ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College gymnastics team begins its 2023 season this Sunday, January 15 in Ben Light Gymnasium against SUNY Brockport at 3 p.m. The Bombers have nine regular season meets slated for this season, followed by the NCGA East Region Championships and the NCGA National Championships.
IC is coming off a tremendous 2022 season, in which the Bombers finished fourth at the NCGA Championships with a program record score of 192.325. Ithaca also set program standards of 48.025 on bars and 48.300 on beam last season. At the conclusion of the NCGA Championships, three members of the team were named All-Americans, and two of those return this season –
Skye Cohen (all-around) and
Jillian Freyman (floor).
Head coach Rick Suddaby, now in his 38th year with the program, and assistant coach Emily Graber – the 2022 NCGA Assistant Coach of the Year – have assembled a team of 23 gymnasts. The roster includes 15 returners, seven first-years and one graduate transfer.
The Bombers only lost three routines from 2022 in
Amelia Bailey (floor and beam) and
Ai-Zhen Tung (beam). Bailey was an All-American on the floor last season.
After Cohen and Freyman, the key contributors to a season ago are as follows –
Marlena Bailey (bars),
Meghan Bell (floor and vault),
Cassidy Gallivan (floor and vault),
Kaylie Goodwin (all-around),
Zoe Kyriakopoulos (bars and beam),
Nicole Lonski (bars and floor),
Cameryn Nichols (all-around),
Julia O'Sullivan (bars and beam),
Nya Pauldon (beam and vault),
Caitlin Pellegrino (floor) and
Dallas Rachal (vault).
Samantha Nothnagel, a graduate transfer from Cortland, will look to factor into the rotations this season after a solid three-year career up Route 13.
The seven first-years are extremely talented and will look to make an immediate impact with the program. Suddaby and Graber brought in
Mary Collier,
Coral Cotteleer,
Violet Fanara,
Corey Foster,
Emily Kobusky,
Jaida Menteer and
Grace Murray.
After the opener this weekend against the Golden Eagles, the Bombers will travel to Ursinus College for a tri-meet with Brockport on January 22. The following Saturday, January 28, IC heads to Brockport for a dual and then goes to Springfield on February 5.
On February 12, IC remains in Ithaca and heads over to East Hill for the Cornell Invitational and then hosts Cortland for the Rumble & Tumble on the 15th. Four days later, IC hosts the Harriet Maranca Memorial Invitational with Brockport, Rhode Island College and Ursinus.
The regular season wraps up with a road dual at Cortland on February 29 and a home meet with Springfield on March 5.
The NCGA East Regional at Ursinus takes place on March 13, followed by the NCGA Championships at Winona State on March 26.
