COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ithaca College gymnastics team has qualified for the NCGA Championships, which will be held on March 25 at Winona State in Winona, Minn., after the Bombers finished third at the NCGA East Region Championships at Ursinus College on March 11. Ithaca earned a bid as one of the top three teams in the region after sneaking past Rhode Island College by just one-tenth of a point, 189.050 to 188.950.
Brockport finished first in the region with 192.200 and Springfield was the runner-up with 189.150.
At the conclusion of the regional, head coach
Rick Suddaby was named NCGA East Coach of the Year for the third time since 2018.
The Bombers started the regional on floor, which has been their most consistent event all season. Ithaca posted 48.150, which was the third-best score on the day. All six gymnasts scored of 9.475 in the rotation, led by 9.750 from
Grace Murray, who tied for fifth in the region.
Cameryn Nichols was a close second at 9.725, while
Caitlin Pellegrino turned in a performance of 9.600.
Meghan Bell was next in line at 9.550 and
Skye Cohen finished with 9.525.
Abby Chesshire earned 9.475.
Next up was the vault for Ithaca, which resulted in a team score of 46.925 and 95.075 through two events.
Nya Pauldon was the top performer at 9.575, which tied for eighth overall. Nichols earned 9.475 in her first official vault of 2023, while Cohen scored 9.400.
Samantha Nothnagel landed with 9.350 and
Kaylie Goodwin earned 9.150. Bell finished out the rotation with 8.800.
The third event brought the Bombers over to bars, which was IC's lowest score of the day at 46.875 and 141.950 overall.
Zoe Kyriakopoulos led the charge with 9.625 to finish third overall, while Cohen and
Julia O'Sullivan each received 9.400.
Marlena Bailey was awarded 9.350 and Nichols scored 9.100.
Ithaca concluded the regional on beam and needed over 47.000 to finish in the top three. The Bombers scored 47.100 to top RIC by one-tenth. After a tough start with 9.050 from Goodwin, 9.200 from Cohen and 9.150 by Pellegrino, Kyriakopoulos put a spark into the Bombers with 9.725.
Emily Kobusky finished with 9.175, which meant the Bombers needed a near perfect routine from Nichols, which she delivered with a 9.850 to be the top performer in the regional.
Nichols also tied for first in the all-around with 38.125.
