First Rotation
The longest road trip of the regular season is on tap for the Towson women's gymnastics team as the Tigers head west for the Beehive State to take on Utah State twice and face BYU.

In The Road to Nationals Rankings
Towson vaulted into the top 25 on Road to Nationals as the site released its National Qualifying Scores (NQS) for the first time this season. Towson is 23rd in the country with an NQS of 195.540. BYU ranks 12th (196.420) while Utah State is ranked 14th (196.180).

The Road Trippin' Tigers
This weekend, Towson will compete in its furthest-west meet since at least 2013 when it heads to Logan, Utah for a pair of competitions at Utah State.

Camille Vitoff anchors Towson's vault while leading with a 9.809 average. Lauren Bolen (9.794) is just shy of the 9.800 threshold on average while rookie Mia Davis is ranked third on the team with a 9.754 average.

Now with three meets to her credit, Sarah Girot leads Towson on bars with a 9.817 average. Grace Vaillancourt (9.797), Steph Macasu (9.792) and Lauren Keener (9.787) are all a very solid meet away from a 9.800 average.

Clara Hong paces Towson's beam efforts among those regularly in the lineup, averaging a 9.816, just ahead of Emerson Hurst and Jenna Weitz, who each average 9.806. Macasu averages a 9.800 on beam, on which Towson is ranked 21st nationally.

Stewart and Hong lead on the floor with a 9.825 and 9.812 average, respectively. Bolen posts a 9.756 on average as well.

Hong (38.950) and Bolen (38.050) are the only Tigers with an all-around credited this year.

Scouting the Aggies
Ranked 14th in the Road to Nationals NQS (196.180), Utah State is coming off a 195.800 effort at Boise State last weekend.

Rebecca Wells (9.842) and Trinity Brown (9.814) are the Aggie leaders on vault, with Angel Stuart (9.775) and Brie Clark (9.764) close behind.

On bars, Brianna Brooks (9.871) and Molly Arnold (9.800) lead Utah State's 18th-ranked group, with Jessica Gutierrez (9.786) just shy of the 9.800 threshold.

Utah State's top rotation is on beam, where the Aggies are ranked 12th nationally. Three gymnasts, Sofi Sullivan (9.864), Kielyn McKnight (9.836) and Brooks (9.832) all average better than a 9.800 on the beam.

Three Aggies are above a 9.800 average on floor, led by Wells (9.825) and Clark (9.825). Brown ranks third on the team at 9.821 per meet.

Wells is the only Utah State gymnast with an all-around this year, doing so five times for a 39.065 average.

Scouting the Cougars
In its last outing, BYU tied for second at a quad-meet, scoring a 196.575 to tie with host Stanford. Boise State (197.000) won the meet. BYU is ranked 12th in the Road to Nationals NQS this week.

Sadie Miner-Van Tassell (9.864) and Sydney Benson (9.825) lead the Cougars on vault, while Haley Pitou is third with a 9.763 average.

BYU's 11th-ranked bars squad is led by a 9.879 average from Alyssa Alvarado, with Anna Bramblett close behind at 9.825. Miner-Van Tassell is third with a 9.804 average.

Four Cougars average better than 9.800 on BYU's beam team, ranked 13th this week. Elease Rollins sets the pace with a 9.878 average, while Miner-Van Tassell (9.861), Sophia McClelland (9.811) and Abby Beeston (9.800) round out the top four.

Miner-Van Tassel has gone all-around in all seven meets this year for the Cougars, averaging a 39.396.

Tigers Go West
Towson makes one of its last road trips in recent memory this weekend, heading the furthest-west the Tigers have been since at least 2013. Since that season, the furthest west Towson has been was a 2015 meet at Texas Woman's College, located in Denton, Texas. Towson hasn't been west of Pittsburgh since the 2019 season when the Tigers made the trek to Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Furthest West by Season
2013: Morgantown, W.Va. | 2014: Pittsburgh, Pa. | 2015: Denton, Texas | 2016: Iowa City, Iowa | 2017: Ames, Iowa | 2018: Pittsburgh
2019: Kalamazoo, Mich. | 2020: Pittsburgh, Pa. | 2021: Pittsburgh, Pa. | 2022: Logan, Utah

Towson vs. The Beehive State
Friday and Sunday's meets will be the first time since at least 2000 that the Tigers will square off against a team from the state of Utah during the regular season.

