It was a strange year in the WIAC last season. Perennial powerhouses, UW-Whitewater and UW-La Crosse were overthrown by UW-Stout and UW-Oshkosh. UW-Eau Claire, a team that typically finishes its season in contention for that third spot to nationals, fell to the bottom of the rankings. And our three Minnesota schools, Hamline, Gustavus and Winona, all had conference finishes that were different than their rankings predicted. All this to say, it’s going to be very interesting to see how this year plays out. Will last year’s rankings become the new normal, or will we see surprises yet again?
The 2020 season will be here before we know it! And with preseason training in full swing, it’s time to start looking at the teams and how they might fare when the action kicks off in January—from who’s expected to compete, holes coaches need to fill, exciting upgrades you might see and more.
No. 71 UW-Stout
Last season, UW-Stout soared to the top of the WIAC rankings and claimed its first conference title. You may also remember it soaring to the top of your Twitter feed and gaining gymternet recognition when vault star Shadae Boone scored a (questionable) 9.600 for a stuck Yurchenko one and a half. Well Judge Judy better be prepared to give out some better scores because this team is back and better than ever.
| Losses: | Samantha Abler, Chelsea Gray (BB), Sierra Beaver (UB, BB), Maddy Lord, Maria Wagner | |||
| Gains: | Carlie Beatty, Chloe Beatty, Jenna Jones, Charli Sizemore, Kailyn Westbrook, Dani Wides | |||
Vault
Potential Contributors: Shadae Boone (9.650), Mikala Bugge (9.590), Brooke Terry (9.455), Britney Wolfe (9.360), Madison Latzke (9.265), Belle Ihde, Maddie Mullenbach, Chloe Beatty, Jenna Jones, Kailyn Westbrook, Dani Wides
How It Looked Before: Boone’s vault was stellar, but the rest of the lineup lacked the same level of difficulty and competed mostly Yurchenko layouts and handspring fronts. However, this was still a high scoring event for the Blue Devils because their technique and landings were very strong.
How It Looks Now: In addition to the Yurchenko one and a half, there have been training videos of four other twisting Yurchenkos from Belle Ihde, Kailyn Westbrook, Britney Wolfe and Brooke Terry.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Mallary Dick (9.520), Belle Ihde (9.425), Brooke Terry (9.400), Mikala Bugge (9.315), Shadae Boone (8.570), Sierra Coonts, Cassie Ehmann, Olivia Rosenow, Britney Wolfe, Jaclyn Bertrand, Jenna Jones, Charli Sizemore, Dani Wides
How It Looked Before: Bars was good last season. The lineup struggled here and there with the usual DIII issues like consistency, routines that weren’t “up to the level” and cleanliness on the big skills, but for the most part it was pretty strong compared to others in the conference.
How It Looks Now: The team’s strongest bars worker, Sierra Beaver, won’t be returning this year, but the Blue Devil’s shouldn’t have too difficult of a time replacing her lineup spot. Freshman Charli Sizemore could be a good fit with a nice set that includes a blind + Jaeger connection and clean bail.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up. We’ve seen videos of upgraded dismounts from Mallary Dick, Shadae Boone, Cassie Ehmann and Jaclyn Bertrand. These upgrades would help meet the difficulty requirements that weren’t met by everyone last season.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Brooke Terry (9.665), Britney Wolfe (9.645), Mikala Bugge (9.340), Emma Sirjord (9.270), Maddie Mullenbach, Shadae Boone, Madison Latzke, Carlie Beatty, Chloe Beatty, Jenna Jones, Charli Sizemore, Kailyn Westbrook, Dani Wides
How It Looked Before: The Blue Devils broke the team beam record last season by nearly six tenths! Wolfe was a big contributor here with a very clean and consistent set that averaged over a 9.500.
How It Looks Now: The team lost two strong beam workers; however, there is a lot of depth and difficulty to play with this year. Carlie Beatty would be a solid choice to fill in one of the lineup spots. Though her set doesn’t have any crazy or super exciting skills, it is extremely clean and could be nice in the leadoff position. As for big skills, both Jenna Jones and Dani Wides have the ability to do double back dismounts, which isn’t common in DIII.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Floor
Potential Contributors: Mikala Bugge (9.660), Shadae Boone (9.615), Emma Sirjord (9.440), Maddie Mullenbach (9.405), Belle Ihde (9.190), Brooke Terry, Mallary Dick, Carlie Beatty, Chloe Beatty, Jenna Jones, Dani Wides
How It Looked Before: This was actually the team’s lowest ranked event despite breaking the school record at the conference championship.
