TOWSON, Md. – The Tigers travel to The University of Pittsburgh as they host the 2021 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship at Petersen Events Center Saturday, March 20.
About EAGL Championship
- Currently in its 26th season, the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) features eight teams: George Washington, LIU, NC State, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pitt, Temple and Towson.
- The conference welcomed LIU and Temple as its two newest members 2021. LIU is collegiate gymnastics' newest Division I program, joining the league for its inaugural season, while Temple was previously a member of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
- New Hampshire, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt and Towson are each charter members of EAGL dating back to its inaugural season in 1996. George Washington joined the league in 2005.
Towson's best finish at the league championship came during its inaugural year in 1996 when the team finished second behind West Virginia. The Tigers finished third in 2001 and 2015 and posted their highest score at the event in 2003 when they came in fourth with 195.775 points. Towson has won 14 individual titles, had three gymnasts of the year, two outstanding senior gymnasts, two scholar-athletes of the year and two coach of the year selections.
The championship was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, however, in 2018,
Mary Elle Arduino won the beam title with a score of 9.950 and was the first Tiger to win an individual EAGL title since Aysia Sharif won floor in 2016.
Roll Into Action
Fans can watch the game via ESPN 3:
https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=6262d422-08ed-4503-b785-455afb6fbe2f or follow along via Live Stats
http://sidearmstats.com/pittsburgh/gymnastics/20210320.htm
Last Time Out
- The Tigers finished the meet with a score 195.850; a top-ten score in program history
- On bars, Allison Zuhlke led the way scoring a 9.875 finishing in first place. Grace Vaillancourt scored a 9.8.
- Jenna Weitz led the way for the Tigers on beam tying her career-high score of 9.9 and coming in first place. Vitoff scored a 9.8.
- Lauren Bolen finished second in the all-around scoring a 38.975.
Amplitude the Awards
- Week eight saw Emerson Hurst win her first EAGL Specialist of the Week award. Hurst scored a 9.975 on beam, Hurst posted the highest score on the event in team history. She won the event outright and led the Tigers to a 49.050 on the event. She received a perfect 10.0 from one judge. She also made her season-debut on floor, scoring a career-high 9.800 to lead Towson to a 49.025 on the event in a dual meet at George Washington. The Tigers finished with a score of 195.050 last Sunday.
- Week seven saw the Tigers earn weekly awards with Jenna Weitz being named Specialist of the Week and Allison Zuhlke being named Rookie of the Week.
- Weitz set a career-high of 9.875 in the lead-off position for the Tigers on vault, placing second behind teammate Camille Vitoff with a 9.900. Her three-event performance led the Tigers to tie a season-high 196.150. Her vault score also helped the team post the highest vault total in school history. Zuhlke tied for first on bars with a career-high 9.900 which is also a program top-10 history score. She added career-highs of 9.825 on beam (3rd) and 9.775 on vault, competing her unique namesake vault for the third time this season.
- Week five saw the Tigers earn weekly awards with Camille Vitoff being named Co-Gymnast of the Week and Jenna Weitz being named Specialist of the Week. Vitoff won the all-around posting a 39.125 and earned a career-high of 9.8 on floor. Weitz earned a career-high 9.8 on vault and a 9.875 on floor.
- For week four, sophomore Vitoff was named Specialist of the Week after completing her Yurchenko 1.5 for the second time ever, earning a 9.800 for third place on vault. Her 9.825 on bars was a career-high and good enough for fourth place in the quad meet on Sunday, helping the Tigers post their highest bar total of the season.
- Sophomore Lauren Bolen was named EAGL Gymnasts of the Week for week three. Bolen was named Gymnast of the Week after competing in the all-around for the first time this season, scoring a career-high 39.050, and her first 39 ever. She won the all-around competition in an EAGL tri-meet.
She tied for first on vault scoring a 9.900 on her Yurchenko Full which is out of a 9.950, which was also a career-high.
- Freshman Allison Zuhlke earned her first weekly award after being named Co-Rookie of the Week from the East Gymnastics League (EAGL) on Jan. 19. She posted two 9.7 scores for the Tigers helping them post their highest opening score in school history. She placed fifth on both bars and beam posting the third-highest score for the Tigers on both events.
Conference Rankings
Tigers in the Community
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area.
Towson was on track to have its 8th consecutive year of over 10,000 hours of community service in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all activity. Towson finished with 7,527 hours last year, good for third in the NCAA Teamworks Helper Helper competition.
Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition. Towson also won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
Scouting the Teams
North Carolina State (#1 in EAGL)
- The Wolfpack earned their third-highest score in program history on March 13 against LIU.
New Hampshire (#3 in EAGL)
- The Wildcats won a tri-meet against Towson and Temple with a score of 196.100.
Temple (#4 in EAGL)
- The Owls finished with a score of 196.025 in the tri-meet against Towson and New Hampshire.
North Carolina (#5 in EAGL)
- On March 13, the Tar Heels won their senior night meet with a score of 196.150.
Pittsburgh (#6 in EAGL)
- The Panthers defeated West Virginia with a score of 195.100 during the senior night meet.
George Washington (#7 in EAGL)
- On March 7, the Colonials won their senior day meet with a score of 195.675.
LIU (#8 in EAGL)
- The Sharks finished the regular season with their season-high score of 193.100.
Up Next
Selected Tigers will participate in the NCAA Regionals April 1-3
