March 19, 2004

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A total of 12 Terp gymnasts received awards at the ninth annual East Atlantic Gymnastics League banquet, held Friday night at the Hilton Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pa. For the third year in a row, Maryland had at least one gymnast on each event's all conference team, including the all-around.

Receiving five all-conference nods was sophomore Rachel Martinez, the 2003 EAGL all-around champion. She picked up first team awards on vault, bars, floor and all-around and was named to the second team on balance beam. Also receiving multiple all-EAGL awards was senior Sarah Hoenig, earning an award on each event she competes. She was named second team on vault and floork, and first team on beam for the third year in a row.

Other Terps earning all-EAGL awards were junior Mandy Pascual and sophomore Ginny Scott. Pascual, the school record holder on bars, was named to the first team on the event. Scott received second team honors for her best event, the floor, making a total of three Terps on the floor exercise all-conference teams.

The 12 Terps named to the EAGL All-Academic team were given their award certificates at the banquet, including four-time winners Katherine Schroeder and Rachel Sibert. The 88 gymnasts from all eight conference teams ties the EAGL record for most all-academic honorees in one year.

Additionally, Martinez and Hoenig were officially honored for their EAGL Gymnast and Specialist of the Week awards from this year. Martinez was one of two gymnasts to receive Gymnast of the Week three times this season, and this year marked Hoenig's second specialist award.

The EAGL Scholar-Athlete of the Year was awarded to NC State's Marlyn Madey, a graduate student with a 4.0 GPA. Receiving Rookie of the Year was West Virginia's Janae Cox, and Senior of the Year went to Pittsburgh's Alyse Zeffiro. North Carolina's Courtney Bumpers received Gymnast of the Year, after earning Rookie of the Year last season.

The 2004 EAGL Championships begins Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Peterson Events Center on the PIttsburgh campus. The Terps hope to notch a high team score that would solidify their place at NCAA Regionals. Also, Hoenig and Martinez have a chance to defend their 2003 EAGL beam titles, and Martinez aims to claim her second all-around conference title.