How It Looks Now: This should be one of the team’s best events this season with six to seven returnees capable of 9.500-plus scores and some freshmen with nice sets. Wides competed a difficult set that included a RO + whip + double pike. Jones could also contribute here and has a front tuck step-out through to double back that looks incredibly easy for her.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Overall Outlook
Based on talent, the Blue Devil’s should have no trouble replicating the success they saw last year. What will be really interesting to watch for is whether we actually see some of the upgrades they’ve been teasing or if they choose to play it safe early in the season.
No. 72 UW-Oshkosh
After a bit of a slower start to last season than expected, the Titans peaked at just the right time to finish second in the WIAC for the first time since 2007. A strong freshman class played a big role in their success, and this year should be no different.
| Losses*: | Bailey Finin (FX), Bailee Hardy (UB), Madison Reiter (FX) | |||
| Gains*: | Adana Amor, Caroline Phillips, Leia Randall, Trinity Sawyer, Kennedy Springer, Kaeli Welsh | |||
*UW-O has not updated the team roster yet, so these are based off social media posts and may not be entirely accurate.
Vault
Potential Contributors: Emily Gilot (9.605), Rahdea Jarvis (9.420), Amira Ali (9.400), Kaira Hammond (9.385), Jessica Bernardo (9.325) Haley Minor (9.160), Olivia Keller, Naya Haynes, Adana Amor, Trinity Sawyer, Kennedy Springer, Caroline Phillips
How It Looked Before: Emily Gilot and Rahdea Jarvis brought the wow-factor to this lineup with a Yurchenko layout half and full, respectively.
How It Looks Now: The Titans had five twisting vaults in their intrasquad lineup, including an upgraded Yurchenko full from junior Amira Ali. Not all of these vaults looked ready for competition, but it’s telling that they have the ability to land that many to competition height in early December.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell. We almost certainly won’t see all these upgrades, so it will come down to whether their downgraded vaults are clean enough to score well.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Kaira Hammond (9.485), Rahdea Jarvis (9.315), Emily Gilot (9.280), Jessica Bernardo (9.140), Marisa Scholtens (8.745), Baylee Tkaczuk, Haley Minor, Adana Amor, Trinity Sawyer, Kennedy Springer, Caroline Phillips, Leia Randall
How It Looked Before: Bars was one of the Titans weaker events last season. This wasn’t due to lack of talent and difficulty, but rather lack of finesse.
How It Looks Now: Nine gymnasts showed routines with a single bar release at the team’s recent intrasquad. This is an incredible amount of difficulty for a DIII team! However, like last year, things just looked a bit messy and will need some work to be worth the bonus. One freshman who was not featured much this preseason (perhaps there’s an unknown injury) but has a really clean set with a Maloney and double layout is Adana Amor.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell. There are enough returning routines to know that bars should stay at least about the same as last year, but freshmen Trinity Sawyer, Caroline Phillips and Kennedy Springer could potentially break into the lineup and shake things up a bit.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Kaira Hammond (9.705), Olivia Keller (9.625), Jessica Bernardo (9.340), Alyssa Nore (9.230), Amira Ali (9.210), Emily Gilot (9.140), Baylee Tkaczuk, Rachel Morris, Rahdea Jarvis, Paige Mayhew, Marisa Scholtens, Trinity Sawyer
How It Looked Before: Beam was an amazing event for the Titans. In fact, they finished the season ranked first in the entire division on the event. Kaira Hammond and Olivia Keller were standouts and played a huge role in the success of the beam squad.
How It Looks Now: Like last year, this is going to be a great event for the Titans, and it’s going to be difficult for newcomers to break into the top six since the team didn’t lose a single routine. However, Jarvis only saw action on beam at one meet last season but looked really strong at the intrasquad this year, so watch for her to potentially sneak in and claim a spot from one of the more inconsistent returnees.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Floor
Potential Contributors: Olivia Keller (9.590), Rahdea Jarvis (9.540), Jessica Bernardo (9.535), Emily Gilot (9.520), Amira Ali (9.400), Alyssa Nore, Trinity Sawyer, Kennedy Springer, Caroline Phillips
How It Looked Before: Oshkosh had a great floor lineup last season that featured a lot of difficult and interesting passes, such as a Rudi + split jump + punch front from Gilot.
