Gymnastics to Open 2020 at Little Boston Invitational

Saturday, January 11

Boston, MA

7:30 PM

George Washington University

Little Boston Invitational

1/9/2020 10:12:00 AM | Gymnastics

Colonials kickoff season in tri-meet action with West Chester and Maryland

Meet Notes

BACK TO BOSTON: The No. 32 George Washington gymnastics team is set to kickoff its 2020 season on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when it makes its return to The Little Boston Invitational to face West Chester and Maryland in tri-meet action. The Colonials last competed at the Little Boston Invitational in 2015, topping Yale by a four-point margin, 195.55-191.425.

2019 REWIND: The Buff and Blue are coming off a successful 2019 season, in which they returned to the national stage for the fifth consecutive year, and 15th time in program history, to compete at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. With a lineup that featured eight underclassmen, tied for the most among the 36 qualifying teams, the squad went on to top Lindenwood in the First Round to earn a bid to the second day of competition and finish the season ranked No. 32 in the nation. GW's best score of the season was a 196.025 at NC State (3/9/19), and the Colonials earned season highs of 48.975 on vault, 49.075 on bars, 49.000 on beam and 49.250 on floor.

WHO'S BACK: In 2020, Cydney Crasa and Nicole Rogalski will serve as team captains, leading a squad that consists of four first-years, five sophomores, six juniors and two seniors. Crasa is coming off a career-best season in which she was named to the 2019 All-EAGL Second Team on both vault and floor. The Stony Brook, New York, native earned eight scores of 9.800 or above on vault, including at each of the last five meets to close out the 2019 season. Crasa also matched her career-high 9.875 on vault.

GW also returns 2019 All-EAGL First Team selection Hannah Cohen, who topped the EAGL beam standings all season with her 9.855 RQS. She's joined by All-EAGL Second Team honorees Anna Warhol (V – 9.775, UB – 9.875) and Simone Banen (UB 9.785).

Deja Chambliss is also set to make her return after rupturing her Achilles at the start of the 2019 season. In her Buff and Blue debut, the Chesterfield, Virginia, native notched a 9.800 on vault prior to her injury. She's expected to play an integral role in 2020.

In total, GW returns nine of the 11 gymnasts that competed in the squad's lineup at NCAA Regionals last season.

WHO'S NOT: The Colonials will be without the four seniors they graduated in 2019, each of whom had a strong impact on GW's lineup. Most notably, GW will miss the presence of Alex Zois, who finished atop the all-around podium nine times last season, including at EAGL Championships to claim the all-around crown. At the conclusion of the championship meet, Zois was also named the EAGL Gymnast of the Year after topping the all-around league standings all season with her 39.335 NQS, 39.212 average and 39.425 high. Zois also wrapped up her career ranking T-33rd nationally in the all-around.

GW will also be without Julia McLaughlin, who competed on vault and uneven bars at all 15 meets in 2019 and garnered All-EAGL Second Team honors on bars, Brooke Bray and Yurina Harada.

NEW FACES: The Buff and Blue welcome a quartet of newcomers to the squad in 2020. Katherine Shek (Brentwood Commons) joins the Colonials after being a Junior Olympic national qualifier in 2017 and 2019. The Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, native also finished tied-for-first on vault at Level 10 Regional Championships and earned the top spot on the podium for beam. Hannah Munnelly, a Docksiders Gymnastics product, also joins GW after a decorated J.O. career as a qualifier in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, Munnelly was also the Maryland State all-around champion. Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, Nora Houseman (Airborne Gymnastics and Dance) was a J.O. level 10 national qualifier and regional and state qualifier in 2018, finishing second on vault and taking fourth on bars and third in the all-around. Kenzington Martin had a successful career with Azarian Gymnastics but will likely sit out the 2020 season due to injury.

BUFF & BLUE, THROUGH & THROUGH: Head coach Margie Foster-Cunningham begins her 36th year at GW and her 35th season at the helm of the program in 2019-20. As the longest tenured head coach at GW, Foster-Cunningham leads the Colonials into their 16th season as a member of EAGL. She is joined by assistant coaches Stephanie Stoicovy Worrell (5th season) and Chelsea Raineri (2nd season), who both competed for Foster-Cunningham. Stoicovy, who graduated in 2013, was one of GW's most consistent gymnasts in program history and twice competed NCAA Regional qualifier as an individual performer (2012, 2013). Raineri also had a decorated career in the Buff and Blue, helping GW to a pair of EAGL titles. She was just the third gymnast in program history to reach the NCAA Championship as an individual qualifier when she competed at the national meet on vault. She also made history as GW's first-ever NCAA Regional Champion when she tied for first place on vault with a 9.875 at the NCAA Morgantown Regional in 2017.