WILLIAMSBURG — Kaplan Arena was brimming with excitement on Dec. 8 as William & Mary men’s and women’s gymnastics kicked off the 2024 season with the annual Green & Gold Meet.
The Green & Gold Meet is an intrasquad competition to introduce the teams to the public. The meet also gives the competitors a chance to show off their skills and routines in front of an audience before the stakes are on during the competition season.
Team Green was made up of Sarah Super, Caroline Blatchford, Evan Wilkins, Melanie Faulkner, Zachary Patrick, Kate Nels, Trenton Peasant, Summer Penzi, Jonathon Irwin, Samantha Burd, Alex Grapsas, Catherine Bare, Evan Sikra, Brynn Vetrano, Avery Bernier, Malcom Baytop, Grace Costello, Sam Lee, Tori Sipes, and Aidan Cuy.
Team Gold was made up of Anne Marie Kuebler, Mark Fu, Maddi Frazier, Hannah Burke, Will Harrington, Olivia Mile, Gavin Zbrowski, Sophie Chandler, Niko Greenly, Michelle Ngo, Jared Noyman, Ascha Laird, Ricky Pizem, Sarah Wozniak, Samuel Smith, Lily Walker, Alek Kuzmenchuk, Sofia Huang, and Garrett Kasiski.
Post-meet, both teams were on hand to sign autographs for the kids and participate in a clinic where they taught local gymnasts about what it means to be a collegiate athlete.
William & Mary women’s head coach Kelsey Hinton is back for her fifth season. After the meet, Hinton shared some insight into her thoughts on the night.
“Green & Gold was amazing this year! Eighteen out of 21 athletes competed on Friday night and I couldn’t be prouder. This shows we have depth and we haven’t had that in quite some time!” Hinton said.
“We had a lot of firsts — We had five freshmen who were able to get those first-time jitters out of the way and they handled their first college meet like pros. We had Catherine Bare return to the lineup after a long hiatus with an injury and she nailed her bar routine! The crowd was loud and the amount of support we had from the community after the meet with our gymnastics clinic was just as amazing! I can’t wait for Feb. 24,” Hinton added.
The William & Mary men’s gymnastics team will kick off its season at the West Point Open Jan. 12-13. The sole home meet for the men’s team will be on March 16 against Navy.
The William & Mary women’s gymnastics team season begins on the road at Clemson on Jan. 12. The sole home meet for the women’s team will be on Feb. 24 against West Chester University.
For more information on Tribe Gymnastics, visit tribeathletics.com.
