There’s a lot that happens on the gymternet each week. So much so that it can be hard to keep track of it all. From training updates and COVID year announcements to recruiting rumors and coaching news, we don’t blame you for missing some important points here and there.
That’s where we come in. Last Week in College Gym is your one-stop shop for all the important headlines from the previous week in college gymnastics. No matter if you’re taking a social media break, went on vacation or just don’t have the capacity to follow every single gymnast, team and fan, we have you covered.
Top Storylines
Rene Lyst Named Brockport Head Coach
Rene Lyst, who was mostly recently the head coach at Arizona State from 2015-16 and spent 13 years as co-head coach at Arkansas prior to that, will take over for longtime Brockport head coach John Feeney, who retired earlier this year after 22 years at the helm. Lyst is a controversial hire at the least, having been put on administrative leave while at Arizona State before being ultimately fired in 2016. She has not coached at the collegiate level in the five years since.
What our editors are saying…
“With Feeney leaving Brockport, I’m shocked someone local or closer to the DIII community didn’t step in to replace him. Feeney is known for being very personal while recruiting gymnasts and maintaining an open door with close relationships with his athletes throughout their time at Brockport. He has an incredibly storied career within the Rochester area and greater gymnastics community, so it’s an absolute shock that someone so far out of the bubble was chosen to be his successor. Whether that was the university choosing to slight Feeney or perhaps it was just not interested in how its gymnastics program would move forward, who knows. But to move from one extreme of wanting the best for the team to questionable decisions about running their former team, it’ll be an interesting season for sure.” – GEC & NCGA-East Editor, Allison Freeman
Lindenwood’s 2015 Team Named to Athletics Hall of Fame
The 2015 Lindenwood gymnastics team was named a member of the Lindenwood Athletics Hall of Fame. That year marked Lindenwood’s first MIC championship and USAG national title in just the program’s third year in existence.
Other Newsworthy Items
- UW-Eau Claire named Jordan Ehde as an assistant coach.
- Sydney Johnson-Scharpf posted a video of her first flip since she tore her Achilles during warmups at regionals earlier this year.
NIL Brand Deals
- Kentucky senior Arianna Patterson has released a number of childrens books.
Training Updates
- Iowa State freshman Marina Gonzalez posted training footage of a piked Hindorff to her Instagram. Two Cyclones are also training Yurchenko 1.5s, freshman Hannah Loyim and sophomore Emilie Hong.
- Arkansas freshman Kalyxta Gamiao is training a LOSO + LOSO series on beam per Arkansas’ Instagram story.
- LSU newcomer Aleah Finnegan is training a BHS + LOSO + LOSO series, per her TikTok. This is the first time Finnegan has been shown doing a leg event since her surgery earlier year.
- New Hampshire junior Kylie Gorgenyi is training a Yurchenko 1.5.
- Two Towson freshmen—Mia Davis and Elise Tisler—are training Yurchenko 1.5s on vault.
- North Carolina sophomore Cory Shinohara is back training vault after missing the 2021 season with a torn Achilles.
- Bridgeport’s Kathryn Doran is training a Cappuccitti (laid-out Jaeger) on bars.
- Georgia senior Megan Roberts upgraded to a Van Leeuwen on bars.
- Georgia senior Alyssa Perez-Lugones is training a blind change to straddle jaeger on bars. Perez-Lugones also showcased aFHS pike on vault a few weeks ago. She’s only competed beam and floor previously.
- Centenary junior Taylor Ann Wilson is training a front aerial on beam.
- Winona State’s Taryn Sellner is training a Rudi to back tuck floor combination. She teased the possibility of a two pass floor set for this season on Instagram stories. In addition, teammate Kaitlyn West is training a Yurchenko tuck full for her senior season.
- West Virginia junior Abbie Pierson is training a Yezhova on bars, per WVU’s Instagram story.
- Denver freshman Momo Iwai showed a front layout to front double full on Tumbl Trak on Denver’s Instagram story. Freshman Mia Hebinck is also training a kick over tuck landing in arabesque on beam.
- LSU freshman Kaytlyn Johnson is working a DTY.
- Penn State’s Sarah Duhe is training a double layout on floor.
READ THIS NEXT: Last Week in College Gym: Sept. 27
Article by the editors of College Gym News
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