Our team is committed to delivering the latest news, in-depth analysis, and insightful commentary on collegiate gymnastics. Here, you can get to know the faces behind the articles, connect with our editors, and find the best points of contact for any inquiries or collaborations. Whether you’re a fan, an athlete, or a member of the gymnastics community, we are here to inform, engage, and celebrate the sport we all love. Explore our team and feel free to reach out—we’d love to hear from you!

For general comments, questions or inquiries, email us at [email protected]. To contact a specific editor, click ’email’ under their name below.

Meet the Team

Leadership Team

Elizabeth Grimsley | Editor-in-Chief
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First season with CGN: 2016

Elizabeth is a former gymnast turned gym nerd who lives in Texas but calls Georgia home. She is a lover of the Colorado Avalanche, Shark Week, and (well-performed) sheep jumps. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Journalism, an emphasis in magazines, a certificate in sports media, and a minor in sociology. She was a Fink Scholar and a Cox Poynter Leader. She founded College Gym News in the fall of 2015.

Read Elizabeth’s articles.

Brandis Heffner | Co-Managing Editor
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First season with CGN: 2019

Brandis is a gym nerd and avid sports fan who was raised in Central Illinois and now resides in Chicago. Despite a very short gymnastics career as a kid, he maintained his love for the sport. Brandis is a former diver, having dove for Iowa where he also earned degrees in journalism and sports studies. When not watching gymnastics, he can be found watching literally any other sport he can find on TV or afford to go to in person. As managing editor, Brandis helps with the day-to-day operations of the site, as well as manages CGN’s partnerships.

Read Brandis’ articles.

Emily Minehart | Co-Managing Editor
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First season with CGN: 2018

Emily is a former gymnast and judge turned runner and gym nerd living in Chicago. She’s a sucker for a good toe point, and in her non-gymnastics life, she has a B.A. in history from the University of Chicago, an M.S. in Library Science from the University of Illinois and is working as an archivist. As managing editor, Emily oversees CGN’s interns, onboarding and training, and special projects.

Read Emily’s articles.

Coverage Team

Claire Billman | Senior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2019
Current beat: SEC

Claire first fell in love with gymnastics as a small child watching Shannon Miller compete at the ’92 Olympics. Though she gave up competitive gymnastics at age 14 to focus on studying the cello, she has remained a devoted gym nerd. In her professional life, Claire is an occupational therapy assistant specializing in geriatric rehab and a stats/talent booth coordinator for ESPN. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband (a high-level ultimate frisbee player), dog, and cat. She makes all of them watch gymnastics meets with her in their spare time.

Read Claire’s articles.

Rebecca Scally | Senior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2018
Current beat: USAG, recruiting

Rebecca is a UK-born, Maryland-based gym fan. She’s a University of Washington alumna who has tried gymnastics both as a child and as an adult, only to lose enthusiasm as soon as she remembered that backward rolls are scary. (She had better luck with ballet, which she did for 14 years.) In her real life, she’s in grad school studying to be a nurse and loves cooking, reading, watching tennis and spending time with her dog, Archie.

Read Rebecca’s articles.

Savanna Wellman | Senior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2023
Current beat: Big 12

Savanna is Louisiana born and bred with absolutely zero gymnastics background from her childhood. She discovered gymnastics from the first time in 2008 watching Shawn and Nastia duke it out in Beijing, then grew to love it after London 2012. Her discovery of NCAA gymnastics came after watching the Super Six in 2016, and it has been an obsession ever since. In the real world, she has a B.S. in Elementary Education and a minor in Liberal Arts from Northwestern State University, as well as an M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from Mississippi College. She can usually be found in the classroom educating young minds, traveling and relaxing as often as possible or trying to convert her family, friends and husband into gymnastics fans (it’s still a work in progress).

Read Savanna’s articles.

Talitha Ilacqua | Senior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2021
Current beat: Recruiting

Talitha is an Italian-born, UK-based historian, working on 19th-century France and nationalism. She holds a PhD from King’s College London. Her love of gymnastics began in 2008 when she was mesmerized by Nastia Liukin’s Olympic performance, but she became passionate about the NCAA  in 2017 when she decided to “follow” Kyla Ross to college. It was love at first sight!

Read Talitha’s articles.

