Name: Ellie Cacciola
Club: Elite Gymnastics and Cheer
High School Graduation Year: 2021
NCAA Team: Southern Utah
Commitment Announcement: Instagram
Social Handles: Twitter | Instagram (main) | Instagram (gymnastics)
Personal Bests
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| 9.500 | 9.100 | 9.550 | 9.400 |
Videos
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| 2019 Santa Invitational | 2020 Pink Ribbon Invitational | Unknown 2020 Meet | 2020 Dream Meet |
About Ellie
Cacciola began to compete as a level 10 in November 2018 at the Oklahoma Invitational, where she won the beam title and was second in the all around. In 2019 she posted a career high 9.550 on beam at the Phillips 66 Annual Invitational. After competing only in a couple of meets that year, Cacciola came back strong in 2020, posting career highs on vault, bars and floor.
What She Brings to Southern Utah
Vault
- Skill: Yurchenko full
- Results: first place at the 2020 Dream Meet (career high)
- Margin of Improvement: Cacciola’s Yurchenko full is strong. The only evident area of deduction is a slight pike down on the landing. She is also training a Yurchenko 1.5.
- Impact on the Team: SUU did well on vault in 2020, despite lacking very difficult vaults. Cacciola will be expected to contribute to the lineup from the start and to help the team continue to post solid scores.
Uneven Bars
- Skills: blind half to bail to handstand, toe shoot, double tuck dismount
- Results: fourth place at the 2020 Pink Ribbon Invitational (career high)
- Margin of Improvement: Cacciola’s routine still has a visible level 9 shape. She will want to upgrade some elements to make it more competitive. She is training a Tkatchev and a blind full to double tuck dismount. Execution-wise, her handstands are still a bit short and she has a slight knee bend on some elements.
- Impact on the Team: SUU did well on bars in 2020 and will hope to continue to do so in the years to come. Cacciola’s current routine is still not competitive enough, but she has one more year of club gymnastics to improve it.
Balance Beam
- Skills: BHS + LOSO, LOSO to scale, switch leap to switch leap, back tuck somersault, straddle jump half on the side of the beam, 1.5 twist dismount
- Results: first place at the 2019 Phillips 66 Annual Invitational (career high)
- Margin of Improvement: Cacciola could improve her leap extension, but her overall routine is solid. She is training a switch leap to switch leap half. Her layout stepout to scale makes her set unique.
- Impact on the Team: In 2022, SUU’s top two beam workers, Hannah Nipp and Autumn Jorgensen, will have graduated. Cacciola will be expected to contribute to the lineup with solid scores.
Floor Exercise
- Skills: double tuck, front full twist to front pike, 1.5 twist
- Results: fourth place at the 2020 Pink Ribbon Invitational (career high)
- Margin of Improvement: Cacciola still needs a third difficult tumbling pass to make her routine NCAA ready. She is training several skills, including a front double twist, a double pike and a full-in. She could also work on her leap extension a bit more.
- Impact on the Team: SUU’s floor lineup was very competitive in 2020. If she can add some more difficulty to her routine, Cacciola could challenge for a spot.
READ THIS NEXT: Recruit Files: Maddie Tyau, Southern Utah
Article by Talitha Ilacqua
Like what you see? Consider donating to support our efforts throughout the year! [wpedon id=”13158″]
2 comments