When - Sunday, January 14, 2024
Where - Covelli Center | Columbus, OH.
Time - 2 p.m.
Team Records - Towson (0-0 Overall) | #9 Ohio State (0-1 Overall) | Ball State (3-0 Overall)
Live Stats - Stat Broadcast
Live Video - BTN Plus
Coming In Hot
The 2023 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) champion Towson Tigers are ready for another season of NCAA Gymnastics, led by head coach Jay Ramirez and associate head coach Ashley Sauer.
The Tigers kick off the 2024 season Sunday with a trip to Ohio State for a tri meet with Ball state, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Covelli Center.
Eyes On The Tigers
For the first time in program history the Black & Gold were predicted to finish atop the league, ranking first in EAGL preseason poll with 21 points and two first-place votes. George Washington was ranked second followed by New Hampshire, Temple and LIU.
On the national scale, Towson was ranked 36th in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll, tallying 137 points.
2023 Rewind
Aside from winning EAGL Championships for the first time in Towson program history, the Tigers had several other accomplishments that attributed to a record-breaking 2023 season.
The team recorded the highest National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 196.450 in program history, which was the first time Towson's NQS has been made up of only 196's. The Tigers also saw the highest opening road, home opener and away scores in program history.
Towson accumulated 33 wins total last season, which made team 55 the winningest in school history. This made the Tigers the most winningest team in the NCAA, having the most victories out of any NCAA gymnastics program last season.
The Black & Gold also posted program record on vault (49.400) and bars (49.400). Bars proved to be the strongest event of the Tigers' 2023 season, as the Tigers hit the program record twice and were ranked 16th in the nation in January.
The team demonstrated its depth with eight different athletes earning first place finishes on all four events. The Tigers picked up 30 new career highs and had the most podium finishes in a season in program history.
Guess Who's Back
The 2024 squad consists of seven freshman, six sophomores, six juniors, four seniors and two graduate students.
Among the top returners are senior Grace Vaillancourt and sophomore Isabella Minervini. Vaillancourt was All-EAGL first team on bars (9.910 NQS) and second team on floor (9.865 NQS). Minervini picked up the same awards, being named to first team on bars (9.930 NQS) and second team on floor (9.880 NQS). The Florida native earned three EAGL Rookie of the Week honors. The two Tigers qualified for NCAA Regionals as individuals on bars, competing in the second round of the tournament.
Cami Vitoff, Steph Macasu, Lauren Keener, Clara Hong, Polina Belanovski and Carmella Calafati are other notable returners who were crucial to the team's success as well. These Tigers all earned First and/or Second Team All-EAGL awards on their respective events.
Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State finished the 2023 season ranked 16th nationally with a team NQS of 197.100 and 13-1 regular season record. At 8-0, the Buckeyes were undefeated at home.
The team was ranked 14th in the WCGA preseason poll with 1017 points. In the Big Ten preseason poll, Ohio State was ranked third of the 10 teams in the conference. Two Buckeyes, Payton Harris and Tory Vetter, were named Big Ten gymnasts to watch.
Last week, the Buckeyes fell to LSU at their season opener, 196.775-196.975, posting the best season-opening score in program history. Ohio State posted 49's or better on each event, beating LSU on beam with a 49.050.
Scouting the Cardinals
Ball State completed the 2023 season with a 16-7 regular season record, ranking 34th nationally which earned the team a trip to NCAA Regionals. The Cardinals picked up their first-ever Mid-American Conference regular season championship in program history after recording nine of the top 10 team scores in the Ball State record book.
The team posted a program record high 196.900 on March 12 in a dual meet with Western Michigan. Returner Suki Pfister became the first Ball State gymnast to earn regular season WCGA All-America honors, named to the Second Team with a NQS of 9.915 on vault.
This season the Cardinals are currently 3-0, finishing first at their season opener against North Carolina, Utah State and Rutgers. Ball State posted a 194.925 to claim the quad meet victory with 49s on floor (49.025) and vault (49.150).
Towson-Ball State By the Numbers
-Towson has competed against Ball State three times, with the most recent matchup happening last season (2023)
-Series record: Towson leads 2-1
-Home Record: 0-0
-Neutral Record: 2-0
-Away Record: 0-1
-Last Meeting: January 14, 2023 -Towson: 195.850 | Ball State: 195.450
Last Time Out vs. Ball State | January 14, 2023 | Piscataway, N.J. | Jersey Mike's Arena
-Towson competed against Ball State at the 2023 season opener in a quad meet hosted by Rutgers with UW-Oshkosh.
-The Tigers took first after recording the highest opening road score in program history of 195.850, edging out runner up Ball State by 0.3.
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".
Promotional Schedule
-At the end of December, the Tigers announced the themes for the four home meets this season.
-January 26: Shelli Calloway Invitational/Pink Meet (LIU, George Washington, Cornell, New Hampshire)
-Pink/breast cancer themed giveaway items: 250 rally towels and 100 tshirts
-February 23: George McGinty Alumni/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Meet (Temple)
-March 10: Pride Meet (Maryland)
-Pride themed giveaway items: 250 tshirts
-March 15: Own Your Roar/Dog Toy Toss/Senior Night Meet
-Giveaway item: 200 GohTigers themed fanny packs
-Fans are also encouraged to bring dog toys to donate to Maryland SPCA at the conclusion of the meet
Student Athletes
-Towson gymnastics earned a team cumulative GPA of 3.643, the highest of all sports teams at Towson.
-17 gymnasts were on the Dean's List for earning 3.5 or higher and six were on Athletic Director Honor Roll.
Road To Nationals
-Towson finished the 2023 regular season ranked 31st, which is the fourth highest ranking in program history
-After week one (1/1-1/9) Oklahoma is ranked first with an average and high score of 197.850. -Ohio State is ranked ninth with 196.775
-Denver, one of Towson's opponents this season, is ranked sixth with 196.850
Next Time on Tiger Gymnastics
Towson heads to Philadelphia next Sunday for EAGL action, competing against Temple in a dual meet at 5:00 p.m.
