Lindonwood University has announced the addition of Women's Gymnastics, starting with the 2012-2013 season. In 2013-2014, they will be competing as a Division II program. Head Coach Gretchen Goerlitz comes to LU after two years at Centenary. The former USU and DU competitor got her master's at TWU. In a release, Goerlitz said, “I’m honored to be the first head women’s gymnastics coach at Lindenwood University, to be joining the ranks of such an ambitious athletics department, and to be a part of the history of building a new and strong gymnastics program,” said Goerlitz. “I cannot think of a better university to be adding the sport of gymnastics. It is truly a great time to be a part of Lindenwood and specifically the athletic department as it paves new paths down the road of excellence.”
Link: Release
29 Men qualified for the VISA Championships out of this past weekend's qualifier. Among collegians, Mel Anton Santander led the way in 3rd place while former teammate Chris Cameron as 2nd. Edward Mesa won the meet. Seung Tai Lee of Ohio State was 4th, while Kyle Bunthuwong of Cal was 5th.
Link: Results
Auburn has added Dawn Schueller as Director of Gymnastics Operations. She is a former volunteer assistant.
Link: AU Release
UCLA has announced several changes to their coaching staff:
Randy Lane returns to UCLA after stints at MSU and UF.
Amy Smith joins the staff as a volunteer assistant. She was an assistant last at Missouri
Chris Waller has been promoted to Associate Head Coach from Assistant Head Coach.
Link: UCLA Release
NU incoming Jessie DeZiel posted a three-event qualifying score to advance to the Cover Girl Classic in a few weeks. She did not compete UB. Former Kentucky great Jenny Hansen fell just short of her attempt to qualify on VT and BB. She posted a solid 14.35 on a 5.3 SV vault but her two event total was 0.55 shy of what was needed to move on..
Link: July Qualifier Results
Two former Sooners (Jonathan Horton and Steven Legendre) and one current Sooner (Alex Naddour) helped the US to a silver medal in the team competition at the Japan Cup. Japan won the gold.
Link: Results
Arkansas has named former Razorback gymnast Samantha Cortez to the post of Assistant Coach. Cortez competed for Arkansas from 2005-08 and worked as staff for the team following her graduation.
Illinois Head Coach Kim Landrus has announced the hiring of Rodney Gust as an assistant. He has served for the last two seasons at Yale. Prior to that, he coached at Flipz and GAGE.
Link: Illinois Release
It's another summer of offseason work, and we've unfortunately had to say "goodbye" to some of our favorite seniors. On the women's side, we're going to lose some standout champions like 2011 NCAA AA Champion Kylie Botterman of Michigan, Bama's Kayla Hoffman and UCLA's Brittani McCullough. Although rosters for next season are not finalized, here's a quick summary of the status of Top 25 women's teams from this past season, with their key losses summarized and highlighted.
New Cal Head Coach Danna Durante has hired Justin Howell as an assistant. Howell has coached over 40 NCAA gymnasts while serving as Head Coach and Program Director at Airborne Gymnastics.
Link: Cal Release
Oklahoma has hired Olympian and former BYU star Guard Young as an assistant. He has been most recently coached at Byers. Former OU assistant Rustam Sharipov is now the Head Coach at Ohio State.
Link: OU Release
Towson has hired Becky (nee Robertson) Schaller as an assistant. She was a standout at MSU in the 90s and has been volunteeing at Towson the past year. She has been a club coach at Harford.
Link: Towson Release
Nebraska Head Coach Dan Kendig has announced that Heather Brink will join the program as an assistant coach. She has been coaching since 2006 at Nebraska SOG, and prior to that at the Arizona Sunrays. The 11-time All-American and former National AA champion replaces Danna Durante, who is now the Head Coach at Cal.
Link: NU Release