How It Looks Now: There is some amazing tumbling happening on this team right now including two double layouts; Jarvis’ looks like she could compete it safely at some point this season.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Overall Outlook
The Titans have an extremely talented team right now and the ability to do some of the most, if not the most, difficult routines in the division. However, it will be interesting to see if their difficulty is enough to keep them above the competition or if we see easier yet cleaner sets score better.
No. 74 UW-Whitewater
Last year was an interesting season for the Warhawks. The beginning half of the year was riddled with far too many scores in the low- to mid-180.000 range for a team coming off a win at the NCGA championships. However, things came together right at the last second, and the Warhawks not only earned a trip to the championships but claimed third. This year could be another interesting one as the team lost a critical group of gymnasts. But if there’s anything we learned from 2019, it’s that this team should never be counted out.
| Losses*: | Erika Briscoe (VT, BB, FX), Kaylie Collins (FX), Lewa Evans (VT, FX), Bailey Fitzpatrick (VT, UB), Abby Helmke (UB, BB), Franchesca Hutton (BB, FX) | |||
| Gains*: | Abby Kappler, Alex Lacey (transfer from Ursinus), Morgan McEntire, Meg McGinley, Faith Mylin, Karina Sabol, Taiya Stelmachowski, Crystal Straszewski, Emily Whitis | |||
*UW-W has not updated the team roster yet, so these are based off of social media posts and may not be entirely accurate.
Vault
Potential Contributors: Lauren Marshall (9.635), Abigail Missiaen (9.540), Rachel Lewellen (9.400), Emily North (9.265), Jessi Rondeau (9.050), Blaise Wilson, Ashleigh Turek, Abby Kappler, Alex Lacey, Morgan McEntire, Meg McGinley, Faith Mylin
How It Looked Before: As usual, vault was one of Whitewater’s strongest events last season. Lauren Marshall’s Yurchenko full and Abigail Missiaen’s huge handspring front were the highlights of this rotation.
How It Looks Now: Freshmen Abby Kappler and Meg McGinley have both trained twisting vaults and competed strong Yurchenko layouts. Watch for them to help fill in the gaps of this lineup.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Blaise Wilson (9.570), Jessi Rondeau (9.090), Acacia Fossum (8.925), Ashleigh Turek (8.560), Emily North, Brooke Lutz, Abby Kappler, Alex Lacey, Morgan McEntire, Faith Mylin, Taiya Stelmachowski
How It Looked Before: Usually, bars is one of the Warhawks best events. However, last season the team struggled with consistency, which led to some scores in the 42.000 to 43.000 range at a few meets.
How It Looks Now: Acacia Fossum has the potential to bring in huge scores here if she can manage a better hit-rate this season. As for newcomers, Taiya Stelmachowski has a great set that includes a clean piked Jaeger.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Vanessa Olinger (9.410), Emily North (9.335), Acacia Fossum (9.285), Blaise Wilson, Abby Kappler, Alex Lacey, Morgan McEntire, Meg McGinley, Faith Mylin, Karina Sabol, Taiya Stelmachowski, Emily Whitis
How It Looked Before: Franchesca Hutton was the star here and claimed the national title on the event.
How It Looks Now: Ursinus transfer Alex Lacey has the potential to be helpful. She has competed a clean set with a unique front toss + back handspring swing down series. Karina Sabol also has a nice set that scored as high as 9.525 in J.O.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Floor
Potential Contributors: Acacia Fossum (9.540), Vanessa Olinger (9.445), Emily North (9.365), Blaise Wilson, Abby Kappler, Alex Lacey, Morgan McEntire, Meg McGinley, Faith Mylin, Karina Sabol, Emily Whitis
How It Looked Before: By the end of the season, floor was one of the team’s strongest events. Hutton and two of her fellow senior classmates held the lineup together with their consistency and confidence.
