Women’s gymnastics caps Senior Day with first-place finish in Liberty Classic

Seniors Nina Oteri and Danielle Viens led Temple to the win against Ursinus, Penn and West Chester. The balance beam event launched the Owls toward the comeback victory. They face Towson next.

Seniors Nina Oteri and Danielle Viens finished their final regular-season home meet on a high note, as the women’s gymnastics team capped off its Senior Day at the Liberty Classic with victories against Ursinus, Penn and West Chester.

Oteri and Viens were honored following a 188.375-point performance versus second-place Ursinus, which finished with a 181.725. Viens posted a respectable 8.825 on the uneven parallel bars, her only event. Meanwhile, Oteri rounded out the beam event with an 8.85 and finished the Liberty Classic with a 9.75 on the floor.

“It was our last in-season home meet, and we came out, and we did our job. We came home. We won,” Oteri said.

Temple began the day on vault with a solid 47.825 team total. Junior Katie Canning led the team with a 9.825, while sophomore Kaity Watson posted a 9.625.

Not everything went perfectly, though. A sluggish and sloppy performance on the parallel bars left the team playing catch-up with only two events left. Watson posted the squad’s best score with a 9.55, as the Owls scored a 45.875 for the event.

Fortunately for the Owls, the beam event proved to be a launching pad for an exciting comeback, as the squad scored a 46.85. Canning led the team with a 9.625, followed by sophomore Corrine Williams’ 9.525. By the time the team had finished the beam and floor events, McGonigle Hall was buzzing with chants of, “T! U!”

“We started off a little rough, but it was the fact that we came back on beam, and really floor we kind of kept it together.” Oteri said. “We didn’t just fall apart and throw the meet after we had a couple little bumps in the road.”

The Owls finished off the Liberty Classic with an impressive 47.825 on the floor, capped off by Canning’s 9.80.

“I think it was a big confidence booster coming in, winning against three other teams,” Viens said.

The three all-arounders – freshman Jean Alban, Canning and Watson – posted solid scores. Alban led the trio with a 37.3 by posting a 9.35 on the vault, 9.25 on the parallel bars, 9.375 on the beam and 9.325 on the floor. Canning followed with a close 37.2, while Watson posted a 36.725.

But both seniors agreed that there is still work to be done.

“We definitely had some ups and downs, a lot of falls and execution errors, but it is still early in the season, so we’re working on fixing the little things,” Viens said.

The Owls will continue to prepare for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship, hosted at McGonigle Hall in March.

“It feels good to win, but at the same time, like I said, the main team in our conference wasn’t here, and the mistakes that we made at a little bit bigger meet might not get the win,” Oteri said. “So, we have to really step up for the next meet.”

The women’s gymnastics team will take the floor again Feb. 20 at the Towson Invitational.

Jake Adams can be reach at jacob.adams@temple.edu.

McLaughlin anchors men’s first-place finish

Senior Patrick McLaughlin led the way for Temple with a career-high all-around score of 87.000.

The No. 11 men’s gymnastics team had its first appearance at home in McGonigle Hall this season, and the Owls did not disappoint their home crowd, as they finished in first place at their Alumni Homecoming meet.

Temple took on the State University of New York-Brockport and the defending conference champions, the University of Illinois-Chicago.

The Owls came into last Sunday’s meet looking to build on their strong performances so far this season. The team took second place in its first competition, The West Point Open, and finished in first place in the Navy Open.

Temple has been led this season by senior Patrick McLaughlin, who has established himself as the team’s catalyst. He was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Men’s Gymnast of the Week in January.

“He’s the anchor of the team,” coach Fred Turoff said. “He goes last on every event, and he’s my best guy on every event.”

McLaughlin validated his coach’s comments by posting an overall score of 87.000, his highest this season. Entering the event, he had averaged a score of 85.950.

“This was a strong day for me,” McLaughlin said. “All in all, I’m happy, especially with the team performance. That’s what I’m really happy about”.

McLaughlin’s performance was accompanied by strong performances from his teammates. The Owls posted a team score of 343.750.

Although McLaughlin posted the highest all-around score for the entire event, he still said he saw room for improvement.

“87.000, that’s my highest this year, but I still had bobbles,” McLaughlin said. “Three places I kind of fell, so that’s promising.”

“He is going to get better because he made a number of errors today, but still he’s doing a great job for me, and I think he’s established himself as the all-arounder to beat in our conference, and hopefully, he continues to develop,” Turoff said.

