SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus gymnastics team kicks off its 2021 season at 5:00 p.m. on Friday at Sponberg Gymnastics Studio, hosting UW-Stout.
This years seniors are Annie Gladitsch (Sr., North Branch) who will compete primarily on beam and Alyssa Teper (Sr., Medina) who will be competing all around. Katlyn Brenneman (Sr., Post Falls, I.D.) and Sam Tonjes (Sr., Eden Prairie) will serve as student coaches.
“We’re looking forward to getting back on the competition floor after 355 days off,” said Head Coach Aryn DeGrood. “‘I’m also looking forward to the girls getting to celebrate doing the sport they love and having some normalcy since last March when nationals got cancelled. We have a lot of first-years competing for the first time on a collegiate level, so getting them used to it with lower stakes is beneficial. We’re focusing on the positives of being able to compete, and focusing less on wins and losses or breaking records. We just want to showcase what we can do and our potential.”
Rookie standout Annie Corbett (So., Brookfield, Wis.) finished last season with All-American honors in beam and in all-around as well as breaking a school record on beam (9.750) at Centenary.
Brooke Merila (Jr., St. Michael) is an All-American returner who had a season high finish of mark of 36.650 in all-round before concluding her 2019-20 campaign.
Another notable returner is Sophia Redding (Jr., St. Paul) who has spent most of her collegiate career on bars and has resumed training for other events following a previous injury. Redding posted a season high of 9.350 last season at Centenary.
“Similar to last year, we have a younger roster. We returned routines but we have a lot of new ones as well. We were rocked with some injuries towards the end of last season. This year we have quite a few solid first-years. Abby Willis (Fy., San Bernardino, Calif.) will be a face to watch in Division III gymnastics. Katy Cash (Fy., Canton, Mich.) will do big things for us as well as Kendra Smaby (Palo Alto, Calif.) in at least three events.”