SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – The Cortland women's gymnastics team finished in fifth place at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) East Region Championship, hosted by Springfield College.
 
While the Red Dragons did not earn one of the three team berths from the East into the NCGA Championships, they did have three gymnasts qualify as individuals for the March 26 national meet at Ithaca College. Freshman Rianna Adams (South Setauket/Ward Melville) earned a spot on uneven bars with her fourth-place finish at the regional, since the top five regional finishers in each individual event automatically qualify for nationals if not already on a qualifying team. Junior Abby Bang (Montgomery, MA/Gateway Regional) and senior Kamryn Rodriguez (Middletown/Minisink Valley) secured national spots with their Seasonal Average Scores (SAS) on vault and floor exercise, respectively. Bang entered with a vault SAS of 9.6063 and Rodriguez had a floor SAS of 9.7563.
 
Brockport won the team title with a score of 192.80. Springfield was second at 190.30 and Ithaca third with a 189.80 to claim the other two team berths into nationals. Ursinus placed fourth with a 187.775, Cortland was fifth with a 185.30, and Rhode Island College finished sixth with a 183.25.

Adams and sophomore Delaney Brown (Peru) earned NCGA All-East honors, which go to the top six finishers in each event. Adams posted a 9.60 on bars for her fourth-place finish, while Brown was sixth in the all-around with a 35.725.
 
Three Red Dragons placed in the top 15 on floor exercise. Freshman Zoe Potamianos (Jamesville/Jamesville-DeWitt) tied for seventh with a career-high 9.70, Rodriguez tied for ninth with a 9.675, and junior Bianca Carr (Tappan/Tappan Zee) tied for 13th with a career-best 9.625.
 
Bang was Cortland's top finisher on vault with a 9.60 to tie for 10th place, while Brown tied for 18th with a 9.525. Carr was Cortland's second-best finisher on bars, behind Adams, with a 19th-place score of 9.25, and senior Samantha Nothnagel (Vail, CO/Eagle Valley) led the Red Dragons on balance beam with a 16th-place score of 9.425.
 
In addition, Cortland seniors Rodriguez and Nothnagel were recognized earlier this week as NCGA Senior All-Americans in Academics award winners. The awards go to seniors with at least a 3.0 overall grade point average who appear on the team's NCGA squad list for the current year. The winners must be in their final year of athletic eligibility as well as seniors academically.

Coach's Corner - Comments from Cortland Head Coach Sulekha Modi Zaug:

This is the first Regional competition for everyone on the team including coaches except for one of our seniors. With such an inexperienced team I wanted them to see how serious this meet is to build the fire for next season.

We had a slow start on bars and beam but the team rallied and received some career high scores on floor and vault. The energy was insane and we are proud to have three national qualifiers to represent Cortland at NCGA Nationals in two weeks.

This last team meet for our seniors was so special for everyone. These women grow up living and breathing school and gymnastics and to suddenly have an end to something that has defined them for most of their lives is so tough especially when finishing strong and healthy. We are so proud of our seniors for leading the team this year in grades, high scores, school spirit and love for this team. Kamryn Rodriguez and Samantha Nothnagel, I am proud to be your coach.


2022 NCGA East Regional Qualifier
March 12 – Springfield, Mass.

FINAL TEAM SCORES:
1) Brockport – 192.80
2) Springfield – 190.30
3) Ithaca – 189.80
4) Ursinus – 187.775
5) Cortland – 185.30
6) Rhode Island College – 183.25

Individual Event Top 6 finishers (All-NCGA East)

VAULT:
1) Sydney Schumaker (Brockport) – 9.85
2) Emma Grace Sargent (Brockport) – 9.775
tie 3) Anne Kiley (Springfield) – 9.70
tie 3) Nya Pauldon (Ithaca) – 9.70
tie 3) Emma Tucker (RIC) – 9.70
6) Alexis Castellaneta (Brockport) – 9.675

UNEVEN BARS:
1) Tori Sipes (Springfield) – 9.70
tie 2) Taylor Bushey (Brockport) – 9.675
tie 2) Gabbi Gare (Brockport) – 9.675
4) Rianna Adams (Cortland) – 9.60
tie 5) Emma Grace Sargent (Brockport) – 9.575
tie 5) Nicole Lonski (Ithaca) – 9.575

BALANCE BEAM:
1) MacKenzie MacLeod (Springfield) – 9.775
tie 2) Tori Sipes (Springfield) – 9.70
tie 2) Devon Rosier (Springfield) – 9.70
tie 2) Natalie Galioto (Brockport) – 9.70
tie 2) Amelia Bailey (Ithaca) – 9.70
6) Olivia Keyes (RIC) – 9.675

FLOOR EXERCISE:
1) MacKenzie MacLeod (Springfield) – 9.80
2) Alexis Castellaneta (Brockport) – 9.775
tie 3) Olivia Keyes (RIC) – 9.75
tie 3) Kelsey Gates (RIC) – 9.75
tie 5) Naimah Muhammad (Brockport) – 9.725
tie 5) Kirsten Paultre (Brockport) – 9.725

ALL-AROUND:
1) Olivia Keyes (RIC) – 38.25
2) Skye Cohen (Ithaca) – 37.70
3) Alyssa DeLorme (Ursinus) – 37.675
4) Emma Tucker (RIC) – 37.025
5) Kelsey Gates (RIC) – 36.60
6) Delaney Brown (Cortland) – 35.725