Four Rotations: Gymnastics vs. Ball St., Towson, & UW-Oshkosh

Saturday, January 14

Piscataway, N.J.

2:00 PM

Rutgers University

Ball State

Four Rotations: Gymnastics vs. Ball St., Towson, & UW-Oshkosh

Jan 12 | Women's Gymnastics

The four things to know before the Scarlet Knights host their 2023 home opener at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sat., Jan. 14.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers gymnastics opens its 2023 home schedule at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sat., Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. in a quad meet against Ball State, Towson, and Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

In the Arena: American Girl Doll / Girl Scout Day | First 100 fans receive American Girl Doll pins; raffles for American Girl Doll prizes; Rutgers gymnastics girl scout patch giveaway
Watch: B1G+ with Dom Savino on play-by-play and Chrystal Chollet-Norton on color commentary.
Follow: Live Results | @RUGymnastics

The Four Things to Know...

HOT START

Rutgers gymnastics began the 2023 season with a 194.700 team score at the Super 16 Collegiate Challenge in Las Vegas, setting a program record for a season-opening road score and recording its best overall season-opening score since the 2014 season. The Scarlet Knights placed second on floor with a 49.150, beating out No. 14 Oregon State and No. 20 Georgia in the event. Emily Leese recorded two of RU's four Top 3 finishes, tying for second on vault with a 9.875 and tying for third on floor with a career-high 9.900. Stephanie Zannella tied for second on beam with a 9.850, and Elia Aird tied for third on floor with a 9.900 while competing in the all-around for the first time.

NATIONAL ATTENTION

Rutgers gymnastics will begin the 2023 season receiving votes in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll. The Scarlet Knights are receiving 50 points in the Top 36 poll, coming in 44th place heading into the new campaign. Rutgers rose to No. 24 in the nation in February during the 2022 season, marking its first national ranking since 2014 – an NCAA Regionals season for the Scarlet Knights. The national attention stems from a mix of strong returning talent and the hype around the 2023 freshmen class. The Scarlet Knights return 18 letterwinners from last year's team, including NCAA Regional qualifiers Hannah Joyner and Emily Leese. Many of those 18 contributed to the program-record team score of 196.400 set in March, and the highest Big Ten Championships score in program history (195.750).

WATCH OUT

Senior Hannah Joyner has been named a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch for the 2023 season. Joyner is already one of the most decorated gymnasts in Rutgers history and prepares for her senior season "On the Banks." The first Rutgers gymnast to advance to NCAA Nationals on the balance beam, Joyner is seeking her third consecutive trip to NCAA Regionals this winter. She is the school record holder on beam with a 9.950, as well as the school's standard bearer for most 9.9 or higher scores with 27 in her collegiate career. She is also the first Rutgers gymnast to record a 9.9 in all four events. The three-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree is just as consistent in the classroom with two Scholastic All-America honors and two Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Awards.

CAPTAINS CAPTION

Kaitlyn Bertola and Stephanie Zannella join Joyner and Calah Newman as 2023 captains. Bertola enters her senior season after competing in six meets as a junior and contributing to a program-record team total of 196.400 in March. She set a career high of 9.750 on bars in February after making her collegiate debut with Rutgers in January. Bertola, a two-time Junior Olympics qualifier before coming to Rutgers, is now a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and 2020-21 WCGA Scholastic All-American.

Zannella returns as a captain for her junior season after boosting Rutgers' program-record Big Ten Championships score with a career-high 9.775 on floor and 9.750 on beam. She also turned in a career-best 9.900 on beam during the Scarlet Knights' record-setting 196.400 total in March. In the classroom, Zannella was awarded Academic All-Big Ten and WCGA Scholastic All-America honors.

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