Anastasia Candia, a four-year letterwinner across three events for the Scarlet Knights from 2012-15, was named the head coach of Rutgers Gymnastics in April 2025.
2026 will mark Candia's first season at the helm of the program after six seasons as an assistant coach and serving as the acting head coach for the 2025 campaign.
Prior to being appointed head coach, Candia spent seven seasons in various roles, including as acting head coach (2025), associate head coach (2022-24) and assistant coach (2018-21). As an assistant, she primarily coached balance beam, while also serving as a preseason and postseason conditioning coach, a certified spin instructor, team choreographer for floor routines and manager of the team's social media accounts.
Serving as the interim head coach in 2025, Candia led the Scarlet Knights to a historic season and was named Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Region 3 Head Coach of the Year. Under Candia's leadership, Rutgers earned its first NCAA Championships appearance since 2014 thanks to a 196.225 at Big Ten Championships. The score makred the program's best performance at the meet since joining the conference in 2015.
The 2025 team scored three of the program's top eight scores in its history, while posting two of the top six uneven bars scores and two of its top nine balance beam scores. The team was also ranked No. 22 in the nation on beam during the 2025 campaign. RU recorded 16 victories on season, its most since 2014 – when Candia (formerly Halbig) was a student-athlete on that squad.
Candia guided the Scarlet Knights to a record-breaking year in 2023, concluding the regular season in spectacular fashion by winning a tri-meet against UPenn and No. 35 West Virginia with a new program-record score of 196.875. The new school standard was powered by a program-record 49.400 on beam. The Scarlet Knights notched multiple 196+ scores for the first time in program history and posted four of the top five scores in school history during the 2023 season. Under Candia's direction on beam, Stephanie Zannella and Hannah Joyner competed at the NCAA Regional Championships in 2023.
Candia helped Rutgers return to the national rankings for the first time since 2014 as the Scarlet Knights were ranked No. 24 during the 2022 season. Rutgers capped a successful 2022 campaign with three gymnasts – Belle Huang, Hannah Joyner and Emily Leese – qualifying for the NCAA Regionals, marking the most in a single season since 2018. The Scarlet Knights recorded their highest team score at the 2022 Big Ten Championships with a total of 195.750. It also ranked as the ninth-highest team score in the program record books. Rutgers recorded its highest overall score in program history, a mark previously set in 2014 with a 196.400 in the regular-season finale.
The Scarlet Knights saw continued success on balance beam in 2021 under Candia's leadership. Rutgers has been ranked over two seasons in beam (No. 24 in 2021 and No. 21 in 2020). The beam squad also earned its first-ever podium finishes in program history at the Big Ten Championships in 2021, with a pair of athletes earning bronze medals in Hannah Joyner and Belle Huang. Candia mentored Joyner in 2021 to become the program's third national qualifier - and first-ever on beam - while matching the school record on beam with a 9.950. Joyner eclipsed 9.9 or higher on the event six times in 2021 and 13 times in her career before advancing to NCAA Regionals, going on to become the only individual qualifier from the Big Ten that season to compete at Nationals on beam.
Rutgers posted its second-highest team beam score with a 49.275 in the road win at Nebraska, the program’s first win over the Cornhuskers since joining the Big Ten. Overall, Rutgers posted its highest finish and score at the Big Ten Championships (195.67-fifth), the highest road score (195.975), the third best team score (195.975), the fourth best home and ninth best overall score (195.525) in program history.
In 2020, Candia, who leads the unit, rewrote the balance beam records with four of the Top 5 team scores in the event. The season-best mark of 49.250 in a tri-meet home victory ranks second all-time. Additionally, Erin McLachlan set the school record in the event with a 9.950 in a road win at Penn. That same season, Rutgers recorded its highest road score ever with a 195.900, topping No. 15 Auburn for its highest ranked victory and first defeat of an SEC foe.
In Candia's first season as a coach at her alma mater, the Scarlet Knights reached 196 for the second time in program history and earned two Big Ten wins over ranked opponents. The beam unit totaled a 49.000, tied for fourth-best in program history, in the win over No. 25 Penn State, as Belle Huang tied the school record with a 9.925 routine on the event.
Candia spent three seasons on the staff at Temple after being hired as a graduate assistant coach. During that time, she specialized in balance beam technique and skill. The group tied the school record on the event in 2018 with a 49.050 and saw one gymnast earn first team all-conference and two claim spots on the second team.
As a Scarlet Knight, Candia played a key role to numerous successes such as the program’s highest team score set in her junior season. During that record-setting meet she earned a new career high of 9.875 on balance beam. Also in 2014, she was named the most improved gymnast of the year during her junior season for showing the most growth and reaching three career bests overall. Candia wrapped up her career at the Big Ten Championships at Michigan posting a 9.800 on the balance beam.
Originally from Pipersville, Pennsylvania, Candia earned her undergraduate degree from Rutgers as a psychology major and achieved a master’s degree from Temple in counseling psychology. She is working towards a doctorate degree in sport psychology at Temple, earning an academic grant to work with collegiate student-athletes on preventing burnout in sport.
