Gymnastics | Meet R Newcomers
Oct 10 | Women's Gymnastics
Rutgers gymnastics welcomes nine newcomers for the 2023 season - freshmen Nailah Adams, Gabrielle Dildy, Renee Figueroa, Lainey Link, Valentina Lorente-Garcia, Innocent Mensah, Rachael Riley, and Harmony Webster, and Yale transfer Emma David. The excitement surrounding these nine have caught the eye of the Gymternet, as College Gym News lists Rutgers as one of its eight āMost Intriguing Teams Going into 2023.ā Get to know the newest Scarlet Knights, whom College Gym News has ranked as the No. 15 gymnastics freshman class of 2023.
What a stacked freshman class! Rutgers recruiting has been on an upward trend lately...College Gym News
NAILAH ADAMS
All-Around
Missouri City, Tex.
Pearland High School
Prior to Rutgers: Nailah comes to Rutgers after competing in the 2022 Nastia Liukin Cup in Frisco, Texas. She has also competed in the 2021 Women's Development Program National Championships, where she placed third in Vault and Bars, fourth in Floor, and sixth in the All-Around.
Personal: Daughter of Leonard and Traciā¦has one sibling, Menkaure, who played basketball
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Adams: āNailah was our highest rated recruit in our 2022 recruiting class. She was a standout all-around gymnast at Pearland Elite in Texas. Nailah was able to be a top 100 gymnast nationally on 3 events and the all-around as a high school senior. She successfully earned the ability to compete at the prestigious Nastia Liukin Cup. Unfortunately, Nailah tore her ACL and the end of her club season, sidelining her for the remainder of the season. Nailah is working back hard and is keeping an extremely positive outlook for this season. She is the first gymnast to lend a smile or laugh to her teammates. I would not count Nailah out for this season. She is eagerly awaiting her opportunity to return to gymnastics. She may surprise people and make her way into competition this season and if she does, she will be a key impact contributor.ā
EMMA DAVID
All-Around
Huntington, N.Y.
St. Anthony's High School / Yale
Prior to Rutgers: Emma transferred to Rutgers after spending her freshman season at Yale, where she was named a 2022 Gymnastics East Conference Scholar Athlete. She qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals in 2021, and the Eastern National Qualifier in 2018 and 2019. Emma was also a member of the first place Region 6 Eastern National Team.
Personal: Daughter of Reina and JPā¦has one sibling, Jackā¦worked as ocean front lifeguardā¦started a shoe businessā¦enjoys spending time with friends and family, surfing and playing guitar.
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Adams: āEmma transferred to Rutgers from Yale this fall. She was able to see exhibition action her Freshman season on bars at Yale to help her gain competition experience on that event. Coming to Rutgers, Emma has been able to find a support system within our team that welcomed her and made her immediately feel a part of our gymnastics family. Emma has keyed in on training Bars and Beam this year. She is an aggressive and confident bar worker that has difficulty in her release moves and dismount. With a little more training time, Emma has the potential to be a big contributor to our bar lineup."
GABRIELLE DILDY
All-Around
Virginia Beach, Va.
International VLA High School
Prior to Rutgers: Gabi was a member of the Developmental Team from 2013 to 2016, while also qualifying for the Hopes Championships in 2016, and the Junior Olympics Nationals from 2017 to 2019. In 2019, Gabi was the Level 10 Region 7 All-Around Champion.
Personal: Daughter of Susan and Troyā¦has three siblings, Khayri, Darian, and Sherieseā¦Darian plays volleyball at Stevenson University
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Dildy: āGabi has come to us as a highly ranked club gymnast from Excalibur Gymnastics in Virginia Beach. She has qualified for USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic and Developmental Nationals multiple times. Our expectation for Gabi is that she takes her experience and level of gymnastics from club gymnastics and transfers that into collegiate competition. Gabi has the desire to be a standout collegiate gymnast. We are hopeful that she creates an opportunity to be the impact gymnast we know she is capable of being. Gabiās standout events are Vault, Bars and Floor. She can be quite the performer in competition. We look to her to make an appearance on 3 events.ā
RENEE FIGUEROA
All-Around
Chandler, Ariz./Weehawken, N.J.