However, Towson and BYU did compete at the NCAA Morgantown Regional last spring. Towson scored 195.025 to finish seventh at the event while BYU finished fifth with a score of 196.350.

The Friendly Confines of SECU Arena
Towson has been nearly untouchable at home this season, sporting a 10-1 record at SECU Arena after last weekend's meet. Most recently, split a meet with West Virginia (L, 196.525-196.575) and Ursinus (W, 196.525-185.175) at the George McGinty Meet

The 10 wins at home this season are already a program-best under head coach Jay Ramirez, besting the previous mark of 5-1 in his rookie season at the helm in 2020. The last time the Tigers won at least 10 meets at home was during the 2018 season as the Tigers went 11-7 at SECU Arena.

Under Ramirez, the Tigers are 18-8 at SECU Arena. Towson has one more home meet during the regular season as the Tigers welcome George Washington and Maryland to town on March 11 for a 6 p.m. meet.

George McGinty Award Winner
Following Towson University gymnastics' second-place finish at the George McGinty Alumni Meet on Saturday, junior student-athlete Lauren Bolen was honored with the program's George McGinty Award.

The George McGinty Award recipient is honored for their hard work, dedication, compassion, kindness, encouragement and empowerment for the team and coaches.

Bolen has been one of Towson's many consistent performers this season. She currently ranks second on the team in vault average (9.794), posts 9.681 average score on beam and is third on the team with a 9.756 floor average. Bolen recently posted her first all-around effort. The junior has six podium appearances this season, including two first-place finishes on vault. In last weekend's tri-meet with West Virginia and Ursinus, Bolen tied with teammate Camille Vitoff for first with a 9.850 on vault.

The 90s Called; They Want Their Leos Back
Last weekend, the Tigers broke out their brand-new 1990s inspired leos for the tri-meet with Ursinus and West Virginia.

The black, full velvet leos caught the attention of the Gymternet, including College Gym News for the Leotard Rankings: Week 7. Towson's 90s inspired leos were ranked fifth by College Gym News last week, scoring a 7.000. CGN editor Claire Billman scored Towson's Quatro leos, which featured a gold sequin flower design on the front, at 9.200.

Previously this season, Towson has had leos ranked by College Gym News: Week 5 Third at 7.400 (gold bodice), Week 3 Eighth at 5.850 (black bodice, flame design) and Week 1 First at 7.575 (black bodice, while sleeves with TOWSON on left arm).

Super Bowl Sunday
The February 13 dual meet with Penn was be the sixth time since the 2000 season that the Tigers competed on Super Bowl Sunday and just the second time in that span the Tigers hosted an event on the same day as the Super Bowl.

Since 2000, the Tiger are 8-5 on Super Bowl Sunday, most recently with a 195.950-195.375 win over Penn as the Los Angeles Rams went on to win Super Bowl LVI.

Super Bowl Sunday Scores
Feb. 2, 2014 - 192.425 - Tri-Meet at West Virginia with George Washington (1-1)
Feb. 1, 2015 - 194.125 - Quad-Meet at Texas Woman's with Centenary (LA), San Jose State (2-1)
Feb. 7, 2016 - 194.575 - Quad-Meet at UNH with Bridgeport, Brown (2-1)
Feb. 5, 2017 - 194.950 - Quad-Meet at George Washington with UNH, Ball State (1-2)
Feb. 3, 2019 - 193.525 - Dual Meet with West Chester (1-0)
Feb. 13, 2022 - 195.950 - Dual Meet with Penn (1-0)

The 49.000ers
Last weekend, Towson racked another set of 49.000s or better in a tri-meet with Ursinus and West Virginia. Towson went 49.025 (VT), 49.150 (UB), 49.325 (BB) and 49.025 (FX) for a 196.525, tied for the fourth-highest score in program history.

Just three times in program history have the Tigers scored four 49.000s or better at a single meet and it's the second time this season. To date, Towson has 14 49.000s in 2022, trailing only the 16 49.000s scored by the 2001 team.

Three of the four rotations saw the Tigers post program top-10 scores: vault, bars, and beam.

Adding Opponents
This week, the Tigers will head to Utah for a pair of meets. Originally scheduled for a dual meet at Utah State on Feb. 25, the Tigers will now compete against both the host school and BYU. Meet time is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT (9 p.m. ET).

