. Following graduation, she achieved great success by becoming a Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations before her untimely passing.

Following the meet, recent graduate Liz Pfeiler will be honored as the recipient of the Attitude is Everything award, annually awarded to the gymnast that best exemplifies Lindsey's vibrant spirit for life, sincere passion for her sport, and selfless dedication to her team.

The Colonials have topped the field at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational in each of the last six seasons.