McLaughlin’s development will be crucial to the Owls’ continued success. Several Temple male gymnasts will travel to Las Vegas Thursday for the Winter Cup Challenge, a national team selection meet.

“It’s judged by stricter standards, and we’re going to be up against everybody in the whole country,” Turoff said. “It’s a real good place to measure yourself against what’s there in the country.”

The Owls’ confidence is soaring right now with back-to-back first-place finishes in their first three events this season, as the team has achieved two first-place finishes through their first three events.

Raymond Boyd can be reached at raymond.boyd@temple.edu.

Season starts with Top 5 finishes

The women’s gymnastics team opened the 2010 season with Top 5 finishes in three meets against the likes of Maryland, North Carolina, George Washington and Ursinus. The Owls face Rutgers next.

After a promising 2009 campaign in which the women’s gymnastics team finished third in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship, the Owls have opened the 2010 season with three Top 5 team finishes versus the likes of Maryland, North Carolina, George Washington and Ursinus.

The 2010 version of the Owls features a balance of experienced veterans and youthful depth. Junior Katie Canning and sophomores Corrine Williams and Kaity Watson lead the group. The trio is poised to contend near the top in the all-around in this year’s ECAC Championship.

“We’re expecting big things from Corrine Williams, Kaity Watson and Katie Canning,” coach Aaron Murphy said. “We’re really pushing them to place at all-arounders at conference.”

Behind Canning, Williams and Watson, as well as seniors Nina Oteri and Danielle Viens, the Cherry and White opened the 2010 season with a third-place team finish in Maryland Jan. 15, while Williams placed fifth on the vault and third on the floor. Watson scored a 36.325 on the way to fifth place as Temple’s only all-around competitor.

Two days later, the Owls finished behind North Carolina at George Washington. The competition also marked the first time Temple has beaten George Washington, who finished in third place, since 1990. Watson improved her all-around score with a 38.000 on her way to a fourth-place finish. Oteri took second place on the balance beam, while Williams tied for third in the event.

Sunday, the team traveled to Ursinus in Collegeville, Pa., and placed third with a 188.900 score. Williams picked up the Owls’ first individual honor with a win in the floor competition with a score of 9.700. She also took second on the beam. Freshman Jean Alban finished fifth in the all-around.

The Cherry and White have a long way to go until the ECAC Championship, and they know they have to work hard throughout the season.

“Physically, they’re ready to go. Now, it’s just a mental battle from here on out. We’re in here 20 hours a week, and we’re pushing every day,” Murphy said.

The practice will hopefully help the Owls continue their hot streak throughout the season. But at the end of the day, they still have to put that practice to use and perform well in front of the judges.

“You go out there, and you never really know what’s going to happen,” Oteri said. “You train and train and train, but sometimes, it’s just not your day, and sometimes the judges might not be in your favor.

“If you go out there, and you do your job, you’re [usually] going to get the results,” Oteri added.

Tough matches against Towson, who has won the conference title three consecutive years, and Bridgeport will provide a good measurement of just how good this squad is as it heads into the ECAC Championship. The championship will be held in McGonigle Hall this season and will also serve as the team’s Alumni Day.

Murphy said the Owls are excited to host the championship and hope the home-court advantage will help the team improve on last year’s third-place finish.

The Owls compete Jan. 27 at Rutgers and host the Liberty Classic in McGonigle Hall Feb. 6. They hope to continue the momentum they have generated from the previous meets for the remainder of the season.

Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu.

Seeking a return to the top

After finishing in fourth place in the Eastern College Athletic Conference last year, the men’s gymnastics team aims for another championship.

Coming off its first non-championship season in three years, the men’s gymnastics team looks to get back to the top of the Eastern College Athletic Conference following a disappointing fourth-place finish in 2009.

Fred Turoff, who enters his 34th season as coach, leads a squad of 15 returning letterwinners and welcomes seven newcomers to the 2010 team. Turoff, who was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in August, will rely on his senior class.

The senior class features two graduating seniors and three who will return next season for a fifth year of education. Patrick McLaughlin, a Shrewsbury, Pa., native, is coming off an all-around third-place finish at the ECAC Championships a season ago, despite pulling an abdominal muscle two weeks before the event. Tyler Croteau will compete on the parallel bars, pommel horse and floor exercise.

