Gymnastics Hosts EMU and Towson on Saturday for Ken Anderson Invitational

Saturday, January 16

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Temple University

Eastern Michigan

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Gymnastics Hosts EMU and Towson on Saturday for Ken Anderson Invitational

1.14.21 | Women's Gymnastics

Meet Notes (PDF)Live Results Watch on ESPN+Meet Program

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple gymnastics team opens the 2021 season on Saturday, hosting Eastern Michigan and Towson for the Ken Anderson Invitational. The 7:00 p.m. meet will be broadcast live on ESPN+ from McGonigle Hall.

SEASON OPENER
> Saturday's meet will serve as the 2021 season opener for all three teams.
> Last year's season got cut short due to COVID-19, which canceled the final meet of the regular season, as well as all postseason events.

OWL ABOUT TEMPLE
> The Owls will begin their first season in the EAGL. Temple exits the ECAC after spending 14 seasons in the conference, finishing their ECAC era with two team titles (2020, 2019), while winning 13 event titles at the conference championships.
> Temple returns many key performers from last year's solid squad, including junior Ariana Castrence, ECAC Gymnast of the Year; sophomore Madison Brooks, ECAC Rookie of the Year; and senior Jordyn Oster, ECAC Specialist of the Year.
> Other key returners include seniors Tori Edwards and Delaney Garin. Edwards was named to the All-ECAC squad on vault, beam, and floor, while Garin had two All-ECAC honors, shining on bars and beam.
> Temple was picked to finish fifth in the EAGL preseason poll, also garnering one first place vote. The Owls also received votes in the national poll.
> The squad is led by 2020 ECAC Coach of the Year, Josh Nilson, who is in his third season guiding Temple gymnastics, leading the Owls to its first two conference titles in program history.

KEN ANDERSON INVITATIONAL
> Saturday's competition will be held in honor of the late Ken Anderson, a former head coach of the Temple women's gymnastics program. Anderson led the Owls for 21 seasons before passing away in 2008 due to a long battle with cancer.
> During his tenure as Temple women's gymnastics coach, Anderson boasted a 228-282 all-time record and led the 1992 squad to a team appearance at the NCAA Regionals.
> As the all-time winningest women's gymnastics coach in school history, Anderson earned numerous accolades including Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year in both 1987 and 1992. He was also named the NCAA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year in 1989.

SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN
> Eastern Michigan is coming off a 2020 season that saw the Eagles rank 45th overall in NQS.
> The team shined on beam recording a 48.980 NQS, which ranked 28th in the nation a year ago.
> The Eagles ranked sixth in the MAC in the final 2020 standings, and return All-Conference performers in senior Jada Rondeau and junior Caitlin Satler. Rondeau ended 2020 with five all-around titles and four bars titles, while Satler was a staple in the EMU beam and floor lineups, collecting eight top-three finishes.

SCOUTING TOWSON
> Towson returns to the mat after a 48th place NQS last season.
> The Tigers best event a year ago was also beam, where they ranked 46th in the nation with an RQS of 48.715. Towson ranked sixth in the EAGL at the end of the 2020 season and return All-Conference performers on three events.
> Emerson Hurst was an All-EAGL beamer last season with an NQS of 9.815, while Camille Vitoff (All-EAGL vault) and Tess Zientek (All-EAGL bars) also return for the Tigers.

CLOSE RIVALS
> Saturday's meet features three teams separated by just three spots in the final NQS of the 2020 season. Eastern Michigan (45th) had the highest finish of the three last season, followed by Temple (47th) and Towson (48th).