Titans Open Gymnastics Season In La Crosse

The defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion UW-Oshkosh women's gymnastics team opens the 2021 season Saturday (Feb. 27) at UW-La Crosse. The season opener begins at 4 p.m. in Mitchell Hall.

This season all eight WIAC teams will compete in a dual meet schedule against league opponents through April 3.

UW-Oshkosh returns home following its season opener to host UW-Eau Claire on March 11 and Winona State University (Minn.) on March 18 in Kolf Sports Center before concluding the four-meet season at UW-Whitewater on April 3.

The WIAC Championship, originally scheduled for March 12 at UW-Oshkosh, and the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championship, previously set for March 27 at Winona State University, have both been canceled.

UW-Oshkosh 14th-year head coach Lauren Karnitz, the 2019 and 2020 NCGA Coach of the Year, welcomes back 12 previous letterwinners, including four prior All-Americans in juniors Emily Gilot, Kaira Hammond and Rahdea Jarvis; and sophomore Trinity Sawyer.

Gilot and Sawyer received NCGA All-America awards on the vault last season after qualifying for the national meet that was canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Gilot, the 2020 WIAC vault champion, also earned All-America Second Team honors last season on the vault from the Women's Gymnastics Coaches Association since earning NCGA All-America accolades on the vault and in the floor exercise in 2019.

Hammond and Jarvis, the 2020 WIAC runner-up in the floor exercise, were 2019 NCGA All-Americans on the uneven bars and vault, respectively.

Completing the Titans' returning group of letterwinners are senior Paige Mayhew; juniors Naya Haynes, Olivia Keller, Haley Minor, Rachel Morris and Alyssa Nore; and sophomores Adana Amor and Haley Volstad.

UW-Oshkosh won the WIAC championship last season with 189.675 points to slip past UW-Whitewater's second-place score of 189.425 and UW-La Crosse's third-place count of 189.350. The Titans' conference championship was the 15th in program history and first since 1996.

UW-Stout placed fourth at the 2020 conference meet with 186.925 points while Hamline University (Minn.) finished fifth with 184.925, Winona State University sixth with 182.100, UW-Eau Claire seventh with 177.075 and Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) eighth with 175.925.

UW-Oshkosh has won NCGA titles in 1989 and 2007 since securing the 1980 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women crown and the 1986 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship.

Spectators will not be allowed at WIAC events during the winter sports season. All contests will be conducted in accordance with NCAA Division III regulations, as well as institutional, state and local health and safety guidelines.

All UW-Oshkosh women's gymnastics meets will be streamed live online. The links will be posted on the UW-Oshkosh women's gymnastics schedule page when available.