How It Looks Now: This could definitely be the Warhawks best event in 2020. McGinley, Faith Mylin and Emily Whitis all have some big tumbling; McGinley boasts a front tuck step-out through to double pike while Mylin and Whitis opened their sets with front double fulls. However, Sabol will be the team’s biggest asset with a beautiful set that includes a back two and a half and Rudi + layout combination. She concluded her J.O. career with a massive 9.750.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up. Nearly all of the team’s newcomers have the potential to contribute some big scores on this event.
Overall Outlook
We haven’t seen many training updates or highlights from the Warhawks intrasquad, and basing newcomers’ contributions solely off of their J.O. performances doesn’t always translate. For this reason, it’s difficult to know what this season is really going to look like for the Warhawks. At the very least, they should be able to produce results similar to last year.
No. 75 UW-La Crosse
Like Whitewater, UW-La Crosse also had a bit of an interesting season in 2019. There weren’t any standout meets from the Eagles, yet they somehow managed to be the only team in the conference to win all of its duals. However, nerves seemed to get the best of the Eagles when it counted, and the team missed a trip to the national championships for the first time in program history. It will be exciting to see if and/or how the team bounces back, as it surely won’t want to end the season on the same note as last year.
| Losses: | Dani Barmore (UB, BB, FX), Ellie Beckman (UB, FX), Savannah Farrell (VT, UB), Breghan Kiloran (VT, UB, FX), Mimi Lucido, Aisling Polley, Sam Weyker (VT, BB, FX) Emiko Wilks (BB) | |||
| Gains: | Jordyn Faust, Audrey Kaufman, Kerrie Legault, Katie Saladin,
Alexis Sands (rejoined team), Cate Sandvik, Diana Strahl, Madi Vanderpool, Alex Wood |
|||
Vault
Potential Contributors: Megan Hawkins (9.450), Kacey Mortenson (9.360), Jessica Ahrens (9.120), Olivia Opheim, Faith Sersland, Jenna Danninger, Emma Grant, Audrey Kaufman, Alexis Sands, Katie Saladin, Madi Vanderpool, Alex Wood
How It Looked Before: Vault was just OK last year and probably should have been better than it was, but the team struggled with a few injuries and landing issues that held them back.
How It Looks Now: Faith Sersland and Kacey Mortenson brought some upgrades to the team’s recent intersquad, with Sersland competing a Yurchenko full-on + tuck off and Mortenson a tucked Yurchenko full. Besides these, it’ll be a lineup with a lot of strong handspring fronts with the strongest ones coming from Jenna Danninger and Audrey Kaufman.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Brooke Kachinsky (9.520), Kacey Mortenson (9.175), Molly Lyngaas, Brittany Gutzkow, Emma Grant, Jordyn Faust, Kerrie Legault, Cate Sandvik, Madi Vanderpool, Alex Wood
How It Looked Before: When the bars lineup hit, this was a good event for the Eagles. However, this was the event where they seemed to be the most “nervy” and struggled with consistency problems.
How It Looks Now: Kerrie Legault will be a critical member of the lineup with a very clean set highlighted by a Maloney + bail connection. Cate Sandvik could also contribute an exciting set that features a full twisting Tkatchev.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up. Barring consistency issues, this lineup really should be one of the best in the entire division and boasts a lot of big skills and connections.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Jessica Ahrens (9.585), Olivia Opheim (9.385), Emma Grant (9.235), Kacey Mortenson, Ally Brugler, Brooke Kachinsky, Megan Hawkins, Faith Sersland, Jordyn Faust, Audrey Kaufman, Kerrie Legault, Alexis Sands, Cate Sandvik, Madi Vanderpool, Alex Wood
How It Looked Before: Like bars, beam was a great event for the Eagles when they hit. Ally Blixt capped off the team’s success on the event with a second place finish at nationals.
How It Looks Now: There are so many good beam-workers on this team that we likely won’t see a lot of fantastic sets. Olivia Opheim will yet again be a key member of the top six with her interesting aerial-filled set that finishes with a unique side aerial + back one and a half dismount.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up. The team had quite a few falls at its intersquad, but if everyone can just, you know, stay on the beam, this will easily be their best event.
Floor
Potential Contributors: Emma Grant (9.625), Brittany Gutzkow (9.450), Kacey Mortenson (9.365), Faith Sersland (9.175), Olivia Opheim, Jenna Danninger, Megan Hawkins, Audrey Kaufman, Katie Saladin
How It Looked Before: This event saw tremendous growth from the beginning to the end of last season. Emma Grant was one of the highlights with her big tumbling and fun choreography.
