Hodges And Fain Recognized By WCGA With Individual Awards
Centenary assistant gymnastics coach Joseph Hodges and former Ladies’ head coach Jackie Fain have been recognized by the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association as Assistant Coach of the Year and Administrator of the Year for the Northeast Region, the organization announced on Monday.
Shreveport – Centenary assistant gymnastics coach Joseph Hodges and former Ladies' head coach Jackie Fain have been recognized by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association as Assistant Coach of the Year and Administrator of the Year for the Northeast Region, the organization announced on Monday.
Hodges, in his first season with the Ladies, worked alongside first-year head coach Meg Crowley in leading the Maroon and White to a successful season which saw eight Ladies qualify for this weekend's USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship at Kitty Magee Arena on the campus of Texas Women's University.
Freshman Amy Foret (Bedford, Texas), senior Kendall Huff (Riviera, Texas), senior Leilani Johnson (Wichita, Kan.), sophomore Emma Lavelle (Mandeville, La.), sophomore Carissa Martinez (Albuquerque, N.M.), freshman Sophie Schmitz (Trophy Club, Texas), senior Kennedy Stephens (Bella Vista, Ark.), and senior Taylor Ann Wilson (Memphis, Tenn.) all qualified, marking the most Centenary gymnasts to qualify for the prestigious event since 2017. Each gymnast qualified based on their National Qualifying Score (NQS) during the regular season. The eight Ladies will compete as individuals April 6-8.
The Ladies finished fifth at the Midwest Independent Conference Championships on March 17 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. with a 188.875 team score. The All-American Wilson had the Ladies' top individual finish of the meet as she tied for 11th on bars with a 9.750. Johnson and Wilson each earned a spot on the 2023 All-MIC Team as second-team selections.
Hodges, a former University of Illinois at Chicago student-athlete, was born in Rochester, NY, attended Webster Christian School before his successful collegiate career at UIC. He was a three-time ECAC Rookie of the Week in 2011 and a member of the 2011 ECAC Championship team. He was an NCAA qualifier in 2011, 2012 and 2013, as well as a Pan-American Qualifier (Colombia) in 2012.
He was named ECAC Gymnast of the Week in 2013. He was also named 2012 ECAC Conference Champion on Pommel Horse and 2013 ECAC Conference Champion on Horizontal Bar. Hodges is an accomplished coach as he has helped several teams to win state championships as well as qualifying individuals to regional and national championships.
Fain, who was at helm of the Ladies gymnastics program for 11 seasons, is in her 12th year as a member of the Centenary athletic department in her new role as the associate director of athletics – Senior Woman Administrator.
A veteran of collegiate athletics for more than 20 years, Fain has held a variety of positions. Along with her coaching duties, she has served as the SWA at Centenary since 2015. Additionally, she has held key leadership roles on institutional and national committees; including serving on the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Board of Directors, the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Rules and Championship Committee, and as co- chair of both the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship Committee and the Judges Assigning Committee.
Fain was named the Regional Coach of the Year by the WCGA in 2020, earning the honor following a vote by her fellow head coaches. The award is the second major honor Fain has garnered in her tenure with the Ladies as she was named the 2013 Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year. The 2021 season was highlighted by Fain leading sophomore Taylor Ann Wilson (Memphis, Tenn.) to the individual uneven bars title at the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship. This was the first national championship title at Centenary during the DIII era.
The USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship sessions on April 6 will also feature individual qualifiers from USA Gymnastics member schools. Along with the individual scores from the eight teams, individuals will aim to qualify for the individual finals on Saturday, April 8.
For the individual competitors, the top five individual scores from each session will advance to the individual finals on Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m.
Tickets are on sale here. Individual Session Passes can be purchased for $15 for adults and $10 for children or seniors. All-Session Passes can also be purchased for $30 for adults and $20 for children and seniors.
Each session will be live-streamed and have live stats as well. Information for individual sessions can be found here.
Read more on the WCGA here: https://wcgagym.com/about-2/
See the Ladies' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/gymnastics/2022-23/schedule
Live stats and live video are available for all home meets.
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests.
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