The three returning seniors – Chris Bizub, Scott Bloomfield and Jesse Kitzen-Abelson – provide Turoff with flexibility. Bizub competes in the vault, parallel bars and floor exercise routines. Bloomfield was an ECAC vault champion in 2008. Kitzen-Abelson provides depth on the pommel horse, parallel bars and horizontal bar events.

The Temple News reported in October that Kitzen-Abelson was the third male gymnast to contract a staph infection in the past two-and-a-half years due to the poor cleanliness of the gym. A year ago, Bloomfield contracted a staph infection that required knee surgery.

The junior class consists of five competitors. Blake Collins, Logan Fiery, Dan Pizzuta and Evan Shepard are all strong all-arounders. Jeff Zack will compete in the vault, rings and horizontal bar. The team will be without Adam Al-Rokh, who will miss the season following shoulder surgery.

Chris Mooney leads a sophomore class that contributed well as rookies a season ago. Mooney earned medals in the rings and vault events at last year’s ECACs, while Matt Martin will look to contribute in several events. Evan Burke will compete in the floor exercise and vault. Taylor Brana will participate in the rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar events.

The Cherry and White will welcome several freshmen to the team. Two athletes were finalists in the Junior Olympic Championships last year. Alex Tighe placed fourth in the horizontal bar, and Allan Malone also finished fourth in the floor exercise. Assaf Zoor will contribute in many events, including the rings. Brett Statman, Zach Aguiar, John Gaffney and Dashiell Sears will all try to break into the lineup as well sometime this season.

The team will spend the majority of its season away from North Philadelphia, as McGonigle Hall will host only two events this year. The Owls will host defending ECAC Champion Illinois-Chicago and club team State University of New York-Brockport Jan. 31. The meet will be the Owls’ annual Homecoming event and is scheduled for 1 p.m. Temple’s second meet will be held Feb. 13 in the seniors’ home finale against Springfield.

The ECAC Championships take place April 2 and 3 at William & Mary. The NCAA Championships will be held at West Point April 15 to 17.

Joe Serpico can be reached at gserpico@temple.edu.

Gymnasts suffer staph infections, fear illness

Gymnasts are hospitalized after contracting infections from equipment.

Jesse Kitzen-Abelson, a Temple gymnast, thought he just had a bruise on his wrist. But a couple hours after he first noticed the injury, when his wrist became red and began to swell, he knew something was really wrong.

Team physician Dr. Ray Moyer gave Kitzen-Abelson intravenous antibiotics. But after a few hours Kitzen-Abelson, who showed little sign of improvement, was sent to the emergency room, where doctors diagnosed him with Staphylococcus. Kitzen-Abelson spent four days in the hospital.

Kitzen-Abelson is the third male on the gymnastics team to contract a staph infection in the last two-and-a-half years. Four gymnasts from Temple’s adolescent boys’ gymnastics team have also been infected.

Gymnastics coach Aaron Murphy said the prevalence of the bacteria is due to inadequate cleaning of the gym.

“The gymnastic team members are very concerned,” Murphy said. “As a coach, I would hate to see this continue.”

Staph bacteria are common in gyms where athletes use mats for sports like with wrestling and gymnastics. Gymnasts are even more susceptible because the stunts they perform often cause blisters and cuts. Male gymnasts are particularly at risk; four of six men’s events are likely to cause cuts and scrapes, while only one women’s event presents the same danger.

When staph bacteria get into a cut or a scrape, the skin can become severely infected. Kitzen-Abelson had a small blemish on his wrist that may have opened up while he was practicing. A week later, he was hospitalized because his whole wrist was infected.

One of the members of the adolescent boys’ team, an 11-year-old, developed a staph infection on his neck and had to be hospitalized, and Murphy has been infected twice.

Scott Bloomfield, another Temple gymnast, contracted such a severe staph infection in his leg last year that it required knee surgery.

“It can be deadly,” Murphy said. “There have been cases where athletes have passed away in three days.”

Although staph infections usually just affect the skin, the bacteria can also get into the blood stream and cause bone disease, inflammation in the heart’s lining, pneumonia, septic shock, toxic shock syndrome and scalded skin syndrome.

Murphy, who coaches the women’s gymnastic team as well, said the members of the team are concerned. Many of the freshmen, he said, are looking to the upperclassmen for support and advice on the issue.

“You can hear the concern in their voices,” Murphy said.