Allison Freeman | Editor
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First season with CGN: 2022
Current beat: NCGA-East

Allison is a gym nerd who fell in love with gymnastics at 6, lucky enough to live during the peak era of ShanFan but also the dark ages of having to search long and hard for any gymnastics news. After graduating from Ithaca College, she made the move to Boston and eventually wound up in New Hampshire. By day, she works as a content writer, by night she’s shouting about the importance of D3 gymnastics. In the off season, she’s crying during Bills games.

Read Allison’s articles.

Alyssa Van Auker | Editor
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First season with CGN: 2023
Current beat: ACC

Alyssa is a former dancer from Upstate New York who has always loved watching gymnastics. While getting her business and digital marketing degree at Nazareth College, she discovered gym Twitter and has been a devoted gym nerd since. Alyssa is currently working as a financial planning recruiter, and when she is not working or browsing the gymternet, you can find her reading, traveling or taking walks with her dog.

Read Alyssa’s articles.

KT Couldrey | Editor
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First season with CGN: 2024
Current beat: Recruiting

Katie is a former gymnast who was raised in Northern Ireland and now lives in England. She is a fan of all things British gymnastics. She graduated from Queens University Belfast with a BA in English and Drama and completed her postgraduate studies in Education. Katie currently teaches in high school, and when she isn’t staying up until way past her bedtime to watch NCAA meets live, she is reading, walking her whippet, or traveling.

Read KT’s articles.

Emily Lockard | Editor
Instagram | Email

First season with CGN: 2023
Current beat: Big Ten

Emily is a journalism and psychology student at CU Boulder. She became a fan of gymnastics in middle school when she started going to her sister’s meets. She currently coaches Xcel and recreational gymnastics, and she watches as many NCAA meets as she can in her free time. Emily is also a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and she hopes to be involved with the team in some way in the future.

Read Emily’s articles.

Julianna Roland | Editor
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First season with CGN: 2024
Current beat: USAG

Julianna is a recently retired fifth-year graduate gymnast from Temple University but has been doing gymnastics since the age of two. Outside of being a gymnast, Julianna has a Master’s of Science in Secondary Education, a Bachelor of Arts in History, and is a (newly) certified teacher. As a New Jersey native, she has a love for all things surrounding the shore (and WaWa). Having gone through the collegiate gymnastics experience herself, Julianna is excited to take on a new role while still keeping these roots close to heart.

Read Julianna’s articles.

Peri Goodman | Editor
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First season with CGN: 2023
Current beat: MAC

Peri has been involved in gymnastics for her whole life between artistic, power tumbling, coaching, and judging. She has a B.A. in Studio Art from Brock University and holds two world championship titles with Brock Cheer. When she’s not drawing or in the gym, you can find her watching Montreal Canadiens games from home in Toronto.

Read Peri’s articles.

Rebecca Williams | Editor
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First season with CGN: 2023
Current beat: MPSF

Rebecca is a former gymnast originally from Nashville who currently attends Columbia College in New York City. She is majoring in economics and psychology. She loves college gymnastics and prefers Friday Night Heights to a Friday night out. When not studying or watching gymnastics, she loves iced lavender lattes, walks through parks, and Grey’s Anatomy.

Read Rebecca’s articles.

Aaron Doyle | Junior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2024
Current beat: MWC

Aaron is currently a second-year Psychobiology major at UCLA. He competes for the UCLA club gymnastics team as a level 9 MAG/WAG gymnast, where he also serves as the vice president of the club. His favorite skills include double twists on floor and double turns on beam. Outside of gymnastics, he enjoys going to the beach and watching sunsets.

Read Aaron’s articles.

Annie Monks | Junior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2025
Current beat: Recruiting

Annie started gymnastics at 3 years old and has basically lived in the gym since. After competing for Sacramento State and graduating with a child development degree, she went back home to coach at her club gym in Indiana with the goal of leaving the sport better than she found it. Her husband is also an ex-NCAA gymnast turned coach, and when they’re not obsessively talking about all things gymnastics, they like to spend time with family, friends, and their two dogs.

Read Annie’s articles.

Daniel Rothwell | Junior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2024
Current beat: SEC

Daniel’s gymnastics journey took off when he was 8 years old when he attended recreational classes at a local gym. It wasn’t until the 2012 Olympics that his love and passion for the sport took him to another level. Daniel’s gymnastics career peaked when he competed as a level 10 gymnast for a year before leaving for college and joining the club gymnastics team at the University of Virginia. In his spare time, Daniel is a connoisseur of bubble tea, a self-proclaimed breakdancing extraordinaire, and the founder of his very own gymnastics blog, 15.366. Daniel is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia studying Chinese and Commerce.

