LAKEWOOD, NJ (March 26, 2024) - Georgian Court Acrobatics and Tumbling is back in action this week heading up to the Empire State!

Opponents
Iona Gaels (3-2)

Where
New Rochelle, NY - Hynes Athletics Center

When
Wednesday, March 27 - 6 p.m.

How to Watch
• Wednesday's meet is available to watch via a free-to-view stream on the IonaInsider.

What to Watch For
• An NCATA meet is a team competition consisting of six events. The first event is compulsories, followed by three heats within the acro event, followed by the pyramid event and then halftime. After halftime, there will be the toss event, the tumbling event, and the team event. A running score will be kept throughout the meet. The team with the most cumulative points at the end of all six events is the winner of the meet.
• Teams submit a start value before heats and three judges determine the score of each heat. Heat scores are added up and the team with the highest score after all six events is the winner.

Last Time Out
• Georgian Court got back on the mat for the first time in nearly a month for a tri-meet with Caldwell and LIU.
• GCU scored 172.785, nearly setting a new single-meet best, but came up short against the Cougars and Sharks. 
• The Lions pyramid heats were a strong point for GCU. They scored 22.70 in the event, a new season-best and also had their best score in the pyramid heat of compulsory. 
• Georgian Court's fewest point deductions came in the toss where they scored 21.25. 
• Gianna Mirassol and Louanne Legregin scored a season-best 7.90 in the duo pass heat of the tumbling event.
• The Lions finished the meet scoring a season-best 52.61 in the team event. 

The Team
• Georgian Court features a team of 18. There are three general "positions" in Acrobatics and Tumbling: Top, Base and Tumbler. 
The inaugural Georgian Court Acrobatics and Tumbling Team features:
Seniors: Sofia Atiles (base), Destani Diaz (base), Cara Catalano (base/tumbler), Alyssa Almerigotti (base)
Juniors: Emma Bennett (base)
Sophomores: Izzy Hernandez (top/tumbler), Kimberly Schadewald (base), Emily Miller (base), Katelyn Meyer (base/tumbler), Ava Margolies (base), Katelyn Santello (top)
Freshmen: Gianna Mirassol (top/tumbler), Mia Zdanowicz (base/tumbler), Faith Robert (top/base/tumbler), Angelina Bartolini-Gonzalez (top/base/tumbler), Bianca Colao (top/base/tumbler), Louanne Legregin (top/tumbler), Caroline Yacullo (top/base/tumbler)

The Coaches
• In her first season, Georigan Court is led by Head Coach Sierra Garcia. Garcia was a four-year member of the Acrobatics and Tumbling team at the University of Oregon where she was a national champion in the synchronized pyramid. She is a Marlboro, NJ native and attended Red Bank Catholic High School as a captain of the gymnastics team.
• Garcia tabbed Syndey Williamson to be her assistant coach. Williamson competed at Frostburg State as a part of their inaugural team in 2021. Williamson led the Bobcats to three Mountain East Championships and the 2023 NCATA National Championship meet. She was a cheerleader in high school at Burlington Township High School. 

The Schedule
• There is just one meet left on the schedule following Wednesday.
• The Lions close the season with another tri-meet Friday, April 5. LIU will return to Lakewood along with Stevenson. 

About the Opponents
Iona Gaels
• Iona is also in their first year as a program.
• They are 3-2 with their only losses coming to No. 1 Baylor and No. 3 Quinnipiac.
• In all five meets (all dual meets), the Gaels have scored at least 253 points.
• To start the season, Iona was ranked 15th in the country. 
• Iona has scored at least 260 points in their last two meets. They've scored better than 85 in the team events and over 50 in the tumbling events the last two meets.