The upperclassmen remind their teammates to take thorough showers immediately after practice. Murphy also said team members have to make sure they clean any cuts or blisters right away to prevent infections. Temple Athletics also advised the athletes to use hand sanitizer to kill the bacteria.
Despite prevention, if a gym is not cleaned properly, staph infection continues to grow. Murphy said Temple says it administers chemical bombs in the gym every month, with light cleanings every two weeks in between.

“It goes back to the fact that they say they clean it every month, but every year another person gets sick,” Kitzen-Abelson said. “I don’t understand why there aren’t any results.”

Gymnasts and coaches had not seen evidence of regular cleaning until about two weeks ago, Murphy said, when they noticed a canister from one of the chemical bombs. He and the other coaches agreed that along with these bombings, the gym needs to be completely emptied and thoroughly cleaned.
“It’s really hard to pinpoint where it is and kill it,” Murphy said. “Ultimately, the gym needs to be cleaned from head to toe.”

It has been 30 years since most of the equipment was installed in the McGonigle Hall gym, and in all that time, it has never been removed for a cleaning. Murphy does a lot of the mopping, but he said the gym is still filthy.

“I hate to say it about my own gym, but it’s true,” he said.

Murphy and the other coaches have requested Temple completely clean the gym, but officials said Temple can’t afford it, with an estimated cost of cleaning totaling $10,000.

“Ten thousand can seem like a lot,” Murphy said,” but when it comes to people’s lives, it’s not.”

Rebecca Hale can be reached at rebecca.hale@temple.edu.

Owls’ careers heat up over the summer

Sean Barksdale and Adam DiMichele go pro with the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Eagles. Fans select Candice Dupree for WNBA All-Star Game.

While some Temple students spent their summers getting sunburnt and breaking rafts, some student-athletes made big headlines instead.

Baseball
Sean Barksdale played outfield for the Owls’ baseball team and was drafted in the 38th round (No. 1,151 overall) by Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros. He was the first Owl to be taken in the MLB draft since 1999.

Barksdale reported to the Tri-City Valley Cats of the Class-A short-season New York-Penn League. Through 37 games this season, he is batting .175 with two home runs, eight RBI, two stolen bases and 11 runs scored. In his last five games, he has a home run, two runs scored and two RBI.
Coach Rob Valli announced that former Monmouth pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Chuck Ristano will join the Owls as an assistant coach.

During Ristano’s four seasons at Monmouth, the Hawks made two NCAA Tournament appearances and won a school-record 37 games in 2008.

Three of his pitchers, including Ryan Buch and Brett Brach, have been drafted by MLB teams.

Men’s Basketball
6-foot, 8-inch, 215-pound forward Carmel Bouchman, from the Irani Tet School in Tel Aviv, Israel, signed a scholarship letter, joining Chester High School’s Rahlir Jefferson and Norristown High School’s Khalif Wyatt in the 2009 recruiting class.

Bouchman averaged eight points and more than seven rebounds in the Under-18 Championships in Metz, France, in July.

After not being chosen in the NBA draft, three-time Atlantic Ten Conference scoring champion Dionte Christmas was invited to the Philadelphia 76ers’ and the Los Angeles Clippers’ summer league teams, where he struggled. In five games with the Clippers, Christmas had a high score of four points.
Christmas’ coach for his freshman season, John Chaney, will be inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame this season along with former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino and former La Salle coach Bill “Speedy” Morris.

Women’s Basketball
Candice Dupree, who graduated from Temple in 2006 and plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, earned her first-ever WNBA All-Star appearance. Better yet, the fans selected her as a starter. She scored 12 points on five-for-12 shooting.

Football
Former quarterback Adam DiMichele lost his roster spot with the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 25 following the acquisition of Michael Vick. In the Eagles’ second preseason game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, DiMichele engineered a drive that led to a touchdown and two point conversion. He finished the game 14-for-22 for 130 yards and the touchdown.

Gymnastics
U.S. Gymnastics named men’s gymnastics coach Fred Turoff to the 2009 U.S.A. Gymnastics World Team Selection Committee.

At the same time as the 2009 Visa Championships, the committee inducted Turoff into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in Dallas.

Ryan Rosengrant can be reached at ryan.rosengrant@temple.edu.

Women come in third, men finish fourth

The two-time defending Eastern College Athletic Conference champions, the men’s gymnastics team, took a backseat this year to the women’s team and one individual.

