Because of its ninth-place finish at the NCAA championship meet, the 1990 women's gymnastics team was inducted into the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Tigers recorded a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast regional meet at the University of Florida after finishing the regular season with a 23-1 record. At the NCAA regional, Towson earned a 188.775 team score and finished right behind Kentucky (188.825). The Tigers’ performance was enough to earn Towson one of 12 spots at the NCAA National Championship Meet at Oregon State University.
Seeded 11th in a field of 12 teams at Nationals, the Tigers were a curiosity to the other schools at Nationals. The other teams competing for the title had been there before. Towson joined national powers like Utah, Alabama, Georgia, UCLA, Nebraska, Louisiana State, Oregon State, Cal State Fullerton, Florida, Arizona and Ohio State in the championship field. When the first session was over, the Tigers had been the surprise of the meet. They finished third out of the six teams with a 187.975 score. With their 187.975 team score, the Tigers finished ahead of Florida (187.175), Arizona (187.175) and Ohio State (183.650). Oregon State (189.950) and Cal State Fullerton (189.700) managed to finish ahead of Towson.
Towson Hall of Famer
Wendy Jo (Weaver) Kwiatkowski '92 led the Tigers’ performance at Nationals. She earned a 38.275 all-around score to finish 19th in the nation. She also had a 9.625 on vault to lead the Tigers while her 9.675 score on bars earned her a tie for 27th place in the meet. On beam, she had a 9.65 score, tying her for 17th place.
Tandy Knight, ‘91, a junior on the 1990 Tigers and another Hall of Fame member, also competed as an all-around performer at Oregon State. She earned a 36.55 all-around score. With a 9.45 score on the floor exercise, she had the Tigers’ top score on the floor. Just a freshman,
Janine (Spezio) Eikenberg, ‘93 had a fine meet at Oregon State. Competing on three events, she had a 9.40 on vault, a career high 9.575 on beam and a 9.325 on floor. Spezio went on to have a stellar career and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.
At Nationals, the Tigers had a strong performance on the uneven bars. In addition to Weaver’s 9.675 score,
Anne (Sugden) Wolff, ‘91
earned a 9.625 score while co-captain
Carri Scott, ‘91 contributed a 9.45 to the effort.
Leslie Robinson, ‘92,
Julie Heilman, ‘92, Hall of Fame member
Gabby (Linarducci) Frezza, ‘93 and
Maureen Greim, ‘93 also competed for the Tigers in 1990.
The Tigers’ other two co-captains, seniors
Lori (Salindong) Greis, ‘90
and
Stephanie St. Angelo, ‘90,
closed out their careers with memorable performances. Salindong, who finished her career as Towson’s all-time scoring leader with 1,718.30 points, earned a 9.30 score on beam and a 9.325 on floor. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000. St. Angelo, who finished her career as the Tigers’ third-leading all-time scorer with 1,430.275 points, earned 9.30 scores on vault and bars.
The Tigers’ experience at Oregon State was highlighted by the announcement that Coach
Dick Filbert was named as the co-winner of the National Coach of the Year. He shared the honor with
Greg Marsden of the University of Utah, the team that won the national championship.
