EAGL Championship Session One

Recap

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was a rough meet for everyone but Temple, who notched its second 196 of the season to finish first in the early session and eventually land in third place.

Postseason Implications: LIU’s Mara Titarsolej qualified to regionals on bars, while Pitt’s Katie Chamberlain qualified on bars and teammate Hallie Copperwheat qualified on bars and beam. Kylie Gorgenyi from New Hampshire qualified on vault and bars, and teammates Hailey Lui and Alyssa Worthington qualified on beam. Brooke Donabedian and Julianna Roland from Temple qualified on floor and vault respectively.

Controversies: There were an unusual number of falls and missteps on beam in this meet. Ten out of 24 routines had a fall and just 10 routines scored above a 9.700. It’s unknown what the cause was, but it makes us wonder if the podium was shaky or if the beam hadn’t been set up correctly. Also, vault scoring was very tight throughout the meet, which caused a heated discussion between the Pitt coaches and the vault judges.

Conference Awards

• Gymnast of the Year: Deja Chambliss (George Washington)
• Event Specialist of the Year: Mara Titarsolej (LIU)
• Newcomer of the Year: Hallie Copperwheat (Pittsburgh)
• Coach of the Year: Jay Ramirez (Towson)

Preview

• No. 42 Pittsburgh | 195.860 NQS | 196.775 season high
• No. 45 New Hampshire | 195.625 NQS | 196.450 season high
• No. 46 Temple | 195.595 NQS | 196.675 season high
• No. 55 LIU | 194.300 NQS | 195.075 season high

If you can only watch one meet, here’s why it should be this one…

While the favorites for the title are in the evening session, it wouldn’t be a complete shock to see the winner come from this session. Pittsburgh has the second-highest season high of any of the teams in the conference, and the Panthers have been steadily improving all season. Temple is the defending champion and is also capable of scoring into the mid-196s. New Hampshire has been inconsistent all year, but if the Wildcats can put everything together, their scoring potential is right up there with everyone else. On top of that, the Wildcats have been unable to compete at the EAGL championship since 2019—the year they won.

If this is one of many meets you’ll be watching, don’t miss this…

LIU’s Mara Titarsolej is currently ranked No. 1 in the EAGL and No. 12 in the country on bars and has scored a perfect 10 this year. Pittsburgh freshman Hallie Copperwheat has had a stellar season and will likely qualify to regionals as an individual if the Panthers don’t as a team. Look for her on beam in particular. Teammate Katie Chamberlain has had a breakout year with 9.9-plus scores on both bars and beam. Temple’s Ariana Castrence recently started competing in the all-around again and is one of the contenders for that title. Hailey Lui and Alyssa Worthington will be ones to watch on beam, as both have achieved near-perfect scores of 9.975. 

What’s the bigger picture to keep an eye on?

All of the teams in this session are mathematically eliminated from regionals, but there are a few individuals to keep an eye on who could potentially qualify with a good score—Julianna Roland and Ariana Castrence on vault, Jordyn Ewing on bars and Brooke Donabedian on floor. 

By the Numbers

Past Champions

• N.C. State: 6 titles, last won in 2018
• North Carolina: 5 titles, last won in 2011
• New Hampshire: 3 titles, last won in 2019
• George Washington: 2 titles, last won in 2017
• Pittsburgh: 1 title, last won in 2016
• Temple: 1 title, last won in 2021
• Towson: 0 titles
• LIU: 0 titles

Records Watch

• Team: 196.750 (New Hampshire, 2003)
• Vault: 49.525 (West Virginia, 2004) 
• Bars: 49.325 (N.C. State, 2003)
• Beam: 49.325 (New Hampshire, 2003; N.C. State, 1998; Maryland, 1999)
• Floor: 49.575 (West Virginia, 2002)

Last Time Out

Temple pulled out the upset to take home the title in its first year of competition in the EAGL.