While the men’s team did not have the finish it wanted at the ECAC Championships, placing fourth, it was not entirely its fault. Several of its top performers, sophomore Adam Al-Rokh (third place on pommel horse), senior Jason Russo and junior Patrick McLaughlin had nagging injuries. It was especially disappointing for the departing Russo (strained wrist) and McLaughlin (strained oblique), who was the defending floor exercise champion. Al-Rokh’s injury was not any less painful, as he dealt with a pulled pectoral muscle.

However, the women’s team had its best team finish in Temple history at the ECAC Championships, placing third, just less than two points behind second-place Cornell and first-place Towson.

For the Owls, the season has been yet another improvement. Third-year coach Aaron Murphy, who took the job in 2007 after serving as an assistant under men’s gymnastics coach Fred Turoff, earned his first ECAC Coach of the Year Award. He also coached the team’s first individual to NCAA Regionals since 2005, when Lexi Zafferes qualified for vault.

Sophomore Katie Canning not only made it to the NCAA Regionals, but she shined as the only Temple women’s gymnast in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Murphy didn’t know how Canning would respond when he brought her to the biggest stage in women’s gymnastics.

“As a coach, I was thrilled to bring this girl here,” Murphy said. “Some of the best girls in the country are at this meet, and I didn’t know how she would react to it. I think there was close to 8,000 people in the crowd, and she hit four-for-four [events].”

Canning’s emotions got the best of her before the meet, exactly when she needed to let them out.

“I was definitely intimidated. I called my dad, and I was crying,” she said. “I said, ‘Dad, I’m so out of my league here.’ I talked to my coaches, and they told me I made it this far, and that I know I can do it. Just be confident and hit your routine, and that’s what I did, and it worked out pretty well.”

Temple has a solid nucleus returning next year for the women in Canning, junior Nina Oteri and freshman Kaity Watson, despite saying goodbye to some of its best competitors in the conference in seniors Winter Sneed, Natasha Crawford and Nikki Berrian. Sneed placed second on floor exercise at the ECACs, and Berrian was honored as the ECAC specialist of the year for her consistency and hard work in the uneven bars.

The men’s team’s hard work and consistency did not earn it a third consecutive ECAC Championship. The Owls started off the year strong and healthy, especially when senior John Vogtman returned to the Owls’ lineup after missing almost the entire previous season because of injury. However, the injury bug proved to be too strong this year.

The Owls fell to two teams they beat handily earlier in the year, Navy and William & Mary. The Owls scored a season high as a team against William & Mary in their previous meeting, despite a poor finish on the high bar when several Owls were penalized with falls. Turoff noted this was a problem for the Owls again this weekend.

For the Owls’ individual finishes at the ECAC Championships, it was mostly disappointing, as they brought back defending champions in the floor exercise and vault, junior Patrick McLaughlin and sophomore Scott Bloomfield, respectively. Neither of them could defend their crowns, although McLaughlin did repeat as the third-place finisher in the all-around.

The Owls counted on their youth, freshmen like Matt Martin and walk-on Evan Burke, for a big portion of this season. It was no different during the ECACs, as the Owls had an emerging performance from freshman Chris Mooney. Mooney took second place on vault (15.600) and third place on rings (14.550). Overall, in individuals, the Owls did take home six medals.

Turoff is optimistic about next season, as the Owls return all the individual medalists from this year, but says every year ultimately comes down to health.

“The other teams are going to be better and bringing in some good guys, too, but I look at the talent in the gym,” he said. “If we have good health and good training, then I think we can challenge for the championship again.”

The women’s team finishes its season at the USAG Nationals in New Haven, Conn., Thursday. The men’s team is still waiting to see who will go to the NCAA Qualifier, which begins next weekend.

Eric Pellini can be reached at eric.pellini@temple.edu.

NCAA loss marks end for seniors

Before going to Stanford for the NCAA Championships over the weekend, senior Luke Vexler refused to let the men’s gymnastics team be overlooked.

Coach Fred Turoff, though, knew it was surreal to imagine his No. 13-ranked Owls — No. 12 on the list of teams at Stanford — giving the elite teams in California too much of a challenge.

Unfortunately for Temple, it was its 32-year coach that was right.

The talent in Stanford was too much for the Owls.

While Temple managed a score of 333.00, it was the Oklahoma Sooners that got to celebrate on Stanford’s home floor, edging the host Cardinals, 363.200-362.750. It was Oklahoma’s fifth title in seven years.