How It Looks Now: Grant will continue to lead the team with a big double Arabian upgrade that she debuted at the intersquad. Mortenson also upgraded her routine by adding a front double full. Kaufman, however, could prove E passes aren’t everything and competed a set that featured both a huge double pike and a really nice back two and a half twist.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Overall Outlook
Based on training highlights and their performance at the intersquad, if the Eagles can keep their nerves at bay, they should have a much better season than last year.
No. 78 Hamline
After a strong 2018 season, Hamline couldn’t quite fill in the gaps to maintain the same level of gymnastics in 2019 and struggled to hit a meet with solid performances on all four events. This year, the Pipers will be looking to improve their consistency and put themselves back in the nationals conversation.
| Losses: | Lauren Faust (BB), Rosie Giese (VT, UB, FX), Kelsey Rannaklev (VT, UB, BB), Darby Slater (AA), Meghan Webb (VT, BB, FX), Julia Williams (VT, FX) | |||
| Gains: | Sinclair Bagwell, Bailee Davis, Julia Hintermeister, Danielle Jaworski, Madison Lieurance, Tisana Lowe, Elizabeth Schauer, Maddie Sowinski | |||
Vault
Potential Contributors: Nikki Johnsen (9.285), Caitlin Cooper (8.950), Carolina Schlawiedt, Sinclair Bagwell, Bailee Davis, Danielle Jaworski, Madison Lieurance, Tisana Lowe, Elizabeth Schauer, Maddie Sowinski
How It Looked Before: Like many other mid-tier DIII teams, Hamline’s lineup consisted of mostly handspring fronts and Yurchenko layouts. The team struggled with landings, particularly on the handspring fronts.
How It Looks Now: Tisana Lowe is going to be an important member of the lineup with a strong Yurchenko layout full. Elizabeth Shauer and Carolina Schlawiedt are also possible vaulters. Both showed huge handspring fronts at the team’s intrasquad.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Lydia Ingram (9.165), Carolina Schlawiedt (9.015), Nikki Johnsen (8.945), Caitlin Cooper (8.815), Emma Patterson, Mary Kelly, Bailee Davis, Danielle Jaworski, Madison Lieurance, Tisana Lowe, Elizabeth Schauer, Maddie Sowinski
How It Looked Before: Bars is the event that held the team back. It just wasn’t at the same level as beam and floor were in terms of both consistency and difficulty.
How It Looks Now: At the team’s recent intrasquad, bars looked a bit rough but there were some bright spots. Mary Kelly is working an upgraded double layout dismount. Emma Patterson is also training an upgraded blind full + double tuck dismount.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Lydia Ingram (9.465) Katie Kalland (9.390), Katie Viles (9.245), Nikki Johnsen (8.950), Emma Patterson, Sinclair Bagwell, Bailee Davis, Danielle Jaworski, Madison Lieurance, Tisana Lowe, Maddie Sowinski
How It Looked Before: Beam was the Pipers’ best event of the year; however, it suffered from a bit of a meltdown at conference.
How It Looks Now: Senior Lydia Ingram will be an important member of this beam squad as most of the other lineup members are going to be less experienced underclassmen. Freshman Sinclair Bagwell has a beautiful set that features a fantastic switch leap + straddle half + beat jump connection and front aerial + back tuck.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Floor
Potential Contributors: Katie Kalland (9.225), Caitlin Cooper (9.220), Nikki Johnsen (9.055), Katie Viles, Sinclair Bagwell, Bailee Davis, Julia Hintermeister, Danielle Jaworski, Madison Lieurance, Tisana Lowe, Elizabeth Schauer, Maddie Sowinski
How It Looked Before: Seniors Darby Slater and Meghan Webb were national qualifiers on this event and were key in the success of the floor squad.
How It Looks Now: Lowe is probably the most likely to break into the lineup right away with a super fun set and big tumbling. Danielle Jaworski and Schauer both had some hiccups in their sets at intrasquad, but they could also be good options once they are more consistent.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending down. It’s going to be difficult to fill in the gaps left by Slater and Webb.