You Look Very Familiar...
Towson and William & Mary met for a second time in the first half of the season as the Tigers hosted the Tribe in Towson's home opener on Jan. 14 and again on February 2.

The February 2 meet was also the first of two meetings between Towson and George Washington. The pair of EAGL rivals meet again in Towson's regular season finale on March 11 before this year's EAGL Championships, hosted at GW's Charles E. Smith Center on Saturday, March 19.

William & Mary, George Washington, West Virginia and Utah State are the four opponents that adorn the Tigers' 2022 schedule multiple times during the regular season.

Entering this weekend's meet, the Tigers are 1-1 against repeat opponents, falling by the narrowest of margins, 196-575-196.525, against West Virginia.

Week Seven Standings: Now With More NQS
- In the Week Seven Road to Nationals NQS Standings, Towson is ranked 23rd behind a 195.540 National Qualifying Score. Towson was ranked 31st in the RTN Scoring Average last week.
- Towson is 42nd in vault with a 48.810 NQS, 21st on bars (48.950), 21st on beam (48.910) and 37th on the floor (48.860).
- The Tigers are third in the South East region in NQS, trailing only Florida (197.630) and North Carolina (195.545). Towson trails EAGL foe UNC by five-thousandths of a point.
- Towson is eighth on vault, third on bars, fourth on beam and sixth on floor.

More History
- Towson continued making history on Feb. 4, 2022.
- The Tigers registered a 196.700, the second-best score in program history and a SECU Arena benchmark for Towson.
- Towson also scored four 49.000s or better in the quad-meet
- The Tigers tied a program-record on vault (49.250), scored a 49.025 on bars, a 49.175 on beam, third-best in program history, and a 49.250 on floor thanks to a 9.95 from Amy Stewart.
- Emerson Hurst posted a 9.925 on beam, grabbing a 10.0 from the head judge on the aparatus.  Stewart had a pair of 9.95s on floor.

Chapel Hill: The New San Francisco
- Like the Gold Rush in the 1800s, Towson became 49ers in Chapel Hill.
- For just the fourth time in program history, the Tigers dropped in at least three 49.000s or better during the tri-meet at UNC.
- Towson won the vault with a 49.100, the only team above 49.000.
- The Tigers also landed a 49.050 on bars, again the only team at that mark.
- Towson hit a 49.150 on beam, edging out host UNC's 49.125.

Wealth of Experience...
- Nearly every Tiger that competed for the Black and Gold at the 2021 NCAA Regional Meet in Morgantown, West Virginia is back this season.
- Five of six competitors from vault: Jenna Weitz, Nikki Borkowski, Amy Stewart, Lauren Bolen, Camille Vitoff.
- Four of five bar scorers: Lauren Bolen, Camille Vitoff, Amy Stewart, Grace Vaillancourt.
- Five of six competitors from beam: Lauren Bolen, Camille Vitoff, Jenna Weitz, Emerson Hurst, Cassidy Stuart
- All six competitors from floor: Lauren Bolen, Jenna Weitz, Camille Vitoff, Nikki Borkowski, Amy Stewart, Paige Casper.
- Both All-Around scorers: Lauren Bolen, Camille Vitoff.
- Bolen finished fourth in all-around (39.00) while Vitoff took fifth (38.900)

...But Starting a Youth Movement
- Towson had a lot of youth in its lineup opening weekend at UNH.
- Mia Davis and Elise Tisler made their collegiate debut in vault, Clara Hong, Lauren Keener and Steph Macasu all appeared in a college meet for the first time on bars and beam.
- Hong also made her first college appearance on the floor and was a vault shy of going all-around.

It's Becoming a Theme
- Prior to winter break, the Tigers announced this season's themes for Towson's six home dates
- January 14: Pink Meet (West Virginia, William & Mary, West Chester)
- February 2: TUCAN night with TUAIDE (William & Mary, George Washington)
- February 4: Pride Meet (LIU, Eastern Michigan, Temple)
- February 13: Shelley Calloway Meet/Domestic Violence Awareness Meet (Penn)
- February 19: George McGinty Alumni Meet/Choose Your Own Cause Meet (Ursinus)
- March 11: Senior Night/Own Your Roar Meet (George Washington, Maryland)