Gymnastics To Kick Off 2023 With Keystone Classic

PHILADELPHIA – With its sites set on big things for 2023, the Temple Gymnastics team kicks off the season on Friday as they travel to the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Fieldhouse for the 2023 Keystone Classic as they take on No. 35 Penn State, Penn, and the host team Pitt.

The quad meet will get underway at 7 p.m. ET and will be available on ACCN Extra.

ONE TOUCH WARMUP

The Keystone Classic will serve as the 2023 season opener for all three teams, Penn, Penn State, Temple, and the host Pitt. Last season's Keystone Classic was modified due to Pitt pulling out last minute. In the meet, Penn State earned the victory, scoring 194.275. Temple finished second with a 193.450 with Penn finishing with a 191.350 in third place.
Friday's is the second annual Keystone Classic and this year's rendition is taking place at Pitt's Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. The Owls will take on cross-city rival Penn, the Big 10's Penn State and fellow EAGL member Pitt. In the all-time meetings, the Owls hold a 59-47 record over Penn, but haven't defeated Penn State in 16 times out, while going 12-17 against Pitt.
Temple begins the 2023 season, tabbed by the EAGL coaches with a preseason ranking tied for second. Coming off the 2022 season, the Owls finished 17-12, picking up wins against No. 23 Iowa State and No. 29 NC State during the regular season and finished third at the EAGL Championships.
Penn State comes into the new year ranked No. 35 in the 2023 WCGA Preseason Coaches' Poll and voted No. 9 by the Big Ten Coaches, the Lions finished 2022 with a 9-17 record.
Penn looks to repeat its first-place finish from the 2022 Gymnastics East Championships as it begins 2023 as the GEC Coaches' top pick after finishing with a 13-16 record in 2022.
Last season, fellow EAGL conference team, Pitt finished 10-17, including an eighth-place finish at the 2022 EAGL Championships. Entering 2023, the Panthers are picked to finish sixth in the EAGL Coaches' Preaseason Poll.
Temple returns 15 gymnasts from last year's roster which includes 2022 NCAA Regional Qualifiers Julianna Roland and Brooke Donabedian.
The Cherry and White have a lot of a youth on this year's team as they start the year with nine sophomores and eight freshmen.

ROAD TO THE NATIONALS

Temple finished 2022 No. 45 in the country and sixth in the EAGL with NQS of 195.770.

Vault

The vault team was one of Temple's strongest groups in 2022 and was ranked second in the EAGL with an NQS of 49.085, third best in the northeast region. The team scored a 49.000 or better in six of the 13 meets in 2022 including notching its best mark in school history with a 49.200 on Feb. 25 at No. 29 NC State. Graduate student, Julianna Roland was one of two Owls to be named to the All-EAGL team in 2022 and will return in 2023. Roland turned in a record-breaking school performance on the vault with a 9.925, breaking the previous mark (9.9) held Anne Koerner ('96), Hannah Stallings ('22) and herself on multiple times since joining the team in 2021.
With Roland leading the way, the Owls tallied 27 scores of 9.8 or better last season. Hannah Stallings finished inside the 20 of the conference with an NQS of 9.800.
Speaking of Stallings, the Raleigh, N.C. native was ranked sixth in the EAGL with an NQS 38.875 in the all-around. She won five straight all-around competitions to start last season before her streak was broken on Feb. 12 in Chapel Hill, where she finished third overall with a 39.000. Stalling's 39.250 on Jan. 30 at the LIU Dual Meet tied for the fifth-best score in school history, tying her with teammate Ariana Castrence's mark from 2020. She also tied Castrence's mark in her third meet of the season with the third-highest score in school history with a 39.275.

Floor

Just like the vault team, the Owls' floor team finished the season with the second-best NQS score in the EAGL and the fourth-best in the northeast region with a 49.210. Two times in in 2022, the Owls tied the school record with a 49.375. On Feb. 4 at the Towson Quad Meet, the Cherry and White tied the school record on the floor with a 49.375, and on March 6, during during Senior Day, they came up big with the same exact score. Between those two meets, 11 of the 12 routines were capped by scores of 9.825 or better.
On March 6, Brooke Donabedian put on a record-setting performance as she tied Anne Koerner's 2000 mark with a 9.95. Last season, the team had four gymnasts rank within the top 15 of the conference. Donabedian led the way, ranked second in the conference with a 9.890 NQS. The Maple Valley, Wash. native, was most consistent gymnast of the four with 10 consecutive 9.8's or better, including the school record score.

Bars

The Owls were the eighth best team in the conference on the bars with an NQS of 48.915. Two of the three Owls' wins on the bars in 2022 came from returner Sarah Stallings. Twin sister of Hannah, Sarah competed in 12 of the 13 meets, scoring 9.8s in six contests. On Feb. 27 at George Washington, Stallings would add a career-high 9.875 as she tied for her second bars victory.

Beam

On beam, the Cherry and White ended 2022 tied for second in the northeast region and the fourth-best NQS in the EAGL with a 49.025. Hannah Stallings and Roland are the two lone Owls' returners that ranked within the top 15 of the northeast region. Both gymnasts tied for 14th with an NQS of 9.840. Both Stallings and Roland were named to the All-EAGL Second Team and earned All-EAGL Tournament honors. Brooke Donabedian also joined the pair with All-Tournament honors as the trio returns for 2023.

SCOUTING PENN STATE

Senior Cassidy Rushlow (bars) and sophomore Isabella Salcedo (floor) are coming off a 2022 season where they both qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships.
Freshman Amani Herring and sophomore Jessica Johanson were named Penn State's 2023 gymnasts to watch by the Big Ten Conference.

SCOUTING PITT

All-EAGL Hallie Copperwheat leads the Panthers into 2023 after a freshman season that saw her qualify for NCAA Regionals on bars and beam. Copperwheat won seven individual titles in 2022, which three came on the beam, two on the bars, one on the vault, and one all-around title.

SCOUTING PENN

Returner McCaleigh Marr begins the 2023 season after qualifying for NCAA Regionals on the beam in Norman, Okla. in 2022. With her selection to the All-GEC team on bars, Marr qualified for the Norman regional with a career-best 9.950.
On Dec 23, 2022, College Gym News recognized freshman Marissa Lassiter was named one of 10 underrated freshmen to watch. In 2022, Lassiter qualified for JO Nationals.

For complete coverage of Temple gymnastics, follow the Owls on social media @TUWG (Twitter), facebook.com/ TempleWGymnastics (Facebook), @templegymnastics (Instagram), or visit the official home of Temple University Athletics at owlsports.com and on TikTok @templeowls.

Temple University Athletics

Gymnastics To Kick Off 2023 With Keystone Classic

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