TOWSON, Md. - A pair of talented high school gymnasts from Pennsylvania, Alli Antenucci of Plymouth Meeting and Alexa Davis of Red Land, have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Towson University and compete for the Tiger gymnastics team next year, it has been announced by Coach Dick Filbert.
"We are very happy to be able to bring Alli and Alexa to Towson University," said Coach Filbert, who will be retiring after the 2010 season. "They bring National level competition experience with them. They are both 'young' in the sport of gymnastics. I am sure that will keep them highly motivated and very coachable. Alli's strengths are bars and beam. Alexa does her best work on beam and floor. Both of them have very good vaulting backgrounds.
"Alli and Alexa are solid all-around gymnasts who will fit in nicely with the program," he added. "We have two seniors on this year's team, Alise McDonald and Jackie Schweitzer. It will be difficult to replace them. Adding Alexa and Alli are good steps towards replacing our graduating seniors. We expect to add one or two more gymnasts to the program before the Spring."
An honor roll student at Kennedy-Kenrick High School in Norristown, Pa., Antenucci has developed into an excellent Level 10 gymnast at Silvia's Gymnastics Club in Zieglerville, Pa. The runner-up on the uneven bars at the 2009 Pennsylvania State Meet, she finished ninth in the all-around competition at the Level 10 regionals in 2009. She was also a Level 10 national qualifier last year.
At Silvia's Gymnastics Club, she was coached by two former Olympic gymnasts, Maia Mitova (1972 - Munich) and Silvia Mitova Hutchinson (1992 - Barcelona). They both represented Bulgaria in the Olympic Games.
"I am very excited to be attending Towson," Alli said recently. "The gymnastics team is terrific and spending time with them made me feel like I was part of a family. I am looking forward to my freshman year at Towson and I hope I can contribute to the team's continuing success."
A senior at Red Land High School, Davis has been a steadily improving gymnast at Central Pennsylvania Academy of Gymnastics for the last five years. A Level 10 gymnast last year, she took second place in the all-around at the Region 7 Meet. She also placed on vault, bars, beam and floor in the meet. After qualifying for Level 10 Nationals, she finished 14th on beam at the national meet.
Prior to becoming a Level 10 performer, she qualified for Level 9 Eastern Nationals three times. A native of Vestal, N.Y., she has been competing as a gymnast since she was five years old. Until her family moved to Pennsylvania in 2004, she competed for Southern Tier Gymnastics Academy.
At Central Pennsylvania Academy of Gymnastics, Davis has been coached by Jill Morris, Kim Edson, Paul Ladeen and Mike McDonald. Over the years, CPAG has sent dozens of gymnasts to compete at the collegiate level.
An outstanding student who ranks in the upper ten per cent of her class at Red Land High School, Davis is a member of the National Honor Society, the Key Club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also competed for the Patriots' track and field team
"I am so happy that I will be attending Towson," said Alexa. "The second I stepped foot on the campus, I knew it was the school where I wanted to go. The coaches were awesome and the campus is beautiful. The gymnasts seemed like they were very close and I think that's critical for having a strong team. I can't wait to be part of it."
Seeking their sixth consecutive ECAC championship, the Tigers have nine letter winners returning from a team that posted a 17-6 record last season. They open their season on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the University of Alaska in Anchorage.
Coach Filbert is starting his 28th and final season as the Tigers' coach. He has never had a losing season and has an overall record of 471-145-2. He has led the Tigers to 13 ECAC championships and 13 NCAA Southeast Regional appearances.