Overall Outlook
With only four upperclassmen, Hamline is going to have to rely heavily on its freshmen and sophomores to contribute almost all of its sets. This could lead to a bit of an inconsistent season for them this year. However, these classes will gain valuable experience that will benefit them in future seasons.
No. 79 Winona State
Winona outperformed its rank last season to finish fifth at conference. This is a team that doesn’t typically score the big recruits but always manages to put itself right in the mix for a national spot by hitting routines when it counts. This season looks like it could play out in a similar fashion.
| Losses: | Natalie Koehler (BB), Leah Messelt (VT, BB, FX), Hailey Illi, Ashley Wright | |||
| Gains: | Maddy Bronson, Allison Crescimanno, Hailey Doherty, Breanna Ho, Jonica Jordan, Callie Van Dyck (transfer from Gustavus) | |||
Vault
Potential Contributors: Kaitlyn West (9.380), Kennedy Utz (9.275), Shelsea Zehr (9.235), Hailey Bryant (9.175), Callie Van Dyck (9.055; while at Gustavus) Anna Hiller (8.855), Alana Currin, Katie Curtis, Maya Fernando, Maddy Bronson, Allison Crescimanno, Jonica Jordan, Breanna Ho
How It Looked Before: Vault wasn’t bad last season, there just wasn’t anything that made you say, “wow.” Most of the lineup was Yurchenko layouts.
How It Looks Now: Alana Currin competed a tucked Tsuk full at the intersquad earlier this month. She landed a bit short, but this will be an exciting upgrade once it’s a bit more consistent. The rest of the lineup was mostly Yurchenko layouts again, but they all looked much more explosive and open off the table than they did at conference last season.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Shelsea Zehr (9.180) Anna Hiller (9.095), Alexis Burton (9.085), Hannah Matuszak (9.065), Hailey Bryant (9.035), Sunny Hasebe (9.025), Hannah Norman, Maddy Bronson, Allison Crescimanno, Breanna Ho
How It Looked Before: Bars was Winona’s biggest weakness for the majority of last season, but the team put together one of its best performances at the conference championship, which is always exciting to see. It says a lot about a team when it’s able to hit under pressure.
How It Looks Now: The bars lineup has some form things to work out before season hits, but for early December, it looks to be in a good position. Anna Hiller hit a nice set at intersquad with a routine that featured a difficult hop change + Jaeger combination. Sunny Hasebe also had a really nice set with a beautiful blind + Jaeger connection. Unfortunately, she had some trouble with her blind full + double tuck, but when she hits, this is going to be a huge score for the Warriors.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up. If they can work out the form/technique issues happening on bails and toe shoots, the Warriors should see some better scores than last year.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Kelly Johston (9.605), Sunny Hasebe (9.235), Cora Geiger (9.115), Kaitlyn West (8.690), Maya Fernando, Anna Hiller, Gabrielle Johnson, Elizabeth Maher, Megan Tran, Breanna Ho
How It Looked Before: Kelly Johnston was rock solid last year and represented the team strongly at nationals, earning fifth.
How It Looks Now: Johnston will most likely be the team’s strongest beam worker again. Hasebe is looking good as well and hit a difficult front aerial + side somi connection at the intersquad. Another exciting option is Megan Tran who is coming back from an Achilles injury and hit a super solid set at intersquad.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Floor
Potential Contributors: Kennedy Utz (9.490), Kaitlyn West (9.455), Shelsea Zehr (9.435), Katie Curtis (9.310), Hailey Bryant (9.070), Alana Currin, Kelly Johnston, Anna Hiller, Megan Tran, Mackenzie Velarde, Maddy Bronson, Breanna Ho
How It Looked Before: Floor was the Warrior’s best event score-wise at all meets but two last season thanks to consistent, strong scores from Kennedy Utz, Kaitlyn West and Shelsea Zehr.
How It Looks Now: Zehr had an impressive showing at the intersquad proving she is once again one of the team’s top contributors here. One interesting development in the lineup was the appearance of Johnston who has added the event to her repertoire in her senior season.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Overall Outlook
Though most of their events are looking stronger than last season, it’s going to take some cleaning up to truly put the Warriors in the nationals conversation. That said, Winona has an uncanny ability to put things together at the right time and outperform teams you wouldn’t expect it to.
