When                        Saturday, January 14, 2023                                                                
Where                       Jersey Mike's Arena | Piscataway, N.J.                                        
Time                          2 p.m.
Team Records         Towson (0-0)
                                   Rutgers (0-3)
                                   Ball State (1-2)
                                   Wisconsin-Oshkosh (0-3)
Live Stats                 Stat Broadcast
Live Video                BTN Plus
 
First Rotation
This Saturday will kick off yet another season of Tiger Gymnastics as the team joins Ball State and OshKosh at a quad meet hosted by Rutgers University.
 
In The National Rankings
Towson was only two points away from being ranked in the Top 36 teams for the WCGA Preseason Coaches Poll after picking up 142 votes. Rutgers received 50 votes and Ball State received two. 
 
Here Come the Tigers
Jay Ramirez returns as head coach for his fourth season, joined again by Ashley Sauer, who was recently promoted to associate head coach prior to the start of the season. The two welcome recent Towson gymnastics alumnus Jaz Kauffman as the new volunteer assistant coach.

The entire team put forth a strong effort for the 2022 season and found quite a bit of success, recording 26 career highs and placed second at the 2022 EAGL Championship.  Other notable national statistics during the regular season include recording the highest amount of All-EAGL athletes on any team in the conference, achieving the highest average in Towson history, earning 12 event team scores in the top 10 and accomplishing the highest placement in history for regular season rankings.

Several key competitors will return from the squad that has made back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances, including Lauren Bolen, Camille Vitoff, Steph Macasu, Jenna Weitz and Amy Stewart, who all earned First Team All-EAGL honors. Second Team All-EAGL qualifiers Elise Tisler, Mia Davis, Grace Vaillancourt and Clara Hong all return as well.
 
Scouting the Scarlet Knights
Rutgers returns for the 2023 season after going 11-24 in meets last spring and 1-8 in conference showdowns. The Knights placed ninth at Big Ten Championships, earning the highest team score (195.750) for that meet in program history.

Senior Hannah Joyner will be returning after being named to the All-Championship team. NCAA Regionals qualifier Emily Leese is returning as well, entering her junior year. The Knights welcome a talented group of newcomers, as College Gym News has ranked them as the No. 15 gymnastics freshman class of 2023.
 
Scouting the Cardinals
Ball State finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 6-10-1. The team found success at the Mid-American Conference Championships, finishing with the third-best team score in program history. They tied the program record on beam (49.150) and had five athletes earn podium finishes.

Returners include seven of the team's top-10 scorers from last season, including sophomore Suki Pfister, who was named MAC Specialist of the Year after qualifying for NCAA Regionals in vault, and Hannah Ruthberg, who is BSU's top returning scorer after ranking second on last season's team with 416.350 points.
 
Scouting the Titans
OshKosh won six out of the seven regular season meets in 2022. The Titans earned their  fifth national gymnastics title at the DIII National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championship, earning a Division III-record score of 194.100.

Emily Buffington secured a first-place finish on the uneven bars while Trinity Sawyer claimed a pair of All-America rewards which helped lead the team to victory. Both athletes return this season.
 
Towson-Rutgers By the Numbers
-Rutgers is a familiar foe to the Tigers as the two have competed against each other 11 times prior to the meet this Saturday.
-Series Record since 2013 Rutgers leads 7-4.
-Home record 2-2
-Away record 0-4
-Neutral record 2-1
-Last Meeting March 8, 2019
-Rutgers 194.425, Towson 192.800
 
Last Time Out vs. Rutgers | March 8, 2019 | Jersey Mike's Arena | Piscataway, N.J.
-The Tigers joined Bridgeport and Centenary for a quad meet at Rutgers, placing third overall after earning a team score of 192.800.
-Rutgers took first at 194.425, edging out Bridgeport's 194.125. Towson scored higher than Centenary, which concluded at 192.000.
-Alum Emerson Hurst earned an impressive 9.925 on balance beam, which was the top score of the meet on beam and Hurst's career-high score.
-Alum Ally Wesoly finished fourth in the all-around after placing top-four in the meet on uneven bars and vault.
 
