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| Margie Foster-Cunningham (l) at last season's Pink Meet |
From our friends at GW Athletics Communications...
Colonials Add Mermelstein, Winstanley and Zois for 2014-15
George Washington gymnastics head coach Margie Foster-Cunningham has announced that Sara Mermelstein (Northpoint, N.Y./Northpoint Senior), Jillian Winstanley (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) and Alexandra Zois (Crofton, Md./Archbishop Spalding) have signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period and will join the Colonials for the 2014-15 academic year.
"We are very excited about these three student-athletes that will be joining us next year," said Coach Foster-Cunningham. "We are graduating six gymnasts this spring so our focus for this class was replenishing the talent we will be losing on balance beam and uneven bars. This class addresses our needs and we expect immediate contributions from all three of them."
The Colonials open their season on January 12 by hosting the Seventh Annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational at the Charles E. Smith Center.
Sara Mermelstein
Northpoint, N.Y./Northpoint Senior High School
Gold Medal Gymnastics Center
Two-time Level 10 Junior Olympic National Championships Qualifier ... Finished fifth in the nation on balance beam in 2012 and 10th in 2013 ... Competed for US Gymnastics at the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel last summer, winning a gold medal on balance beam and a bronze medal on the floor exercise and helping the team to a silver medal.
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Mermelstein: "Sara is an outstanding beam and floor worker. She is polished with exceptional technique and she is a high-end athlete that will make an impact immediately."
Jillian Winstanley
Arlington, Mass./Arlington High School
Gymnastics and More
Three-time Level 10 Junior Olympic National Championships qualifier ... 2013 Junior Olympics national champion on vault ... Scored a perfect 10.0 on the vault last season at the Chicago Style Meet ... 2013 regional vault, uneven bars and balance beam champion ... 2013 Massachusetts state vault and floor exercise champion ... Two-time regional vault and beam champion.
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Winstanley: "Jillian is an agile, coordinated and clean athlete. She scored a 10.0 on vault last season and will absolutely hit the ground running as an all-arounder for us next season."
Alexandra Zois
Crofton, Md./Archbishop Spalding High School
Docksiders Gymnastics
Two-time Level 10 National Championships qualifier ... Placed seventh overall on balance beam at the 2013 Junior Olympics National Championships and fifth in 2012 ... Currently ranked seventh in the nation on balance beam, 21st on floor exercise and 25th in the all-around ... Won both vault and balance beam and finished second in the all-around at 2013 Maryland State Championships ... Maryland State Team member in 2010.
Coach Foster-Cunningham on Zois: "Alex is a fantastic balance beam performer and is also solid on uneven bars on floor exercise. She is a very strong athlete who is dependable and durable."
Click here for this season's schedule.