No. 80 Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus has really stepped up its game these past few seasons, and last year was no exception. The Gusties took advantage of three strong all arounders to finish sixth at conference, ahead of Hamline and UW-Eau Claire. This year, they bring in six freshmen whose performances will be crucial to the success of the team, as many of the team’s strongest sets came from last year’s seniors.
| Losses: | Samantha Ardy (AA), Victoria Aycock (FX), Jamie Erdely (BB, FX), Jessica Gerczynski, Amanda Malo (AA), Katy Trunk (UB, BB, FX), Veronica Vasina | |||
| Gains: | Annie Corbett, Emma Esteb, Ashley Goeltl, Jenna Griffith, Sophia Nelson, Mackenna Zelenka | |||
Vault
Potential Contributors: Brooke Merila (9.345), Leah Heilig (9.300), Alyssa Teper (9.150), Sophia Redding, Leah Dargis, Lauren Smith, Annie Corbett, Emma Esteb, Ashley Goeltl, Jenna Griffith
How It Looked Before: Vault was the Gusties second best event of the year and was extremely consistent. Like many other WIAC teams, the lineup consisted of mostly Yurchenko layouts and a few piked Tsuks.
How It Looks Now: Annie Corbett has been looking strong this preseason and showed a tucked Yurchenko full at the intrasquad. There were also some really strong Yurchenko layouts in the lineup from Emma Esteb and Ashley Goeltl.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up. The Gusties still won’t have as much difficulty as some of the top teams, but they should be able to replace some of their piked vaults thanks to a strong group of freshmen.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Sophia Redding (9.220), Brooke Merila (9.040), Leah Heilig (8.820), Alyssa Teper, Grace Arnold, Annie Corbett, Ashley Goeltl, Jenna Griffith
How It Looked Before: Bars came together by the end of season, but early in the year, the team had a few rough meets. Seniors Sam Ardy and Amanda Malo were the team’s strongest competitors, and it will be tough to replace them this year.
How It Looks Now: Sophomore Sophia Redding has an upgraded set with a big Maloney + bail + toe shoot connection; there are some form things that need to be worked out, but this should be the team’s best set. Brooke Merila also has a new upgrade. She’s added a Gienger to her routine. As for newcomers, Corbett is the strongest here and has a nice set with a blind full + Tkatchev combination that has some knee issues but will still be useful in the lineup.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up. The team looks like it put in a lot of work during the offseason to add in a few new bonus connections to its key sets. There are still a lot of form problems, but these should be cleaned up by the end of season.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Brooke Merila (9.110), Sam Tonjes (8.210), Grace Arnold, Sophia Redding, Leah Heilig, Annie Corbett, Emma Esteb, Ashley Goeltl, Jenna Griffith, MacKenna Zalenka
How It Looked Before: Beam was a struggle last year and ended up being the event that cost them a higher finish at conference.
How It Looks Now: The freshman class is going to be key in the success of this lineup, with Corbett, Esteb, Goeltl and Jenna Griffith all having scored above a 9.000 in J.O. level 10. Mackenna Zalenka has also looked great in training videos and has a pretty cat leap + aerial connection.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up.
Floor
Potential Contributors: Leah Heilig (9.500), Brooke Merila (9.455), Sam Tonjes, Sophia Redding, Annie Corbett, Emma Esteb, Ashley Goeltl, Jenna Griffith
How It Looked Before: Floor was fantastic! Everything from unique choreography to powerful tumbling was done well all year, and the season ended in a record breaking performance at conference.
How It Looks Now: Four of the six main floor workers graduated so there are some big shoes to fill this year. Based on J.O. performances, Corbett, Esteb, Goeltl and Griffith should be able to fill those spots quite easily. However, based on videos from the intrasquad, there’s still a bit of work that needs to be done on tumbling, such as getting twisting passes all the way around and landing positions, so we may not see big scores early in the season.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell.
Overall Outlook
The Gusties have a great set of freshmen who could contribute at least 14 routines right off the bat, as well as Merila who gained postseason experience at nationals last year, so as long as form and landing things come together on bars and floor, there’s really no reason they shouldn’t see better scores this season.
