2023 Gymnastics Season Preview
1/13/2023
Coming off one of the best seasons in program history, the Brown gymnastics team is set to kick off the 2023 season this weekend. The Bears will open up their 12-meet schedule on Sunday, January 15 with a dual meet at Yale at 1 p.m.
The Bears return 17 of 22 gymnasts from last season’s squad that finished runner-up at the inaugural GEC Championship meet and have been tabbed to finish second in this year’s preseason poll.
YEAR IN REVIEW: 2022
The 2022 season was one for the record books as Brown set a new program record of 195.975 at the GEC Championships, culminating a season in which the Bears posted four of the five highest overall scores in program history.
Brown also set new school records on vault, bars and floor, including resetting each of those marks at the GEC Championships and a season-high on beam at the GEC meet. The Bears posted the program’s highest-ever National Qualifying Score (193.695) and concluded the season by finishing fourth overall at USAG Collegiate Nationals, marking just the third time in program history the Bears qualified for the team finals.
Graduated senior and NCAA Regional qualifier Mei Li Costa also set a school record 9.975 on bars, earning the program’s first-ever perfect 10 from one of the judges. Brown also had eight All-GEC performances and had five gymnasts total eight All-America honors at USAG Nationals.
NEW YEAR, NEW COACH
For the first time in two decades, the Bears have a new head coach leading the program. Brittany Harris was named the fourth coach in Brown gymnastics history in August, replacing Sara Carver-Milne who left for Auburn after 20 seasons.
Harris comes to Providence after spending the 2022 season as the head coach at Centenary College of Louisiana. She previously served three seasons as the top assistant at Lindenwood University where she helped lead the Lions to the 2019 USAG Collegiate National Championship team title. She was twice named the national assistant coach of the year in 2019 and 2021. As a student-athlete at Oregon State, Harris was an all-around qualifier for the NCAA Championships in 2013 and a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree.
“Overall, I feel we’ve had a very successful preseason,” Harris said. “We’ve stayed healthy and tried new things, and have worked on handling different pressure sets so that way we’re putting ourselves in a meet mindset so when we’re at the meet, it feels like just another practice. We’ve had a number of intrasquads to see where we’re at and how far we have to go to be ready. We knew going into the holiday break that when we came back, it would be all about fine-tuning the little details and working out the kinks to prepare for Yale. Going into our first meet is the most confident I have felt about this team buying in to everything. I feel we’re ready to go.”
NEWCOMERS
Brown will welcome four freshmen to this year’s squad in Sophia Dewar, Umi El Mammann, Jessica Lin and Liza Marcus. The quartet will help fill the gap left by last season’s five graduated seniors.
VAULT
Brown returns two of its top three scorers on vault from last season, with sophomore Julia Bedell (9.825) and junior Angela Xing (9.825) both returning after earning First Team All-GEC honors and USAG All-America accolades.
The Bears will also look for lineup contributions from several other gymnasts including senior Ella Poley (9.775), and senior Abby Contello, who is back practicing on vault this year after not having competed on the apparatus since 2020.
“Overall, I feel like we have a pretty strong vault lineup this year,” Harris said. “We’ve been working on our form and our consistency, and focusing on those sticks; making the stick down to the salute of the judge part of our routines. That way every time you’re doing it, you know what to expect from yourself from start to finish.”
UNEVEN BARS
Contello is Brown’s top returner on bars after posting a 9.925 at both GECs and USAG Nationals last season, earning first team all-conference. Poley earned Second Team All-GEC and Second Team All-America on bars last season with a career-high 9.875. Junior Paige Richter is back after posting a 9.850 at GECs.
Harris also hopes to see impacts from sophomore Maya Davis, senior Lauren Lazaro and junior Asta Farrell, who returns after missing the 2022 season.
“On bars we have been working on our details and being very technical and staying present from start to finish throughout the entire routine,” Harris said. “Bars is a very quick and short event and we’ve been focusing on being patient.”
BEAM
Junior Angela Xing returns after being one of Brown’s First Team All-Americans on beam last season, when she tied her career-high of 9.850 to finish third at USAG Nationals. Lazaro, who has been a consistent impact across multiple events returns after posting a pair of 9.750 scores last year, along with Contello. First-year Liza Marcus could also make an impact in Brown’s lineup this season.
“One of our focuses has been having a sharp finish as opposed to letting the little mistakes take over,” Harris said. “Having sharp finishes and working the beam like a sidewalk. Confidently attacking every skill and no matter who’s up on the beam, there is a 100 percent belief in them and we have their back.”
FLOOR
Brown returns a strong and deep group of gymnasts on floor who will look to give the team consistently solid scores.
Bedell earned Second Team All-GEC and All-America last season with career-high marks of 9.900. Davis, who has a dance background, also earned Second Team All-GEC honors after topping out at 9.900 at GECs.
Senior Carolanne Van Zandt and junior McKenna Weiner made significant contributions down the stretch in 2022 and look to be key contributors for Brown this season. Lazaro was another key contributor on floor last year who returns and is poised for a strong senior season, while junior Lauren Kramer and freshman Sophia Dewar could also see time in Brown’s lineup.
“They are strong returners and their tumbling is just textbook,” Harris said. “You know what to expect every time and they all have great personalities. Ella has been on floor and is looking really good as well. It’s exciting to see people who may have stepped away from an event in the past come back and have success.
“I love floor because you can dance and show personality,” Harris said. “If we’re in a big arena, we want our dances to be able to reach someone up in the rafters.”
“We did a lot of endurance this preseason,” Harris said. “That way it sets them up so when it’s only their routine, the routines are a lot easier. We’re learning to fight for everything. Fight for your landing and your finishes and celebrate everything no matter what.”
“In the beginning of the season, you just want to get that competitive nervousness out. Going for our skills, trying to hit routines, building off each other’s energy, trying to make corrections, and going for those landings early on. As a staff, we figure out how to construct our lineups to be the most successful in each event. Right now, it is just going for our skills, not holding back, and being grateful that we are having a competition season doing what we love.”
