When                            Sunday, January 29, 2023                                        
Where                           WVU Coliseum                                                                                                 
Team Records            Towson (5-1)
                                       West Virginia (4-4)
                                       Iowa State (3-0)
                                       Eastern Michigan (5-0)
Live Stats                     Stat Broadcast                      
Live Video                    ESPN+
 
 
First Rotation 
Sunday marks the second travel meet of the season as the Tigers head to West Virginia University for a quad meet with Iowa State and Eastern Michigan. 
 
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 points. Iowa State ranked 30th with 407 points while West Virginia was ranked 33rd with 214 points.  
 
Homecoming 
The Tigers opened SECU Arena for the 2023 season, welcoming West Virginia, University of New Hampshire and West Chester for a 6 p.m. quad meet.   
 
In a packed and electric SECU the Tigers put forth strong efforts to earn a final score of 195.075, the highest home opening score in program history, placing second behind New Hampshire (195.275). The performance was led by four top-five finishes, three of which were from rookies.  
 
The top-five finishes were picked up by Camille Vitoff (4th VT), Polina Belanovski (4th VT), Isabella Minervini (1st UB) and Carmella Calafati (2nd FX). 
 
Towson posted a 48.625 on beam, 49.125 on bars, 48.600 on beam and 48.725 on floor. 
 
Scouting the Mountaineers 
It hasn't been too long since Towson last saw West Virginia as the mountaineers competed in last week's home opener.  The team finished third at the quad meet with a final score of 192.475. West Virginia took the lead early after posting the highest score of 49.200 on floor, led by a career-high 9.925 from Emily Holmes-Hackerd. The mountaineers fell to third by the end of the meet, despite efforts of a season-high 48.85 on beam. In total six athletes earned first-place finishes. 
 
Last Time Out vs. West Virginia | Jan 20, 2023 | SECU Arena | Towson, Md. 
-The Tigers hosted West Virginia, University of New Hampshire and West Chester for a quad meet. 
-Towson defeated West Virginia and West Chester with the highest home opening score of 195.07, falling to New Hampshire by .200.  
-The Tigers picked up four top-five finishes, including first place finish from Isabella Minervini on uneven bars. 
 
Scouting the Cardinals 
Iowa State is coming off of three back-to-back victories, defeating Northern Illinois, UC Davis and Eastern Michigan. At the season opener dual meet Iowa edged out Northern Illinois to win the meet by.200.  
 
The Cardinals earned two 49.000s or better on beam (49.150) and floor (49.025), led by Hannah Loyim's 9.875 on beam and Maddie Diab's 9.925 on floor. The following week at their home opener the Cardinals dominated UC Davis and Eastern Michigan after posting a 194.075, supported by Alondra Maldonado's career-high 9.900 on floor and the team's 49.025 on vault. 
 
Last Time Out vs. Iowa State| Jan 13, 2017 | Hilton Coliseum | Aimes, IA 
-Towson placed second at a tri-meet with Iowa State and Wisconsin-Oshkosh, falling to the Cardinals by 1.2 points with a final score of 193.075.  
-The Tigers recorded a season-high 49.100 on floor exercise. 
-Three of the Tigers placed in the top-three individually. 

Scouting the Eagles 
Eastern Michigan is currently 0-5 after competing in three meets so far. 193.975 is the Eagles' highest score of the season, achieved at their home opener dual meet with Ball State. The team registered a 10th all-time score in program history of 49.175 on bars, led by first place finishers Hadyn Crossen and Raisa Borris' 9.875s. Boris also posted a career-high 9.850 on floor, placing second overall. 
 
Last Time Out vs. Eastern Michigan| Feb 4, 2022 | SECU Arena | Towson, Md.  
-Towson swept the competition and earned it's second-best ever team score, 196.700, at a quad meet with Temple, LIU and Eastern Michigan. 
-The Tigers earned four 49.000 or better efforts for each event, which was a program first for the team. 
-Amy Stewart won the floor event with a near perfect 9.95, the third time in program history a Tiger has hit that score on floor. 
 
Freshmen Shoutout 
The rookies of Towson continue to make strides as they gain more experience as Tigers. After winning EAGL rookie of the week, Isabella Minervini dominated on bars again at the home opener. Minervini won the event after earning a score of 9.875, only .25 off her career best. Carmella Calafati posted a 9.875, the top score for Towson on floor. This was a .025 improvement for Calafati and earned her the second place spot. Polina Belanovski placed fourth after receiving the highest score on vault for Towson, 9.750. 
 
EAGL Standings 
-After week three Towson remains ranked second in EAGL, with a high score of 195.850 and average of 195.463. 
-NC State remains in first with a high of 195.850. 
-North Carolina is in third place with a record of 2-2 (1-0 EAGL). 
 
Road To Nationals 
-After week three of competitions, Towson is ranked 31st on RoadToNationals.com  
-While this is a slight fall from last week's rankings, it is still among the highest Towson has ever been ranked. 
-The Tigers remain ranked 15th in the nation for uneven bars.  
-Oklahoma remains in first place with an average score of 197.817. 
 
Towson Leaders by Event   
-Vault: Camille Vitoff and Polina Belanovski, 9.825  
-Bars: Grace Vaillancourt, 9.925  
-Beam: Grace Vaillancourt, 9.825  
-Floor: Carmella Calafati, 9.875 
 
Getting Into the Spirit 
-During winter break, the Tigers announced this season's themes for Towson's four home dates. 
-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). 
 
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.  
 
How to Say It: TOWSON 
TOWSON is pronounced TOW like towel + Son. 
 
IT IS NOT: TOE-son, Townson, Towsond, Townsend, Townsen, Towzen. One N, no Z. 
 
We are Towson University, no longer Towson State University (and haven't been since July 1, 1997). 
 
Our mascot is Doc The Tiger, named after Donald "Doc" Minnegan, long-time soccer coach and athletics department administrator. Towson became the "Tigers" in 1962 after John Schuerholz (yes, the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame General Manager) pushed for the name change from the "Towson College Knights". 
 
Next Time on Tiger Gymnastics 
-Towson will return to SECU for its next competition, welcoming George Washington for a dual meet on Feb 1. 
-The meet begins at 6pm, doors open at 4:30 pm.  
-This meet is the team's annual pride night; the first 100 people to arrive will receive free pride-themed Towson koozies. 
-Post-meet autographs will be offered as well.