Gymnastics | 3/4/2016 12:24:00 PM

NCGA EAST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
ITHACA, N.Y. —The nationally-ranked Ithaca College gymnastics team will compete for a spot in the national championships during Sunday's National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) East Regionals inside the Ben Light Gymnasium. 

Ithaca College will welcome Brockport, Cortland, Rhode Island College, Springfield College, and Ursinus College to campus at 1 p.m. Sunday for the annual NCGA East Regionals. 

The event will occur in the Gymnastics Center. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students/youth and seniors (65+). Admission is free for Ithaca College students, faculty, and staff with a valid ID.

Competition is expected to last until 5 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony. The top three teams at regionals automatically qualify for the NCGA national championships, held March 18-19 at The College at Brockport. 

Ithaca, ranked 10th in the country, finished fifth in last year's East Regional Championships with a score of 188.075. Longtime head coach Rick Suddaby earned NCGA East Region Coach of the Year honors after IC improved by more than seven points in its team score over the course of the season. Ithaca finished with 47.600 on vault, one-tenth of a point shy of the school record. 

Current graduate student Valerie Cohen led the Bombers on the vault (9.55) and the floor (9.675). Ithaca finished with 47.600 on vault, one-tenth of a point shy of the school record.

For more information on the NCGA East Regionals, visit http://athletics.ithaca.edu/sports/2016/2/4/2016NCGAregionals.aspx. 
 
The championship will be live streamed on two Ithaca College channels. The balance beam and uneven bars events will be streamed here: http://original.livestream.com/ithacabombers, while the floor exercise and the vault will be streamed here: http://original.livestream.com/ithacacollegeits.
 
Historical Facts: Suddaby, who was inducted into Ithaca College's Athletics Hall of Fame in Sept. 2015, has guided the Bombers to 25 NCGA championship meets with four top-10 finishes, including the 1998 NCGA championship.

Season Highlights: Senior Megan Harrington posted a personal-best score on the floor routine and set two other season-bests during a home win over Springfield College (Feb. 6). She was named the East Region's co-Specialist of the Week honors from the NCGA after scoring a personal-best 9.625 while tying for first on the floor. She also won the uneven bars (9.45)... During the annual Harriet Marranca Invite, sophomores Eleanor Almeida and Melissa Hollrigl each set career-highs on the floor exercise, as Almeida placed eighth with a 9.575 and Hollrigl tied for 10th with a 9.525. ... junior Lynley Choate set a personal-best score of 9.575 to place first on the balance beam, and sophomore Danielle Maffuid won the uneven bars with a career-high 9.450 at Rhode Island (Feb. 21). ... Cohen won the vault against Brockport (Jan. 20) with a score of 9.55, while sophomore Kendra Balcerak finished first on the balance beam with a score of 9.575. ...Harrington and freshman Carolyn Nichols each won two floor events during the year. Harrington won the floor against Springfield and at Rhode Island College (Feb. 21), while Nichols captured the floor title against Brockport (Jan. 20), and against Springfield. … Ithaca has won the balance beam and floor exercise three times, and the vault and the uneven bars once this year, and won two dual matches against Brockport and Springfield.
 
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