INDIANAPOLIS - Five Centenary gymnasts have qualified for postseason competition in the annual USA Gymnastics National Championships in Denton, Texas, April 13-15.
Junior Tavia Smith will compete in the all-around, while senior Ashley White will compete on both vault and floor. Junior Navia Jordan and sophomore Cami Bea Austin qualified on floor, while freshman Sierra Ponder will compete on bars.
"It is exciting to see our Ladies' hard work pay off," said head coach Jackie Fain. "Every one of the Ladies on this team worked diligently over the last year to get to this point, and that has pushed these five Ladies to achieve their goal of reaching the national championships! It is exciting to see a well-rounded group, with representatives from every class, going to represent Centenary in a few weeks. This speaks to the depth we have on this team, and to the talent we have coming up in the program.
Added Fain, "We have a couple weeks now to really focus on perfecting our individual routines in preparation for nationals. The hard work isn't over, and I know this group will push themselves to be at their absolute best when they step on the floor to represent Centenary College and their team."
Smith will compete in the all-around for the second consecutive year. This season, she ranks 10th in USA Gymnastics with a 37.790, including career highs of 38.400 in the all-around and 9.675 on bars in the final home meet of the season on February 23. Smith won the all-around and finished third on bars in the meet.
Just two days later at the Texas Woman's quad on February 25, Smith recorded a career high of 9.775 on beam to finish sixth.
This is the fourth consecutive season White has qualified for the USAG Championships. An eight-time All-American (First Team all-around, vault, and beam in 2015 and 2016; First Team on beam and Second Team in the all-around in 2018), White is certainly no stranger to USAG success. Her sophomore season, White received a 39.200 total to finish second in the all-around - the fourth-best mark in school history and the best total since Hall of Fame gymnast Kristina Menne's 39.325 in 2005. She also finished third in the all-around as a freshman with a 38.875 total.
As a junior, White finished a runner-up on beam with a career high of 9.875.
Besides USAG experience, White qualified for NCAA Regional competition in 2016 and 2017. She is just the second Centenary gymnast to qualify for NCAA regional competition twice (Kristina Menne on bars in 2004 and in the all-around in 2005) and the first to compete in the all-around in two different seasons. Two other gymnasts in program history have competed in a regional meet (Laura Loy on beam in 2008 and Jessica Lieblich in the all-around in 2011). White also represented NCAA Division III athletics in a big way, serving as the only Division III gymnast to qualify in the all-around in 2016 and the only Division III athlete to qualify in any event in 2017.
For Jordan, 2018 marks the third straight year of competition on floor in the USAG Championships. She also competed on beam in 2016. In the semifinals as a freshman, Jordan recorded a career high with a 9.900 on floor, the best score for a Centenary gymnast in a decade, to garner First Team All-American accolades. She finished seventh in the event finals on the apparatus with a 9.850.
This is the second straight season for Austin to compete in the USAG Championships, competing on vault and floor in 2017. Austin has finished with a 9.700 or better on floor in 7-of-10 meets this season, including the past six competitions. In the Bridgeport quad in the last regular season meet of the season March 17, she matched a career high on floor with a 9.8. Austin finished third on floor in three meets in 2018.
With Ponder's qualification on bars, 10 Centenary freshmen in the past six years have competed in the USA Gymnastics Championships. In the first collegiate meet of her career, Ponder finished fourth on bars with a 9.650. She received a career high 9.750 on the apparatus to finish second at Illinois State March 4. She also placed fourth with a 9.700 on bars at Southeast Missouri State March 9.
All of the gymnasts representing Centenary will compete in the second session at the USAG Championships April 13. Smith will rotate in the all-around with Yale and will start on floor. Also competing in the first rotation on floor is White. In the second rotation, White will finish her night on vault while Ponder will compete on bars. Jordan in the third rotation and Austin in the fourth rotation on floor close out the night for the Ladies.
The second session on Friday night, April 13, is set to begin at 7 p.m.
