CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - University of North Carolina senior Elizabeth Durkac and University of Maryland sophomore Stephanie Giameo were named the 2013 co-East Atlantic Gymnastics League Gymnasts of the Year during Friday night's EAGL Championship Banquet, held at UNC's Blue Zone Concourse Club at Kenan Stadium.
Maryland's Kesley Cofsky was feted as the EAGL Senior Gymnast of the Year, Terrapin teammate Elizabeth Manzi garnered EAGL Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors and North Carolina State University freshman Michaela Woodford was tabbed EAGL Rookie of the Year.
Durkac, who was also a finalist for the 2012 EAGL Gymnast of the Year, the 2013 Senior Gymnast of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, is a four-time '13 EAGL Gymnast of the Week. She heads into the championship ranked first on uneven bars and all-around.
Durkac was named to the All-EAGL First Team on bars, balance beam and all-around while capturing Second Team recognition on vault and floor exercise. The Tar Heels' co-captain topped the all-around competition five times this season and claimed the MVP title for her team.
EAGL Gymnast of the Year honors have gone to six UNC athletes in the last 13 seasons. Durkac is the first Tar Heel to earn the prestigious award since Christine Nguyen boasted the title for three consecutive years from 2008-2010.
Giameo, a two-time and reigning Gymnast of the Week, was named to the All-EAGL First Team on balance beam (ranked first) and all-around. She is tied for fifth nationally on beam and peaked at No. 1 on Jan. 21. In her first season competing as an all-arounder, Giameo is EAGL's second-ranked AA gymnast.
Cofsky, the Terrapins' co-captain, earned All-EAGL First Team on all-around (ranked third) and beam (fifth) to go along with Second Team on vault and bars.
Maryland made it three major awards with Manzi, a junior engineering major, being crowned the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. UMD's engineering school is among the Top-20 programs in the nation, and Manzi excelled with a cumulative 3.779 grade-point average including an aggregate 3.925 during Spring-Fall 2012.
NC State's Woodford, the EAGL Rookie of the Week on Feb. 12, was named the league's top rookie after securing a berth on the All-EAGL Second Team as the league's ninth-ranked AA gymnast. Additionally, the Wolfpack freshman parlayed a No. 16 beam ranking to a slot on the All-EAGL Second Team.
Fourth-year Maryland head coach Brett Nelligan was named the EAGL Coach of the Year. Nelligan is on the cusp of guiding the 22nd-ranked Terrapins to the NCAA Regionals for the fourth straight year as head coach and fifth consecutive season overall. Maryland, EAGL's lone Top-25 team, has been ranked in the GymInfo Poll nine of the 11 weeks of the regular season en route to a league-best 18-3-1 record, including 11-1-1 in EAGL competition. The Terrapins will enter Saturday's EAGL Championship as the favorite to win the school's first league title.
George Washington University assistant coach Barry Kistler was recognized as the EAGL Assistant Coach of the Year. Kistler, in his 15th season working on Margie Foster-Cunningham's staff, has done an excellent job raising the difficulty level and the consistency of the Colonials' bar lineup, in addition to playing a critical role on the recruiting trail.
EAGL's co-Administrators of the Year are Dr. Beth Miller, University of North Carolina senior associate athletic director, and Mike Murphy, University of New Hampshire associate director of athletic media and public relations. Dr. Miller serves as UNC's senior women's administrator (SWA). As the gymnastics program supervisor, she serves as the lead administrator in working with other athletic department administrators and staff in providing the resources that support the Tar Heels' gymnastics team and this year's EAGL Championship. Murphy, who is in his first season as EAGL's Sports Information Director, is in his third year with the Wildcats' gymnastics program as its media relations contact and public address announcer at UNH home meets. He has been instrumental in designing New Hampshire's media guide, enhancing the program's web presence and developing its meet webcasts.
Four Tar Heels landed on the All-EAGL First Team. Freshman Lexi Cappalli earned a spot beside Durkac on the All-EAGL uneven bars First Team. Senior and co-captain Maura Masatsugu and sophomore Haley Watts joined Durkac on the All-EAGL Balance Beam First Team and All-Around First Team, respectively.