Read Daniel’s articles.

Jessica Brock | Junior Editor
Threads | Email

First season with CGN: 2024
Current beat: EAGL

Jessica is a former level 8 gymnast turned Division I diver. Her inspiration came from watching Carly Patterson in 2004. She has a B.S in psychology, with minors in journalism and chemistry, and is working on her M.S in athletic leadership. She loves all things sports, especially gymnastics. When she’s not working out or watching sports, she likes to cook and read romance novels. On the weekends, you can find her watching Friday Night Heights, elite competitions, and whatever other sporting event is on TV. And if there’s a meet nearby, you’re likely to find her there in the stands.

Read Jessica’s articles.

Mary Collier | Junior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2024
Current beat: WIAC

Mary is a current Division III college gymnast at Ithaca and is also a gym fan and code knower. She is originally from Camarillo, California, and trained at Matrix Gymnastics. She is currently a bars specialist, so she loves a good bar release, especially Tkatchev variations. She loves watching and talking about gymnastics with her mom and has been a fan of gymnasts ever since she started, but she really got into the elite and NCAA scene during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Read Mary’s articles.

Naomi Stephenson | Junior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2024
Current beat: Big Ten

Naomi is a student at Brandeis University. She is not a gymnast (as a child, she stayed far away from any activity that involved a high risk of falling on her head), but a childhood friend turned her into a college gymnastics fan. She writes for one of her university’s newspapers and dances in the Brandeis ballet company.

Read Naomi’s articles.

Data Team

If you have a query, question, or story idea for our data team, contact them here.

Jenna King | Senior Editor
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First season with CGN: 2020

Jenna became hooked on gymnastics after watching the 1996 Olympics. She is a graduate of Florida State with a B.S. in meteorology and currently works in web development. She spends her free time doing coding projects and making lots and lots of spreadsheets.

Read Jenna’s articles.

Bailey Sutton | Editor

First season with CGN: 2024

Bailey is a statistician living in Washington, D.C. with her Chiweenie. She first fell in love with gymnastics watching the McKayla Maroney vault at the 2012 Olympics and hasn’t looked back since. When not forcing her friends to watch Friday Night Heights or hear about her latest data project, Bailey loves binging teen dramas, going to pop-punk concerts, and cheering on the Northwestern football team.

Read Bailey’s articles.

Brynn Robbins | Recruiting Editor

First season with CGN: 2025

Brynn recently earned her B.S. in Information Systems and is now pursing an M.S. in Business Analytics, both at the University of Florida. She did gymnastics throughout her childhood and has found the sport to be much more enjoyable to watch than to actually do. Outside of gymnastics, she spends most of her free time reading or indulging in reality TV.

Read Brynn’s articles.

Claire Harmon | Editor

First season with CGN: 2024

Claire is a data scientist by day and a dancer and gym nerd by night. She received an M.S. in Chemistry from Northwestern University before realizing life in a lab wasn’t for her. Now she works as a data science manager for Spotify (no, she doesn’t create your Wrapped) and loves to analyze data related to her passions. Catch her dancing with DanceworksNYC and watching all the gymnastics meets in her free time.

Read Claire’s articles.

Dara Tan | Editor

First season with CGN: 2023

Dara became a gym nerd after watching the Rio Olympics and fell in love with college gymnastics the following year. She graduated from UCLA, where she pursued a major in statistics and a minor in digital humanities. A data enthusiast, she enjoys building datasets and telling stories through visualizations.

Read Dara’s articles.

Emma Hammerstrom | Editor
Twitter

First season with CGN: 2023

Emma is a biology major at the University of Minnesota. She fell in love with gymnastics after watching Laurie Hernandez’s floor at the 2016 Olympic Trials, and she has enjoyed a good NCAA floor 10 ever since. She is fond of her black cat, the Minnesota Twins, playing the flute, her research in biology education, and the Dos Santos I.

Read Emma’s articles.

Jill Walsh | Editor

First season with CGN: 2024

Jill is a city planner and data analyst currently based in Ankara, Turkey. She has a B.A. in international political economy from Fordham University and a master’s in city and regional planning from Rutgers University. When the run-up to Tokyo paused in 2020, she filled with void with old college meets on Youtube and has been hooked ever since.

