Brown Gymnastics Season Preview
1/8/2022
2021 We Hibernate, 2022 We Dominate
“2021 We Hibernate, 2022 We Dominate”. That one phrase sums up the approach to the 2022 season for the Brown Gymnastics team, which is set to open up its long awaited 2022 season on Sunday after a year-long break due to the pandemic.
“That’s the theme we’ve been running off of all year,” said head coach Sara Carver-Milne. “We used that last year too to get us through: We are going to lay low this year (2021), but we’re going to build something really big and come together for next year.”
Brown’s 2022 squad features 22 student-athletes, 12 of whom are freshman and sophomores that have yet to compete in a collegiate meet. The talent of the newcomers, along with the return of experienced upperclassmen has the coaching staff excited for a strong and very deep team.
The 2022 squad will open up the season on Sunday, January 9 with a quad meet at Yale against the host Bulldogs, LIU and West Chester. It will mark the team’s first competition in 672 days. It will be the first of 13 meets on the schedule this season, and also marks the start of a new era for Brown Gymnastics with the inaugural season of the newly-formed Gymnastics East Conference. Brown is scheduled to host the first-ever GEC Championship meet at the Pizzitola Sports Center on March 19.
Key Returners
Leading the Bears’ returners is senior captain Mei Li Costa. As a freshman in 2019, Costa was the national champion on bars at the USAG Collegiate Nationals, and earned first team All-America honors. She qualified for NCAA Regionals on bars as well in 2019, and was on target to qualify once again on 2020 before the season was cut short due to the pandemic.
“Mei Li is by far our most decorated gymnast in college gymnastics,” Carver-Milne said. “She competed two events her freshman year and added a third event her sophomore year. She will continue with all three events this year – vault, bars and beam – and she’s a captain and going all out her senior year and leading the way for her team.”
Junior Abby Contello is also back for the Bears and will be a key contributor on both the beam and bars. Senior Sophia Petrillo will also be a key factor for Brown in all four events.
“Alyssa Gardner is our secret weapon,” Carver-Milne said. “She is coming back for her senior year. She took all of last year off in order to make sure she was able to compete and have a real senior year in competition because gymnastics and this team is so important to her. She has been training all on her own for the last year and has come back stronger than ever. She is an extremely powerful gymnast and will be one of our top performers on vault and floor, and also compete bars for us. Having her back is a huge help to the team.”
Carolanne Van Zandt returns for her junior year and will be a dynamic performer on the floor. Ella Poley will be a key piece in the all-around, and Abby Walsh is expected to be a force on the floor, and also compete on the beam and vault.
“Having that year off fueled them so much more in wanting to get the most out of the next competition season,” Carver-Milne said. “Carolanne is debuting a new floor routine with music that really showcases her personality. Abby has really stepped up as a teammate this year and I think she’s going to have her best year this season as a senior.”
New Faces
Angela Xing, Makenna Weiner and Lauren Kramer are three sophomores who return this year, but did not get a chance to compete last season due to the pandemic.
Head Coach Sara Carver-Milne on Brown’s newcomers:
Lauren Kramer
“Lauren Kramer is one of our sophomores that didn’t get a chance to compete in her first year on campus, but remained completely dedicated to the sport and the program. We weren’t even allowed to train last year, so she came on campus as a freshman and never really got the full experience. She will be a fierce competitor for us on vault, floor and beam.
Makenna Weiner
“Makenna Weiner is one of the hardest workers we have on this team and we know we can count on her. She always gives it 100 percent and has really stepped up as a sophomore after not having a freshman season and is really looking forward to this opportunity. She will probably be leading off for us on bars, beam and floor.”
Angela Xing
“We expect great things from Angela Xing as well. She’ll be competing a very powerful vault, and has a strong beam and floor as well.”
Joining the group will be four true freshmen, all of whom project to have an impact right away.
Julia Bedell
“Julia Bedell is probably one of our most talented newcomers. She is going to debut skills that very few if any of the other gymnasts in the Ivy League compete. She’s a beautiful gymnast to watch and will make a big splash on vault and floor, and compete on the beam as well. She’s going to make a big impact on three events.”
Mya Davis
“I think Mya Davis is going to surprise some people and really shine in college gymnastics. She’s extremely talented and is also a professionally trained dancer. She’s very impressive on floor and beam, and has gorgeous lines on bars as well. She’ll be in a lot of our lineups.”
Addie Liebhardt
“Addie Liebhardt is one of our freshmen that has the potential to compete all-around. She’s ready on all four events. She does a dynamic release move on bars called a Delchev, which very few collegiate gymnasts do. She’s strong everywhere and she’ll surprise a lot of people as well.”
Taylor Schulze
“Taylor Schulze is extremely strong and will be our rock on beam, and also will make appearances on floor and bars.”
Outlook for the Season's First Meet
“In the first meet, we’re really looking for them to get their competitive legs back," said Carver-Milne. "We want them to build confidence and know that they still can compete under pressure and do well and that their training has paid off, that not having a season last year hasn’t ruined their ability to compete, and that they’re still just as strong. We may not debut all of our top difficulties in the first meet, simply because we want to build their confidence in competition. As we progress throughout the competition season, we will continue to add difficulty and improve our routines so that by the Ivy and GEC Championships, we are at our peak and ready to win.
“We’re in a really good spot," Carver-Milne added. "We’re fortunate that we’re pretty healthy, and have a ton of depth and talent. We’re absolutely eager to get rolling again. It’s been way too long since we’ve had this opportunity and we’re certainly hoping that we get the opportunity to compete more this year, but we’re staying positive regardless.”
