MEET NOTES
WEST CHESTER, PA - West Chester University welcomes regional rival Ursinus College to Sturzebecker Health Science Center Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. dual meet in a rematch of last Sunday's dual in Collegeville, which was won by the Golden Rams. After dropping its first four meets of the year, West Chester has rebounded and brings a four-match winning streak into Saturday's tilt. It is the second of four home dates for the Golden Rams' gymnasts, before the University hosts the 2024 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships up in Hollinger in April. Saturday's contest is also the second of three times that West Chester and Ursinus will meet in 2024. The pair will also trave to Rutgers next month for the third encounter.
West Chester has won the last 25 meetings with Ursinus, dating back to 2015 while head coach
Barbara Cordova is 35-8 against the Bears in her tenure as the school's gymnastics mentor. She lost seven of the first eight contests against Ursinus from 2009 to 2011, but has only lost once to her counterparts from Collegeville in the last 13 years.
Saturday is Youth Day and Alumni Day at West Chester. The Golden Rams will celebrate their rich tradition and history while also welcoming many of the young gymnasts from around the region to enjoy some college gymnastics.
Over the last two weeks in which West Chester has gone 4-0, the Golden Rams have also taken first place in each of the four events - meaning the lady gymnasts have won eight straight events dating back to Jan. 27. Additionally, West Chester has set 24 new season bests and another 19 career bests in its first four meets of the new year.
Sarah Eskew (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has either won, or tied for first in four of those wins while
Caroline Cascadden (Ashburn, Va.) picked up two wins last week.
Kiley Fred (Highland Mills, N.Y.) and
Lily McFarland (Baltimore, Md.) have the other two victories for the Golden Rams.
Kristina Rodriguez (Cincinnati, Ohio) also won the all-around last week at Ursinus.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
URSINUS (2-6)
The Bears are looking to rebound and exact some revenge on the Golden Rams Saturday while, hopefully, ending a long losing streak to their regional rivals. Ursinus posted a team score of 189.300, which continued a sizzling stretch for the team after posting its highest team score since 2017 last Friday. The score was made up of new season high scores of 47.775 on the vault and 47.650 on the floor, 47.375 on the balance beam, and 46.500 on the uneven bars. Ursinus opened the meet with their best score on the vault and saw all six student-athletes competing for scores post at least a 9.350. Ursinus topped their one-week old floor team score easily as Sidney Schreiber led the way with a dazzling 9.750. Megan Matteucci finished seventh overall with a 9.550 and junior Daria Gregory turned in her best floor showing of the season at a 9.475.
JESSICA MEAKIM BACK ON CAMPUS THIS WEEK
Former West Chester University All-America gymnast, Jessica Meakim, was back on campus this past Wednesday to help the University's athletics department celebrate National Girls/Women's in Sports Day. Meakim was one of four former WCU student-athletes, who spoke on a panel about their experiences in athletics growing up. She was named an NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 semifinalist in 2022 for her exploits, not only in the gym, but also in the community and in the classroom. West Chester has had a former student-athlete reach the Top 30 in the nation in each of the past four seasons, and all four recipients were back at WCU this past Tuesday to tell their stories.
WEST CHESTER SECURES VIRTIUS TO BROADCAST HOME MEETS
West Chester University signed on with Virtius to broadcast and web stream all five of its home gymnastics meets, including the 2024 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Championships in April, making it the first time in school history that all gymnastics home meets will be web streamed with commentary.
WEST CHESTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT
West Chester University will have two competitions air on the Big Ten+ Network his winter. West Chester travels to Rutgers for a quad meet on March 2 that will be the second and last time on the BIG Ten Network. The Golden Rams' meet at Boise State was also on the Mountain West Network.
Last year, West Chester appeared on ESPN+ twice. It's meet inside the Palestra at University of Pennsylvania was televised on ESPN+ while it's quad meet at Temple in March also aired on the same network. Additionally, West Chester appeared on ESPN+ three times in 2022, including the GEC Championships, making it seven national television appearances in the last three seasons for the Golden Rams.
MAKING A NAME FOR ITSELF AMONG THE GIANTS
West Chester University, which competes at the NCAA Division II level in all other sports at the school, has held its own against the mostly Division I institutions that make up the Gymnastics East Conference. The Golden Rams are a combined 15-0 in head-to-head competition against GEC schools in the regular season, and West Chester has taken third place in each of the first two GEC Championships (2022, 2023). Couple that with wins over Alaska-Anchorage a year ago and a victory against Bowling Green in 2020, and West Chester has represented itself rather well against larger schools with much more money and resources.
USA WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING TO WEST CHESTER
West Chester University has been chosen to host the 2024 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Championships this coming April. It marks the first time that the Golden Rams have hosted the national tournament in school history. The six-team tournament format guarantees a spot for the host institution, which would increase the field to seven should West Chester not have a high enough National Qualifying Score (NQS) at the end of the regular season. To be eligible for the USAG national tournament, a school must offer fewer than six scholarships to its gymnasts.
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