Hall of Fame
Towson’s first All-America gymnast at the NCAA Division I level, Erin Shanley Cherneski '97 was a second team All-American on bars in 1997. She was inducted into Towson's Hall of Fame in 2007.
A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, she finished her career as the Tigers’ career scoring leader with 1,886.90 points. When she graduated, she owned the school records on vault (9.975), bars (9.925), floor (9.925) and all-around (39.40).
As a senior, she was the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) champion on vault and bars. She was also named first team All-EAGL on vault, bars, floor and all-around. Shanley Cherneski won the EAGL titles on bars and floor as a junior.
At the NCAA Southeast regional meet, she finished third in the all-around (39.05), becoming the fourth Tiger gymnast to qualify for nationals.
In 1997, she won the all-around title in nine of 11 meets and was named as the EAGL Gymnast of the Week three times. Honored as Towson University’s Female Athlete of the Year, she led Towson to a top 20 national ranking and a 17-2-1 record.
In her senior year, she set four of the five school records for average score. She averaged 9.738 on vault, 9.825 on bars, 9.802 on floor and 38.91 in the all-around.
As a junior, she led the Tigers to a first place finish at the USA Gymnastics National Invitational Tournament by finished third in the all-around competition. She also tied for fourth on bars and floor at the NIT. At the first EAGL Meet, Shanley Cherneski led Towson to a second place finish and helped the Tigers finish fourth at the NCAA Southeast regional meet.
In her sophomore year, she earned All-ECAC honors while helping the Tigers win their eighth ECAC championship in nine years. She competed as an all-around in 12 meets and won the all-around seven times. At the NCAA Southeast regional meet in the Towson Center, she set a school record with a 9.925 score on bars. She was named as Towson’s Female Rookie of the Year as a freshman.
She served as a Tiger co-captain as a junior and senior.
A 1997 graduate with a degree in mass communication, she is married to Jim Cherneski, a Towson graduate who played soccer for the Tigers.