Towson-Ball State By the Numbers
-Towson has competed against Ball State twice, once in 2016 and in 2017
-Series record since 2016 is a tie, 1-1
-Home record 0-0
-Away record 0-1
-Neutral record 1-0
-Last Meeting February 5, 2017
-Towson 194.950, Ball State 193.700
 
Last Time Out vs. Ball State | February 5, 2017 | Charles E. Smith Center | Washington, D.C.
-Towson placed third at the quad meet with George Washington, Ball State and New Hampshire after earning a season-best team score of 194.950.
-No.16 George Washington won the meet with a score of 196.400 and New Hampshire placed second with a 196.075. Ball State finished in fourth with a 193.700.
-The Tigers had six gymnasts set career-bests and five record season-bests.
-Towson earned scores of 48.775 (vault), 48.525 (bars), 48.600 (beam) and 49.050 (floor).
 
Towson-Oshkosh By the Numbers
-Towson has only competed against Oshkosh once.
-Series Record since 2017 Towson leads 1-0
-Home record 0-0
-Away record 0-0
-Neutral record 1-0
-Last Meeting January 13, 2017
-Towson 193.075, Oshkosh 184.025
 
Last Time Out vs. Oshkosh | January 13, 2017 | Hilton Coliseum | Ames, Iowa
-Towson placed second at the tri-meet with Oshkosh and Iowa State, earning scores of 48.100 (vault), 47.925 (bars), 47.950 (beam) and 49.100 (floor).
-Iowa State used its home court advantage to win the meet with a team score of 194.275.
 
Getting Into the Spirit
-During winter break, the Tigers announced this season's themes for Towson's four home dates.
-January 20: George McGinty Alumni/Pink Meet (New Hampshire, West Virginia & West Chester).
-February 1: Pride Night (George Washington).
-February 10: Shelley Calloway/Choose Your Cause Meet (NC State, Temple & Pitt).
-February 26: Senior/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Day (George Washington, Fisk and William & Mary).
 
EAGL Preseason Results
-Towson received a first-place vote and 43 points in the 2023 EAGL Preseason Poll, leaving them ranked fourth out of eight teams.
- The Tigers sit only five points away from the predicted first-place finisher North Carolina.
-NC State and Temple tied for second in the poll with 46 points.
-Defending EAGL champion George Washington trails directly behind the Tigers in fifth place after earning 42 points and two first place votes.
-Pittsburg and New Hampshire tied for sixth, each with 25 points and one first-place vote.
-LIU rounds out the preseason poll in eighth place with 13 points.
 
Road To Nationals
-Towson finished the 2022 season ranked 34th by RoadToNationals.com
-This is a slight fall from the prior year's 29th place ranking at the conclusion of the season, which was a 20-place improvement.
-After week one (1/1 - 1/9) Oklahoma is currently ranked first with an average of 197.925.
-Denver, one of Towson's opponents this season, is currently ranked ninth with a 196.925.
 
In The Classroom
-The team earned a term GPA of 3.521 for the fall semester, which was the second highest GPA out of the Towson programs.
-Lauren Bolen, Clara Hong and Grace Vaillancourt achieved 4.0 GPAs.
-13 of the athletes earned a spot on the Dean's List (3.5-4.0 GPA) while seven secured spots on the Athletic Honor Roll (3.0-3.49 GPA).
 
Talented Playing Field
-12 out of the 21 teams Towson will compete against for the 2023 season are either ranked or receiving votes in the WGCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
-The highest ranked competitor is University of Denver, ranked 13th with 1119 points.
-Maryland (424) and Iowa State (407) are ranked 29th and 30th respectively.
-West Virginia is ranked 33rd with 214 points.
-George Washington, Temple, New Hampshire, Rutgers, Pittsburg, LIU, Ball State and Fisk all received votes.