TOWSON, Md. – In their first season as returning members of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL), Coach Vicki Chliszczyk and the Towson University gymnastics team will face three nationally-ranked EAGL opponents when the Tigers travel to the University of Maryland for a quad meet on Friday, February 8 in the Comcast Center at 7:00 p.m.
No. 27 North Carolina State and No. 29 New Hampshire will join the Tigers and the Terps in the meet.
Maryland comes into the meet ranked 17th in the nation with a 195.275 average while NC State has a 194.725 average. New Hampshire is ranked 29th with a 194.575 average.
“We're very excited about this meet,” says Coach Chliszczyk. “It is going to be great to compete against our new conference rivals. It should be a great competition and we are looking to have a strong meet.”
Towson was a charter member of the EAGL from 1996 to 2004, along with Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and West Virginia. Towson left the EAGL after the 2004 season and was replaced by George Washington. When West Virginia left for the Big 12, Towson returned to the EAGL.
The Tigers, who defeated Cornell in a dual meet last week, are hoping to improve upon their seasonal best 193.00 team score, a mark that they earned in a home meet two weeks ago.
Vault and floor exercise have been the Tigers' strong points this year. Led by freshman Katie Sassa, the Tigers are averaging 48.356 on vault. Sassa has won the vault competition the last two weeks and has a 9.806 average. She earned a career high 9.875 score on vault at Cornell. Another freshman, Lydia Thompson, is averaging 9.71 on vault.
On the floor, the Tigers have a 48.328 team average. Senior Britney Russell has led the Tigers on floor with a 9.71 average. Junior Alexa Davis has also done well on floor with a 9.68 average.
The Tigers, who are 4-4 on the season, have struggled on beam for the most part. Coach Chliszczyk will be trying a few new things this week to see if she can find a combination that works.
“We have changed the beam lineup every week,” she says. “So, we tried some different training methods this week. We are looking for the right mix because we are better than the results we have shown.”
After this week's meet at Maryland, the Tigers will return to the Towson Center on Sunday, February 17 when they host the annual Shelli Calloway Invitational Memorial Meet.
