The Lindenwood University athletics department announced today the addition of women's gymnastics to its sports portfolio. Gymnastics will be the 27th program for the athletics department which is currently in the candidacy stage of becoming a NCAA Division II member. Gretchen Goerlitz will take the reigns as the first head coach in history for the Lady Lions gymnastics program. Goerlitz is coming to Lindenwood after two years as the head coach at Centenary College of Louisiana.
“I'm honored to be the first head women's gymnastics coach at Lindenwood University, to be joining the ranks of such an ambitious athletics department, and to be a part of the history of building a new and strong gymnastics program,” said Goerlitz. “I cannot think of a better university to be adding the sport of gymnastics. It is truly a great time to be a part of Lindenwood and specifically the athletic department as it paves new paths down the road of excellence.”
The gymnastics program will begin competition during the 2012-2013 season as a non-divisional program vying for qualification to the USAG Collegiate National Championships, which includes NCAA Division I, II, and III programs. In the 2013-2014 school year, the Lady Lions will be a NCAA Division II program which will then be eligible for qualification to NCAA Regional and National Championships.
“I believe this is an incredible opportunity for the sport of gymnastics, Lindenwood and surrounding community,” said Goerlitz. “Young women will also have a great opportunity to be among the ranks of the first incoming classes of gymnasts. Together we will create a legacy and build a program full of traditions, excellence, excitement, and a culture of growth and positivity. “
The Lady Lions will be the third gymnastics program in the state of Missouri, joining the University of Missouri and Southeast Missouri State University. Gymnastics competitions will be held in the Hyland Performance Arena which is also the home for the basketball, volleyball, and wrestling programs. In the initial stages of the program, the Lady Lions will be practicing at one of the best equipped Olympic-caliber gymnastics training facilities in the country – GymQuarters gymnastics in O'Fallon, Mo. GymQuarters is owned by Scott and Debbie Cusimano who have had 38 gymnasts receive full scholarships to compete in college gymnastics and over 151 Junior Olympic national qualifiers.
“Lindenwood is in a perfect location for gymnastics,” said Goerlitz. “There are so many great gymnasts in the local as well as regional area that will be integral in building this program from the ground up. There has already been such an outpouring of support for the program that I cannot wait to begin.”
Goerlitz comes to Lindenwood after two years of experience as the head coach at Centenary where she revitalized and continued the building of the program. She played an integral role in the school reaching the USAG Collegiate Nationals as a team in 2011 and in 2010 guided five individual qualifiers to the USAG Collegiate National Championships. In just two years, Goerlitz coached seven gymnasts to All-American honors and numerous athletes to scholastic honors. In 2011, Goerlitz coached Centenary gymnast Jessica Lieblich to an individual All-Around qualification to the NCAA Regional Championships. Under Goerlitz's guidance, her team won the Ladies Cup Award in both the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years.
Prior to Centenary, Goerlitz was a graduate assistant coach for two years at Texas Woman's University. While there, she coached the floor exercise, oversaw the team's strength and conditioning program, and monitored the team's academic success. Six athletes earned All-American honors on the floor exercise under Goerlitz's tutelage in her two years at Texas Woman's. Goerlitz coached Amie Boles to a career high score of 9.9 on the floor exercise which is the current school record. In 2008, Goerlitz's floor team set a new school record to help clinch the USAG Collegiate National Championship title. In 2009, Goerlitz coached athletes Amie Boles and Tonya Pipkorn to a Co-Championship title on the floor at the USAG Collegiate National Championships.
Goerlitz competed one season at Utah State University (USU) and qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships as an individual All-Around performer. She holds the third highest score in school history for USU with a 9.95 on the floor exercise. She then transferred to the University of Denver where she was a three letter award winner, a member of the dean's list, and a key part of a Denver team that ranked second in the country for academics, and tenth in the country athletically after qualifying to the NCAA National Championships.
Goerlitz hails from Neenah, Wis. where she was a level 10 gymnast for seven years at Oshkosh Gymnastics Center. She has a skill named after her on the uneven bars.
In 2007 Goerlitz graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience from Denver and in 2009 earned her master's degree in exercise physiology from Texas Woman's.
Lindenwood is eager to have the expertise of Goerlitz as part of the athletics department to build the foundation of success for the new gymnastics program. Her knowledge, energy, and enthusiasm will prove to be a vital part of the upcoming years of academic and athletic success of the Lady Lions' gymnastics team.