“We went in 12th place, finished in 12th place,” Turoff said Sunday while the team was taking a tour of Stanford’s campus.
“We performed pretty well,” Vexler said. “Did some good things, some bad things.”

Despite the team’s last-place finish, a few Owls made it to the individual finals on Saturday — seniors Vexler and Sterling Kramer and sophomore Scott Bloomfield — as Turoff expected.

Vexler placed fifth in the all-around contest with a score of 84.650 Friday, while Kramer and Bloomfield each finished in the top 15 on the parallel bars and the vault, respectively, to qualify for the finals.

“It was a bit of an improvement,” Turoff said referring to the fact that the Owls had three athletes in the individual finals. “Last year we had two, the year before we had one.”

But all three struggled Saturday.

Vexler finished No. 13 in the all-around, Kramer No. 28 on parallel bars and Bloomfield No. 12 on the vault.
Although he and his teammates struggled, Kramer had a positive attitude about the experience.

“I missed the all-around by a couple of tenths, but to even make it on the [parallel] bars, I was happy,” the New Jersey native said. “The parallel bars are judged the hardest, so what a way to go into the final championship.”

Vexler had trouble reflecting on the NCAA Championships in an upbeat way. Primarily because, like Kramer, it marked the end of his collegiate career.

“It doesn’t feel too good,” the Eastern College Athletic Conference Senior of the Year said. “I’m going to miss it.”
And while Vexler will miss his run with Temple, Turoff will miss his seniors.

“Luke and Sterling are moving on,” Turoff said. “I’m always sad to have seniors leave the team, [but] it’s something as a coach you’re used to. You only get these guys a small amount of time. I’m always happy they spent the time with me.”
But their time together is not over.

“They still have one more meet and possibly more,” Turoff said. “We’re going to Colorado Springs, Colo. for the [U.S. Olympic] qualifier competition on Wednesday.”

If either or both of the Owls are able to get past the top-notch competition in Colorado, a trip to the Visa Championships in Houston, which start May 22, would be next.

The seniors are just taking it one challenge at a time, though.

“I’m going to go [to Colorado], and do my routines,” Vexler said. “Then I’m going to try to graduate, continue to train. Hopefully, my body stays healthy, and then I don’t know what I’ll be doing.”

“Because it’s my last meet, I’ve got nothing to lose,” Kramer said. “I’m going in there really aggressive.”
For Turoff, his next challenge will be replacing the seniors.

“We have [juniors] John Vogtman and Nick Iles,” Turoff said. “We’ll have two or three good incoming gymnasts, worthwhile recruits.
“Competition in our conference is tough, and I expect it to remain tough.”

Though Kramer is sad to see his collegiate career come to a close, the memories will last a lifetime.

“It was an amazing experience,” he said. “Got to pick up friends, and getting the chance to lead the team, being one of many leaders, was a great experience.”

Jeff Appelblatt can be reached at the.jeff@temple.edu.

Vexler leads gymnasts to ECAC title

The members of the men’s gymnastics team had one goal on their minds when they traveled to West Point, N.Y. this weekend: back-to-back Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship titles.

Though the team had been struggling entering Friday’s meet, losing to rivals, Navy and William & Mary, two of the previous three weekends, the injury-plagued Owls managed to win their 16th ECAC Championship. Temple (16-5 overall) was just one-tenth of a point better than runner-up William & Mary, defeating them, 341.45-341.35.

“It was tougher this year because we lost [juniors] John Vogtman and Nick Iles to injury,” said coach Fred Turoff, who was selected as ECAC Coach of the Year over the weekend. “Had we had [Vogtman’s] services, it wouldn’t have been close at all.”

As conference champions, the No. 13-ranked Owls earned the right to compete in the NCAA Qualifier at Stanford on April 17, somewhere Turoff acknowledges his team wouldn’t be if not for the ECAC victory.

Usually only the top 12 teams in the nation qualify, but instead, with the Owls’ win, No. 12 Illinois-Chicago gets left out of NCAA play.

“We didn’t beat William & Mary or Illinois-Chicago by enough to move ahead of them in the rankings,” Turoff said. “We’ll remain [ranked] 13th, but get in [NCAA competition] anyway.”
The Owls snuck into the NCAA Qualifier by squeaking out a victory at the ECAC’s. The squad’s top gymnasts came through in the clutch to help the Owls seal their second consecutive conference title.