Weehawken High School
Prior to Rutgers: Renee is a two-time Junior Olympics National Qualifier. She also earned the Weehawken High School Most Outstanding Athlete Achievement Award, as she graduated with High Honors in the Top 20% of her class. She was also a member of the Math, Science, Humanities, & World Language Honors Societies.
Personal: Daughter of Alisa and Nelsonā¦father, Nelson Figueroa, played baseball in the MLB, a nine-year career with six different ball clubs
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Figueroa: āRenee comes to us as our lone Freshman from New Jersey. She had a consistent club career at ENA Gymnastics in Paramus, New Jersey. Renee has the ability to adjust to changing training situations and still produce high quality gymnastics. She has a wonderful outlook on all of the events that she trains. She works hard and efficiently every practice. Her skill set gives her the ability to mix and match skills to create multiple 10.0 start value routine options. Her strongest events are Beam and Floor. She has the potential to add to depth on those 2 events.ā
LAINEY LINK
All-Around
St. James, N.Y.
The Knox School
Prior to Rutgers: Lainey comes to the Banks after a successful year in 2022, where she qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals, was a Level 10 regional champion in Floor, and placed fifth in the All-Around at Level 10 regionals. In 2019, she was a qualifier for the Level 9 regionals. In the classroom, Lainey was named the Salutatorian of her graduating class, and won the NYS Senator Recognition Award for Academics in 2022. From 2018-2022, she earned high academic honor roll and high effort grade.
Personal: Daughter of Linda and Brianā¦has one sibling, Brianne, a successful equestrian
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Link: āLainey from the moment she was considering college gymnastics had Rutgers on her radar. She is such a committed student-athlete and knew that Rutgers was the school to help her achieve both her academic and athletic goals. Lainey had a standout Senior club season, progressing to the USA Gymnastics Developmental Nationals. From the practices we have had, it is clear that Lainey is determined to find a spot in competition. She has a tireless work ethic and is always willing to put in extra time to perfect her skills. With some polishing of her routines, Lainey has the potential to make an appearance in the Beam or Bar lineups. She is working very hard on both Floor and Vault and has made strides in those events.ā
VALENTINA LORENTE-GARCIA
All-Around
Virginia Beach, Va.
Abeka Academy
Prior to Rutgers: Valentina qualified for the 2022 DP National Championship, where she earned 17th place in the All-Around and seventh place on Floor. She also won second place in the All-Around State Championship and third place in the All-Around Regionals in 2022. In 2021, Valentina was the Level 10 State champion, placed seventh at the All-Around Regionals, and qualified for the DP National Championship. From 2014 to 2017 she was a member of the Argentinian National Team, where she participated in the Sudamerican of clubs championships and the Pan-American of clubs championship in 2015. Valentina was a Level 8 VA State Champion in 2017, a Level 9 Regional Champion in 2018, and placed second in the All-Around at the Eastern Nationals championship.
Personal: Daughter of Silvana and Victorā¦volunteers teaching gymnastics to children with disabilitiesā¦gymnastics Coach (preschool, level 1 recreational)ā¦choreographs floor routines and beam routines
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Lorente-Garcia: āValentina is an extremely determined gymnast. Her work ethic sets the tone of practice for everyone on the team. She applies correction very quickly and pushes herself to be a better gymnast everyday. Valentina came off of an outstanding senior club season advancing the USA Gymnastics Developmental Nationals. She is pushing hard on every event and will likely have in opportunity to compete as an all-arounder this season.ā
INNOCENT MENSAH
All-Around
Temple Hills, Md.
Prior to Rutgers: Innocent qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals in 2022; as well as the 2022 Level 10 Nationals, where she placed ninth in Bars; and the Level 10 Regionals, where she placed sixth in the All-Around. She was a State Qualifier from 2014 to 2022, a Regional Qualifier from 2017 to 2022, and an Easterns National Qualifier in 2019. Innocent placed first at the 2019 Level 9 Regionals and the 2022 Christmas on the Chesapeake meet. She also earned fourth and sixth place in the All-Around at the 2021 and 2022 Level 10 States. From 2018 to 2022, Innocent has been on Honor Roll with a 4.0+ GPA, earning her Associate's Degree, while being on Dean's List, in 2022.