UNC gymnasts on the All-EAGL Second Team included redshirt junior Michelle Ikoma, sophomore Janell Sargent, Watts and Durkac.
Here are the 2013 All-EAGL Teams and team MVPs:
All-EAGL First Team (alphabetical order)
All-EAGL Vault - First Team
Katy Dodds - Maryland
Diahanna Ham - North Carolina State
Ally Krikorian - Maryland
Luisa Leal - Rutgers
Stephanie Ouellette - North Carolina State
Katie Sassa - Towson
Lisa Soto - Pittsburgh
Brittni Watkins - North Carolina State
Jenna Williams - Rutgers
All-EAGL Uneven Bars - First Team
Alyssa Adrian - Pittsburgh
Lexi Cappalli - North Carolina
Elizabeth Durkac - North Carolina
Rachel Fincham -North Carolina State
Austyn Fobes - New Hampshire
Alexis Gunzelman - Rutgers
Karen Tang - Maryland
Jenna Williams - Rutgers
All-EAGL Balance Beam - First Team
Kayla Carto - George Washington
Kesley Cofsky - Maryland
Elizabeth Durkac - North Carolina
Hannah Fallanca - North Carolina State
Stephanie Giameo - Maryland
Kayla Gray - New Hampshire
Laura Kummerle - Pittsburgh
Maura Masatsugu - North Carolina
Claudia Salinas - Rutgers
All-EAGL Floor Exercise - First Team
Alyssa Adrian - Pittsburgh
Hannah Barile - New Hampshire
Katy Dodds - Maryland
Ally Krikorian - Maryland
Lindsey Offutt - Pittsburgh
Stephanie Ouellette - North Carolina State
Katie O'Rourke - Pittsburgh
Stephanie Stoicovy - George Washington
Brittni Watkins - North Carolina State
All-EAGL All-Around - First Team
Kesley Cofsky - Maryland
Elizabeth Durkac - North Carolina
Austyn Fobes - New Hampshire
Stephanie Giameo - Maryland
Diahanna Ham - North Carolina State
Stephanie Ouellette - North Carolina State
Stephanie Stoicovy - George Washington
Haley Watts - North Carolina
Betsy Zander - George Washington
All-EAGL Second Team (alphabetical order)
All-EAGL Vault - Second Team
Hannah Barile - New Hampshire
Kesley Cofsky - Maryland
Elena Corcoran - George Washington
Elizabeth Durkac - North Carolina
Austyn Fobes - New Hampshire
Karen Tang - Maryland
Lydia Thompson - Towson
All-EAGL Uneven Bars - Second Team
Jen Aucoin - New Hampshire
Kesley Cofsky - Maryland
Taylor Henderson - George Washington
Michelle Ikoma - North Carolina
Kiera Kenney - George Washington
Maya Ketner - Pittsburgh
Stephanie Ouellette - North Carolina State
Erika Rudiger - New Hampshire
Haley Watts - North Carolina
All-EAGL Balance Beam - Second Team
Rachel Fincham - North Carolina State
Austyn Fobes - New Hampshire
Diahanna Ham - North Carolina State
Ally Krikorian - Maryland
Katie O'Rourke - Pittsburgh
Janell Sargent - North Carolina
Michaela Woodford - North Carolina State
Betsy Zander - George Washington
All-EAGL Floor Exercise - Second Team
Danielle D'Elia - Rutgers
Elizabeth Durkac - North Carolina
Austyn Fobes - New Hampshire
Kayla Gray - New Hampshire
Diahanna Ham - North Carolina State
Erika Rudiger - New Hampshire
Haley Watts - North Carolina
All-EAGL All-Around - Second Team
Abby Griswold - Towson
Michaela Woodford - North Carolina State
EAGL Team MVPs
George Washington - Stephanie Stoicovy
Maryland - Ally Krikorian
New Hampshire - Austyn Fobes
North Carolina -Elizabeth Durkac
NC State - Stephanie Ouellette
Pittsburgh - Alyssa Adrian
Rutgers - Luisa Leal
Towson - Alexa Davis
The 2013 EAGL Championship, hosted by North Carolina, takes place at Carmichael Arena on Saturday, March 23, at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on www.goheels.com or at the door. Live video streaming and scoring will also be available on the website.