Read Jill’s articles.

Katie Cavanaugh | Recruiting Editor

First season with CGN: 2025

Katie is a former gymnast and lifelong gymnastics fan. She graduated from Princeton with an engineering degree and works in data analytics. More than anything, Katie loves being from New Jersey. Outside of gymnastics, she enjoys rewatching the Sopranos and following college football.

Read Katie’s articles.

Mariah Dawson | Editor

First season with CGN: 2023

Mariah briefly dabbled in recreational gymnastics growing up. After struggling to do pullovers on bars, she found that she was much better suited for the life of a gym nerd. She has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in molecular pathology, both from Texas Tech University, and currently works as a medical lab scientist in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. When she’s not obsessing over gymnastics, Mariah can be found rooting for the Dallas Cowboys or the Texas Tech Red Raiders and listening to country music.

Read Mariah’s articles.

Izzi Baskin | Webmaster
Twitter

First season with CGN: 2022

Izzi is a proud Chicagoan recently transplanted to Austin, Texas. She is obsessed with her cats, reality TV and most importantly gymnastics. She especially enjoys watching live meets, no matter the level. With encouragement from a friend, Izzi recently became a J.O. judge and absolutely loves it. She graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in computer science and sociology and is currently working as a software engineer.

Read Izzi’s articles.

Copy Editors

Rebekah Frank

First season with CGN: 2024

Rebekah has been passionate about gymnastics since she started doing it (poorly) as a young child. She fell in love with elite gymnastics thanks in large part to Vanessa Atler’s stunning performances. She began watching NCAA gymnastics in the 2013 season when Bridget Sloan started competing for the Gators. Rebekah has a B.A. from Trinity College and an M.A. from The New School, both in International Affairs. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her two cats, one dog, and 35 plants.

Tori Meador

First season with CGN: 2024

Tori started following gymnastics after the Rio Olympics and never looked back. She has a B.A. in English from Missouri and an M.A. in English from the University of New Orleans and works in the marketing and communications field in Nashville. When she’s not arguing about the Oxford comma, she enjoys reading, language learning, and a good fantasy gymnastics spreadsheet.

Creative Team

Hope Barkley | Designer

First season with CGN: 2023

Hope is a former gymnast who lives in New York City. She received a B.A. in Digital Media Studies from University of Rochester, where she studied design, computer science and business. She now works as an experience designer at EY Design Studio where she specializes in building products with a human centric mindset. When she isn’t bullying friends into participating in her fantasy gymnastics league, she is likely listening to Taylor Swift.

Austin Tanner | Photographer
Instagram

First season with CGN: 2022

Bio to come!

David Hague | Photographer
Twitter | Instagram

First season with CGN: 2023

David graduated California University of Pennsylvania where he grew his passion for sports photography. He first got interested in gymnastics after watching the Magnificent Seven when Kerri Strug stuck her vault on an injured ankle to win gold for Team USA. He has covered a wide variety of sports, and his dream would be to cover the Olympics, specifically gymnastics. When he is not covering a sporting event, he likes to have fun with his kids.

Emily Howell-Forbes | Photographer
Twitter | Instagram | Email

First season with CGN: 2018

Emily is a gym nerd from Washington. She graduated from Central Washington University with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Sociology, as well as from the University of Puget Sound with a M.S. in Occupational Therapy. She now works for a local school district as an occupational therapist. She was also a gymnast as a child. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, painting and spending time with her far too many dogs.

Hope Maier | Photographer
Instagram

First season with CGN: 2024

A gymnast from kindergarten to her senior year in college (and known to still throw the occasional handstand), Hope is a mom of two and freelance sports photographer based out of Clemson, South Carolina. Through her photography, she amplifies the achievements of women in sports with a special bias toward women’s gymnastics and CrossFit competitions. When she’s not on the competition floor with her camera, she’s working out or on the couch editing with her Goldendoodle, Barker, at her feet.

Tara Graeve | Photographer
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First season with CGN: 2018

Tara is a former gymnast turned cheerleader and gym nerd hailing from Colorado. She loves all things gymnastics, and you can often find her doing handstands and leaps around the house. She is a graduate of the University of Denver with a BSBA in business information & analytics and marketing, and is now working as a technology consultant.

Read Tara’s articles.

