On September 11th, 2001, Mari-Rae Sopper was on her way to California, ready to start her job as Head Coach of the women's team at UC Santa Barbara. Sopper, a former standout at Iowa State, was known as "ISUFan" on the College Gymnastics Board. She had given up her job as a Navy JAG Corp lawyer to pursue her dream, and to help save the program at UCSB. She lost her life during the events of that fateful day as the plane she was on was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon. We pause to remember her spirit and dedication to the sport, and her inspiring effort to pursue her dreams, as well as the others who lost their lives that fateful day.
Citing a $75M shortfall, Minnesota will terminate four Men's sports after this season, including Men's Gymnastics. Stay tuned for more updates.
Link: Letter
SCSU has hired Byron Knox as their new Head Coach. Know was the Head Coach at Bridgeport for the last 16 seasons, and led the squad to six straight USA Gymnastics National titles. He was a gymnast on SCSU's Men's team, a member of the US National team and coached at SCSU and Yale. Bridgeport faces some uncertainty as the university has been acquired. A number of gymnasts have transferred during the off-season.
Link: Release
Sydney Wrighte announced on Instagram that she will be taking a medical retirement from gymnastics.
W&M is cutting seven Olympic sports due to budget shortfalls.
Andrew Eddington and Brittany McClure have been appointed assistant coaches. Polina Shchennikova has been added as volunteer coach.
Heidi Vanderboom competed last season for Temple. SEMO looks to her to add depth to vault and beam lineups.
More sad news, as we are now down to 16 men's teams. Due to COVID related revenue losses and a projected deficit of $60 to $75M, Iowa has made a decision to terminate Men's Gymnastics at the end of the 2020-2021 season. They will also cut M&W's swimming and men's tennis.
Link: Iowa Letter
LSU has hired former standout Ashleigh Gnat as their new assistant coach, following the retirement of the legendary D-D Breaux from the staff.
Link: LSU Release
UAA has announced a decision to terminate Gymnastics, Men's Hockey and men's and women's skiing after this current season. The decision must be ratified by the Board of Regents in their September meeting. A period of public comment is available, and the team is organizing actions to protest the decision.
Link: Release
TWU topped the 2019-2020 WCGA Team GPA rankings, just edging out EMU. They were closely followed by NIU and WMU. In addition, individual awards were given to those student-athletes posting a 3.5 or high GPA.
Link: WCGA Release
EMU has promoted Sam Higgins as an assistant coach. She's been serving as a volunteer assistant for three seasons, and has been an optional team coach at Gym America for 10 years.
Link: EMU Release
Kaitlyn Higgins is a junior transfer from Minnesota.
Quest Hayden has held volunteer coaching positions at Michigan and PSU.