Luke Brown
Staff Writer
The Springfield College women’s gymnastics team concluded their 2014 season at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Championships on March 21-22 in Ithaca, N.Y.
The Pride sent 10 gymnasts to compete at the Championships, which tied the previous school record that was set just one year ago.
The Pride went 4-6 on the year in dual matches, and they placed first in a meet in January against Ithaca College and Ursinus College. The Pride had two additional meets where they finished in third (of three) and fourth (of seven), respectively.
The Pride will bid farewell to three seniors, including Jennifer Habeeb, who majors in Business Administration; Sarah Perry, who majors in Occupational Therapy and Dance; and Keelin O’Connell, who majors in Sports Biology.
All three seniors excelled in the classroom, as well as in competitions, as they all received the 2014 NCGA Senior Scholar-Athlete Award.
Next season will be Raymond’s 35th season at Springfield College, where she graduated from grad school in 1982. Raymond was named ECAC Co-Coach of the Year this year.
Raymond will have 16 gymnasts return from the 2014 roster, including Wallingford, Conn. native Lauren Pocius, who will be a senior next year. Pocius was named the ECAC Co-Gymnast of the Year earlier in March.
Pocius competed at the NCGA Championships in the all-around competition and qualified for the third consecutive year. She finished ninth with a score of 37.050.
Teammate and fellow junior classmate Abby Clark also competed in the all around competition and finished 14th with a score of 35.900.
Pocius continues to pile on the awards, as she has now earned two All-American awards. She became just the seventh women to win the honors in the all-around competition.
Pocius also received All-American honors on the uneven bars, becoming the first women to do that for the Pride since Kristen Fairburn and Audrey Lustra both did it in 2007. Pocius finished fourth on the bars at the NCGA Championships with a score of 9.675 on the second day.
Pocius was the only member of the Pride to advance to the second day, and she shattered her own school record with a 9.775. The previous record of 9.675 had been set earlier this season.
“I feel so honored to have received so many awards and accomplishments this year,” Pocius said. “I think that I am most proud of becoming an All-American and placing 4th on bars at Nationals. I have been working towards this goal ever since I was a freshman and finally being able to say I accomplished it is amazing.”
Despite all of the fame and success, Pocius manages to stay humble.
“I would not have been able to accomplish this goal without my teammates and coaches,” Pocius said.
Pocius and the Pride head into the offseason after a phenomenal 2014 campaign.
“I am going to continue to work hard so I can come back even stronger next year,” Pocius said. “At this point, it’s the little things that are going to make a difference for me. So I am going to work a lot on fixing up little things here and there and continue to build my self-confidence in order to have a good season next year.”