Personal: Daughter of Edwige and Francisā¦has two siblings, Copernic and Karenā¦teaches gymnastics classes and is a camp counselor at gymnastics campā¦considered ambidextrous in the gym because of skills on both legs
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Mensah: āInnocent came on strong her senior high school season proving that she was a gymnast that deserved an opportunity on a Power 5 team. Innocent has beautiful lines that stand out within the skills she performs. She executes her gymnastics with minimal deductions. Within a very small amount of college practices, Innocent has made significant improvements and upgrades on every event. She is determined to find a solid spot in our competition lineups. Look for her to make possible contributions on Bars, Beam, and Floor. She also has the potential to make an appearance in our vault lineup.ā
RACHAEL RILEY
All-Around
Samia, Ontario, Canada
St. Patrick's High School
Prior to Rutgers: Rachael begins her career as a Scarlet Knight after being named an Elite level gymnast since 2016. She was a member of the Canadian National Team from 2018 to 2021. As a member of the team, Rachael won the 2017 All-Around Canadian Championships Novice, placed seventh in the All-Around at the 2017 Top Gym Belgium, participated in the 2017 Elite Gym Massilia and the 2018 International Gymnix, and at the 2018 Canadian Championship, earned third in Vault and fourth in the All-Around and Beam. In 2018, Rachael also competed in the Elite Gym Massilia and the Top Gym Belgium, where she placed second in Vault each time. She also took part in the 2019 and 2021 Elite Canada, the 2019 and 2020 International Gymnix, and the 2021 World Cup Challenge in Koper, Slovenia. Rachael earned High School Honour Society from the 2018-19 to 2020-21 school years.
Personal: Daughter of Paula and Curtisā¦coaches gymnastics recreationally and volunteers at club gymnastics
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Riley: āRachael is a former International Elite gymnast from Canada. She has a tremendous amount of international competition experience, and she was a highly sought after 5-star recruit. Rachaelās gymnastics is very detailed; she performs effortlessly. The judges will love the style of her gymnastics. Rachael has a tremendous level of skill on every event. She has the ability to throw a variety of skills on every event, which will give her the ability to have a unique routine composition. She is very well know for her Vault and Floor abilities. We will likely see Rachael be a solid performer on Vault, Beam and Floor. There is a good possibility that she can compete all-around at some point this season.ā
HARMONY WEBSTER
All-Around
Braselton, Ga.
Mill Creek High School
Prior to Rutgers: Harmony begins her collegiate gymnastics career with four years of Level 10 experience under her belt. In 2021, she placed third on Floor at the Level 10 Regionals. From 2019 to 2022, Harmony was both a State and Regional Qualifier. She has also earned All-Around Honor Roll and A&B Honor Roll in 2018-19.
Personal: Daughter of Ayeshia and Jasonā¦has four siblings, Asa, Canon, Eden, and Sageā¦father, Jason Webster, played college football at Texas A&Mā¦involved in African American Culture Association (AACA), Talon (leadership club), Atlanta Mission Feed the Hungry, and volunteering at a non-profit organization that counsels teenagers
Head Coach Umme Salim-Beasley on Webster: āHarmony comes to us from a standout club program, Georgia Elite in Georgia. They have a reputation of producing outstanding collegiate ready gymnasts. Harmony excelled this past club season on Floor and Vault. Watching her gymnastics, you would immediately recognize the strength and power she has in her skills. Everything Harmony does is big. She is training all events this Fall. We are looking to her to add depth in our Floor and Vault lineups. Her Floor routine will be a show stopper! Iām confident that with her work ethic, that she will put herself into consideration on Bars and Beam as well. Fun fact, Harmonyās father Jason and my husband Aaron were teammates together while they both played in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. Our families have been friends since Harmony was a baby.ā
