By Anthony Cavarretta, Staff Writer
LIU announced it will add a women’s gymnastics team to the university’s athletics program beginning in the 2021 season.
The Shark gymnasts will compete in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL), making them the seventh member of the EAGL, joining George Washington University, North Carolina State University, Towson University, University of New Hampshire, University of North Carolina, and University of Pittsburgh.
Director of Athletics Dr. William Martinov said the athletics department is looking forward to hiring an exceptional coaching staff to recruit and train new Sharks, according to a press release from.
“Gymnastics is one of the fastest growing women’s sports, and collegiately. We look forward to our continued pursuit of excellence both in the classroom and on the field,” Martinov said in press release.
With the new team being announced, some students are excited to see a new sport come to LIU.
“Having a Gymnastics team next year will attract more people to LIU, gymnastics is a very popular sport especially on long island with a wide reach of youth programs across the island,” Ryan Kraut, senior broadcasting major, said.
Helena Bradley, junior graphics design major, said this is a great accomplishment for the LIU community and appreciates that they’re branching out further into new sports disciplines.
“It’s great that the school finally has a gymnastics team. Hopefully, the university can build our program to the point that we are known across the country as one of the best,” Bradley said.
Long Island University is home to many Division I athletics programs, with the university having a total of 30 athletics teams across both The Post and Brooklyn Campuses. It is unknown whether the gymnastics team will be housed at the Brooklyn or Brookville campus.
Any student or prospective interested in joining the new team this upcoming season are encouraged to fill out this questionnaire on the athletics website for more information.
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