No. 81 UW-Eau Claire
After coming so close to qualifying for nationals in 2018, coming in eighth at conference last season was a disappointing finish to the Blugold’s season. They lost some big scoring sets from a talented group of seniors, but have brought a huge freshman class to help combat the loss.
| Losses*: | Lauralynn Anderson, Kiya Bjorge, Hannah Lewis, Claire Lorbiecki, Clare Mascia, Amelia Moorehouse, Hanna Wendel | |||
| Gains*: | Emma Barry, Katie Fahrenkamp, Annabelle Howat, Eden Kingery, Christina Leikam, Kaiya Lindhardt, Lilianna Shank, Hailey Swanson, Mallory Walerko, Abby Weber | |||
*UW-EC has not updated the team roster yet, so these are based off of social media posts and may not be entirely accurate.
Vault
Potential Contributors: Ashley Benes (9.510), Victoria Perron (9.365), Andrea Gessner (9.340), Bailey Davidson (8.945), Jordan Ehde, Jada Deboer, Emma Barry, Katie Fahrenkamp, Christina Leikam, Kaiya Lindhardt, Hailey Swanson, Mallory Walerko
How It Looked Before: Though this wasn’t their highest ranking event, vault was actually fairly solid last season. The rotation was highlighted by national qualifier Ashley Benes and her beautiful handspring front.
How It Looks Now: This lineup won’t have a ton of difficulty but the Blugolds make up for it with their execution. Their intrasquad highlights included Tsuk and Yurchenko layouts, but we also saw a unique front handspring one and a half twist from Tayla Thome.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell. Most vaults were spotted at intrasquad, so it was difficult if the gymnasts were completing the skills like this on their own or if there was a lot of assistance.
Bars
Potential Contributors: Megan Fayler (9.405), Ashley Benes (9.105), Dani Malecha (8.310), Molly Cianchette, Sydney Dame, Jordan Ehde, Annabelle Howat, Christina Leikam, Kaiya Lindhardt, Hailey Swanson, Mallory Walerko, Abby Weber
How It Looked Before: Bars suffered from the typical DIII struggles of meeting up to the level requirements and consistently hitting, but the Blugolds did have a national qualifier on the event, Hannah Lewis, who concluded her career with a 12th place finish at nationals.
How It Looks Now: Molly Cianchette has been seen training a hop change, which would make the most sense to add before her Jaeger to give her some bonus. Freshman Annabelle Howat could also be a good contributor here and has a nice blind + Jaeger.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell. There seems to be a lot of moving pieces on this event and upgrades being worked, so it’s hard to know who and/or what will be ready for season.
Beam
Potential Contributors: Tayla Thome (8.940), Jordan Ehde (8.795), Sydney Dame, Jada DeBoer, Erin Hillegonds, Dani Malecha, Molly Rajala, Tayla Thome, Emma Barry, Katie Fahrenkamp, Christina Leikam, Hailey Swanson, Mallory Walerko, Abby Weber
How It Looked Before: Of the top six beam workers, four were seniors whose spots will need to be filled this season.
How It Looks Now: Jordan Ehde scored as high as a 9.600 last season and will look to perform at that level more consistently this year. She has looked strong in videos with a solid front toss + back handspring series. Sophomore Dani Malecha could also make an appearance in the lineup for the first time and has a beautiful, floaty back handspring layout stepout and roundoff one and a half dismount.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Trending up
Floor
Potential Contributors: Sydney Dame (9.285), Jordan Ehde (9.030), Bailey Davidson, Victoria Perron, Kaitlyn Trunkel, Tayla Thome, Emma Barry, Katie Fahrenkamp, Christina Leikam, Kaiya Lindhardt, Lilianna Shank, Hailey Swanson, Mallory Walerko, Abby Weber
How It Looked Before: The Blugolds were a better floor team than their ranking makes it seem. They had two national qualifiers on the event including Kiya Bjorge who claimed the silver.
How It Looks Now: Katie Fahrenkamp could be a nice addition to this lineup. She has training videos of a nice back two and a half, as well as a double back. Mallory Walerko also looked really strong earlier this preseason.
Trending up, down or too early to tell? Too early to tell. Like vault, there were a lot of strong tumbling passes at the intrasquad but most were spotted.
Overall Outlook
Overall, UW-EC is still a bit of a mystery. One big thing the Blugolds have going for them this year is that they have a really big team, so they should be able to play around with their lineups a bit throughout season to see who works best together.
Article by Rachel Riesterer
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