West Chester at Texas Woman’s vs Southeast Missouri State
Meet Details: Friday, January 17 I 7 P.M.
Location: Kitty Magee Arena (Denton, Tx.)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE
TWU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE
SEMO Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE
Last Time Out
West Chester opened its 2025 season on Saturday afternoon at Rutgers in a quad meet with the Scarlet Knights, Towson Tigers, and Gymnastics East rival Penn Quakers. Led by a second-place all-around finish by Sarah Eskew (Pittsburgh, Pa.) with a score of 38.500, thanks to a 9.7 on the floor, West Chester finished its season opener with a team score of 189.200. Veterans led the way for West Chester for much of the afternoon on Saturday as Lily McFarland (Baltimore, Md.) and Natalie Marshall (Bolton, Ma.) led West Chester on beam with scores of 9.700, while Caroline Cascadden (Ashburn, Va.) led the Golden Rams on the floor with a 9.75. Eskew led WCU on vault with a score of 9.600 while also tying with Melina Ringas (Glen Allen, Va.) to lead West Chester on bars with a pair of 9.600 scores.
Welcome to the Flock
West Chester saw a number of Golden Rams make their lineup debuts on Saturday, led by EmmaGrace Kelly (Bradenton, Fl.), Catherine (Cat) Keener (Holly Springs, N.C.), and Rylee Harada (Runnemede, N.J.). Kelly made her debut as part of the beam and floor exercise lineup, finishing with a score of 9.075 on the beam and a 9.750 on the floor, which was second-best on the team. Keener and Harada also debuted in the floor lineup, finishing with scores of 9.725 and 9.600, respectively.
Scouting the Opposition
Texas Woman’s University (TWU) (1-0)
TWU opened its 2025 season on Sunday afternoon with a dominant 194-180.375 victory over Centenary in the first of two straight at home to open the season. The Pioneers started their season with a win for the first time since the 2018 season with 194.000, which set a new program record for the highest score in a season opener. TWU started with a 48.625 on the vault and a 48.750 on the uneven bars, its highest event score of the evening. On beam, the Pioneers registered a 48.225 before closing out the afternoon with a 48.400 on floor, led by a 9.875 from Kyleigh Ganbari, who had also scored a 9.650 on vault to open the meet. Alaina Reed led TWU on vault with a 9.700, while Kaitlynn Holland scored a 9.825 on the uneven bars and a 9.750 on beam to lead the team in both events.
Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) (1-5)
The Red Hawks enter Friday night with a record of 1-5 on the year after going 0-3 in a Quad meet at Missouri against Mizzou, Illinois State, and Ball State to open the season. They then went 1-2 in another quad at Ball State last Sunday, falling to Ball State and Illinois. Meanwhile, the Red Hawks registered their first win of the year over Wisconsin-Eau Claire by an 189.750-181.500 final. SEMO opened its season with a 190.475 on Friday, January 3rd, at Missouri.
At Missouri, rookie Joselene Hernandez impressed early, making her collegiate debut with an All-Around performance of 38.600, including a 9.750 on the floor, a pair of 9.650’s on vault and beam, and a 9.575 on the bars. On bars, SEMO was headlined by the return of two-time Midwest Independent Conference bar champion Lindsay Ockler, who anchored the lineup with a score of 9.800, which was the highest of any Redhawk on the evening.
On Sunday at Ball State, Taylr Ingle was the storyline as she competed in the all-around and finished third with a score of 38.700, including a 9.750 on the floor, a 9.675 on beam and vault, and a team-best 9.600 on bars.
Road Warriors
West Chester will not open its home slate until a February 1 tri-meet with SUNY-Cortland and SUNY-Brockport. Including Friday night in Texas, the Golden Ram's next two meets will be their longest road trip of the season as the team competes in Texas on Friday night before competing at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Monday night. The Golden Rams visit to the Gold Dome at Centenary on Monday will be the first chance for WCU to see and compete at the site of the 2025 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championships (WCGNIC), formerly known as the USA Gymnastics Championships that West Chester hosted last Spring. The 2025 WCGNICs are set to be held in mid-April, with competition getting under on Friday, April 11, and concluding on Sunday, April 13.
Making a Name for Itself Among the Giants
West Chester University, which competes at the NCAA Division II level in all other school sports, has held its own against the mostly Division I institutions that make up the Gymnastics East Conference. The Golden Rams are a combined 17-3 in head-to-head competition against GEC schools in the regular season, and West Chester has taken third place in two of the first three GEC Championships (2022, 2023).