“When we got to our last two guys, one had to score 15.1, [and senior] Sterling [Kramer] missed his dismount,” Turoff said. “[Senior] Luke [Vexler] came through with flying colors. When the 15.2 flashed, I knew we had won.”

Prior to the start of his senior campaign, Vexler said the team expected to do “no less than what we did last year,” and he made sure of it.

Not only did the 5-foot-6 gymnast seal the victory, but, like last year, he took home first place in the all-around contest. Vexler also finished first in the floor competition, second on the horizontal bars and the pommel horse, and third on the vault.

“Last year, being at home [in McGonigle Hall], it was special to win,” Vexler said. “Being away from home this year, it was just as great. We had just as many fans.”

In the individual competition Saturday, Vexler earned another medal, finishing tied atop the standings with sophomore teammate Patrick McLaughlin in the floor event.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself because I wanted to defend my title,” Vexler said. “Before the meet, I realized I didn’t have to stress so much. A whole lot [had already] went into this season.Pat McLaughlin had the day of his life [and] guys stepped up and filled [Vogtman’s] shoes.”

When it was all said and done, though, it was Vexler who carried the team to victory.

With his performance, the senior may have increased his chances of winning the Nissen-Emery Award, an award considered to be the highest individual honor in college gymnastics.
Vexler was also selected as the ECAC Senior of the Year.

“I didn’t even bring his name up first,” Turoff said. “(A) coach said (Vexler), we were asked if there were any other nominees and no one said another.”

Despite consecutive conference titles, Turoff won’t label the Owls the most dangerous squad entering Stanford’s Burnham Pavilion. Temple’s competition at the national meet will include top-ranked Stanford, Oklahoma, Penn State, California and Illinois.

“There are much stronger teams in the NCAA than we are,” he said. “Hopefully, we can have a good showing [and] see if we could move ahead in the rankings.”
But Vexler is looking for more than a better ranking.

“According to statistics, that’s the case, there are better teams,” he said. “But we beat [seventh] ranked Ohio State [Feb. 2].
“College athletics is the place for the underdog to take down the big dogs, so I’m keeping an open mind.”

Jeff Appelblatt can be reached at the.jeff@temple.edu.

Anderson in mind, squad finishes fifth at ECACs

Almost two weeks ago, the women’s gymnastics team suffered a loss greater than any meet.

They lost a mentor, a motivator, an inspiration and a friend.

Ken Anderson, the women’s gymnastics coach from 1986 to 2006, died March 20. The winningest coach in the program’s history, Anderson, 52, secured 235 wins in his 21-year tenure at Temple.

“He’s always been so supportive and such an inspiration to us all,” said senior Nicole Catrambone, who was a sophomore in Anderson’s final season. “We know that he’s watching over us and helping us to do our best.”

The Owls had Anderson on their minds Saturday when they placed fifth of eight teams at the ECAC Championships in Williamsburg, Va. Temple registered a season-high score of 190.825, slightly better than the 190.050 mark the squad finished with last year, when they also placed fifth.

“Obviously, our girls that were coached by him, seniors and juniors especially, are thinking of him,” current coach Aaron Murphy said.

He was an assistant under Anderson for four seasons before he became the team’s coach in 2006. “They pretty much dedicated the meet to him.”

Prior to Saturday’s ECACs, Murphy said he felt confident that the Owls were taking a strong squad into the competition, a group that could contend against any of the other seven competing teams.

Murphy’s gymnasts agreed.

“I’m very excited. We’ve been working really hard, and I think we’re going to show everybody what we’ve been working for the whole year,” senior Alycia Petitto said before the ECACs. “We had a couple of hard meets in the beginning of the year. We are starting to pick it up and I think at the ECACs we’re going to really shine.”

Although the Owls finished fifth, Murphy said it was “a close competition.”

“Any time you go to [the] conference [championships], it is going to be neck to neck,” Murphy said. “You have to go in hoping to have a perfect day. We didn’t.”

Despite their overall finish, the Owls had individual performers who earned top honors at the event.

On the balance beam, sophomore Nina Oteri took fourth place out of 48 competitors, by scoring 9.828 out of 10 while Desiree Meredith placed fifth of 48 with a 9.8 on the floor exercise.
In addition to the individual performances, Murphy said he hopes the Owls’ overall score will be enough to earn the team a spot in the USAG Nationals in Shreveport, La.

The top eight teams qualify for the five-day competition, which begins Tuesday, April 15.

Nick Hollenstein can be reached at nick.hollenstein@temple.edu.

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