Friday, January 4
Cancun, Mexico / Grand Coral Ballroom
7:00 PM
Rutgers University
vs
Iowa State/Michigan/West Virginia
Photo by: Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics
Meet 1: Gymnastics at Cancun Classic
Jan 02 | Women's Gymnastics
Scarlet Knights begin new era under head coach Umme Salim-Beasley
RUTGERS vs. IOWA STATE/MICHIGAN/WEST VIRGINIA
January 4, 2019 • 7 p.m. ET
Grand Coral Ballroom • Cancun, Mexico
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers gymnastics will start a new era under head coach Umme Salim-Beasley south of the border with a trip to Cancun, Mexico, to take part in the Cancun Classic. The quad meet, which starts at 7 p.m. ET, will take place in the Grand Coral Ballroom and also involve Iowa State, Michigan and West Virginia.
FloGymnastics will provide a live stream for each event through a subscription. Follow @RUGymnastics on Twitter for live score updates.
RUTGERS MEET PREVIEW
The Scarlet Knights will be competing in the Cancun Classic for the first time. The highest mark for RU in a season opener happened in 2014 when the program posted a 195.075 on the way to qualifying to NCAA Regionals later that campaign.
The team returns 15 letterwinners from 2018, including past NCAA Regional qualifiers in senior Michelle Amoresano and sophomore Belle Huang. Both were recently selected as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch.
Huang recorded a 38.810 all-around RQS last year with a high of 39.050 in 10 outings. She is also the leading returning beam worker with a 9.805 RQS as a rookie. On vault, sophomore Toni Williams led the team with a 9.780 RQS, while junior Shannon Farrell paced the lineup at a 9.790 on uneven bars. Senior Jenna Rizkalla, who is a captain along with Amoresano and senior Riahanah Ali, marked as high as 9.900 on floor exercise with a 9.850 RQS overall.
Rutgers welcomes four newcomers to its roster in freshmen Mia Betancourt, Kiera Doherty-Herwitz, Abigail Karolewski and Sage Littlejohn.
The Scarlet Knights will begin the meet on vault. It will be only the second time in program history competing against Iowa State (2010). Michigan is a familiar opponent from the Big Ten, while West Virginia, the alma mater of Salim-Beasley, is a past EAGL competitor.
COACH SALIM-BEASLEY Q&A
On the team's excitement heading into the season: "I think everybody is really excited and ready to go. There has been a lot of training, a lot of work getting to this point, but I think that they are ready and their confidence level is there. They are eager to get out and show everybody what they can do."
On the biggest focus in this meet: "It is to stay within our competition bubble, keep focused on the job that we have to do and go out and do the best that we can."
On going to Cancun to start the season: "Everyone is excited to go to a warm place, they are really looking forward to getting out and competing again. With us being in Cancun and not being in a regular setting as far as competing at another university, I think it gives them less pressure, maybe their nerves will be at ease, just going out and competing at a low-pressure situation and enjoying it as much as they can."
On the biggest area of improvement from the start of practices: "Our confidence has really improved. They really are starting to believe that they can accomplish a lot this year. This will be our first test to just getting out there and seeing what they are capable of. They will probably surprise themselves quite a bit. We are prepared for them to be able to do well and are just hoping that our training is going to show in the meet."
HOME OPENER
The Scarlet Knights will open up their home schedule with a Big Ten meet against Nebraska on Jan. 19 at the Livingston Gym. Through the "R Dollar, Your Game" initiative, there is free admission and parking to each of the four home meets in 2019. Click here to register to park for the Jan. 19 meet.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).
January 4, 2019 • 7 p.m. ET
Grand Coral Ballroom • Cancun, Mexico
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers gymnastics will start a new era under head coach Umme Salim-Beasley south of the border with a trip to Cancun, Mexico, to take part in the Cancun Classic. The quad meet, which starts at 7 p.m. ET, will take place in the Grand Coral Ballroom and also involve Iowa State, Michigan and West Virginia.
FloGymnastics will provide a live stream for each event through a subscription. Follow @RUGymnastics on Twitter for live score updates.
RUTGERS MEET PREVIEW
The Scarlet Knights will be competing in the Cancun Classic for the first time. The highest mark for RU in a season opener happened in 2014 when the program posted a 195.075 on the way to qualifying to NCAA Regionals later that campaign.
The team returns 15 letterwinners from 2018, including past NCAA Regional qualifiers in senior Michelle Amoresano and sophomore Belle Huang. Both were recently selected as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch.
Huang recorded a 38.810 all-around RQS last year with a high of 39.050 in 10 outings. She is also the leading returning beam worker with a 9.805 RQS as a rookie. On vault, sophomore Toni Williams led the team with a 9.780 RQS, while junior Shannon Farrell paced the lineup at a 9.790 on uneven bars. Senior Jenna Rizkalla, who is a captain along with Amoresano and senior Riahanah Ali, marked as high as 9.900 on floor exercise with a 9.850 RQS overall.
Rutgers welcomes four newcomers to its roster in freshmen Mia Betancourt, Kiera Doherty-Herwitz, Abigail Karolewski and Sage Littlejohn.
The Scarlet Knights will begin the meet on vault. It will be only the second time in program history competing against Iowa State (2010). Michigan is a familiar opponent from the Big Ten, while West Virginia, the alma mater of Salim-Beasley, is a past EAGL competitor.
COACH SALIM-BEASLEY Q&A
On the team's excitement heading into the season: "I think everybody is really excited and ready to go. There has been a lot of training, a lot of work getting to this point, but I think that they are ready and their confidence level is there. They are eager to get out and show everybody what they can do."
On the biggest focus in this meet: "It is to stay within our competition bubble, keep focused on the job that we have to do and go out and do the best that we can."
On going to Cancun to start the season: "Everyone is excited to go to a warm place, they are really looking forward to getting out and competing again. With us being in Cancun and not being in a regular setting as far as competing at another university, I think it gives them less pressure, maybe their nerves will be at ease, just going out and competing at a low-pressure situation and enjoying it as much as they can."
On the biggest area of improvement from the start of practices: "Our confidence has really improved. They really are starting to believe that they can accomplish a lot this year. This will be our first test to just getting out there and seeing what they are capable of. They will probably surprise themselves quite a bit. We are prepared for them to be able to do well and are just hoping that our training is going to show in the meet."
HOME OPENER
The Scarlet Knights will open up their home schedule with a Big Ten meet against Nebraska on Jan. 19 at the Livingston Gym. Through the "R Dollar, Your Game" initiative, there is free admission and parking to each of the four home meets in 2019. Click here to register to park for the Jan. 19 meet.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
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