Feature Writers

Katherine Weaver
Twitter | Email

First season with CGN: 2019

Katherine became interested in gymnastics after the 2016 Olympics and has been hooked ever since. Though not a gymnast herself, she loves working out and running, and she’s also an avid reader and writer.

Read Katherine’s articles.

Lela Moore
Twitter | Instagram | Email

First season with CGN: 2024

Lela growth-spurted out of recreational gymnastics as a kid, topped out at 5’10”, but never lost her love for watching and discussing the sport. Now she runs half marathons and swims laps, but she can still do both a front tuck and a back tuck off a diving board. She graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in American studies and from NYU with an M.A. in journalism and is currently pursuing a Master of Information degree from Rutgers, where she loves going to watch the Scarlet Knights gymnastics team perform. She’s also a freelance journalist with bylines about everything from college gym to Paralympic track and field to local school board politics. She lives in New Jersey with her partner, son, and elderly cat.

Read Lela’s articles.

Rhiannon Franck
Email

First season with CGN: 2023

Rhiannon is a former national-rated NAWGJ women’s gymnastics judge with over 15 years of USAG judging experience and nine seasons judging NCAA gymnastics.

Read Rhiannon’s articles.

Tia Reid
Twitter | Instagram | Threads | Email

First season with CGN: 2024

Tia is a gymnastics fan from Houston who is currently a student at Arizona State. Her love of the sport was built through her childhood participation and her discovery of Gabby Douglas. Tia is currently pursuing a degree in Sports Journalism at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School while also getting the chance to cover multiple ASU athletic teams, including women’s basketball, football, softball, and, of course, gymnastics.

Read Tia’s articles.

Interns

Gemma Selby
Twitter | Instagram | Email

First season with CGN: 2025
Current beat: TBD

Gemma is from Vancouver and is in her final year of college at City, University of London, where she studies psychology. She came across the UCLA 2020 senior video on YouTube, which inspired her to start watching college gymnastics. She loves living in Europe, especially as she enjoys traveling, even though it often means braving 3 a.m. gymnastics meets.

Read Gemma’s articles.

Kristian Kowalski
Twitter | Instagram | Email

First season with CGN: 2025
Current beat: TBD

Kristian is a former collegiate diver and cheerleader from Ohio. He began following gymnastics after being mesmerized by Anna Myzdrikova’s floor routine at Worlds in 2009. He is in his final year at Miami University where he plans to go to grad school for sports administration. Outside of school and watching gymnastics, he enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Read Kristian’s articles.

Sophie Poirier
Twitter | Instagram | Email

First season with CGN: 2025
Current beat: TBD

Sophie is a grammar nerd, horse girl, and gymnastics fan from Maine. She was never a gymnast herself but fell in love with sport while watching the 2012 Olympics. Currently, she is pursuing a degree in Translation Studies at Royal Holloway University of London. When she’s not watching gymnastics, she enjoys reading, traveling, and horseback riding.

Read Sophie’s articles.

Other Contributors

Jackie Craig | Administrative Assistant
Twitter | Instagram

First season with CGN: 2024

Jackie is a gymnastics fan who fell in love with the sport watching the ’92 Olympics. She began following college gymnastics in 2016 and quickly became obsessed. She has a B.A. in Labor Studies and History and a Master’s in Labor & Employment Relations, both from Rutgers University. She currently works in human resources. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her husband, two dogs, and two cats. Outside of gymnastics, she loves coffee, walking her dogs, and getting lost in a good book.

Mary Emma Brambila
Twitter | Instagram

First season with CGN: 2020

Mary Emma first became interested in gymnastics after watching the 2004 Olympics, but it wasn’t until 2016 that she started following NCAA gymnastics and never looked back. She lives in the greater Pittsburgh area and was formerly the SID for the EAGL.

Read Mary Emma’s articles.

Tavia Smith
Twitter | Instagram | Email

First season with CGN: 2022

Tavia is a former college gymnast for Centenary College of Louisiana. She recently earned her doctorate of physical therapy degree from Texas Woman’s University-Dallas and is a practicing orthopedic physical therapist in the DFW area. She is a Texan born and raised, but she believes that “home” is wherever she’s with her best friends and family. In between patients and watching the latest gymnastics competition, Tavia can be found catching up on the latest TV dramas, reading a book poolside, or cuddling with her dog, Parker. She loves traveling, both cross country and internationally, and her favorite destination so far is Naxos, Greece.

Read Tavia’s articles.