SAINT PETER, Minn. – The National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) announced its 2021 and 2023 Hall of Fame inductees on Tuesday and Gustavus’s Heather Fitch ’96 has been selected to the Class of 2023. Fitch, a 2016 Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, is one of six members in the 2023 NCGA Hall of Fame class. The induction banquet ceremony will be held March 24 in conjunction with the NCGA DIII National Gymnastics Championships, at Winona State on March 25.
A standout on the vault and floor exercise in the mid-90s, Fitch was a two-time national champion in the floor exercise and a key member of the national championship team in 1994. Called by Head Coach Jerry Connolly as one of the top “spinners” in the program’s history, Fitch wowed her teammates and the Gustie faithful with her speed and tumbling on the floor exercise mat and she is the only individual in the storied history of the Gustavus gymnastics program to win two national titles in the floor exercise. In 1994, Fitch claimed her first floor exercise title with a school and national championship record score of 9.6. A year later, she claimdc her second title with score of 9.5. Fitch played a key role in helping the Gusties win the national title in 1994 and finish fourth in 1995. As talented in the class room as she was in the gym, Fitch was named to the NCGA National All-Academic Team in 1996.