TOWSON, Md — The Towson gymnastics season has come to an end.
Their quest to three-peat as EAGL Champions did not go as planned, but two student athletes, Isabella Minervini and Clara Hong, accomplished individual milestones, qualifying for the NCAA Regional Tournament in Pennsylvania.
VIDEO: Towson's Isabella Minervini and Clara Hong are raising the bar
"I'm so proud of myself. I had all my family was calling me, like, This is so exciting like I can't wait to watch you! Like, we're booking our tickets to come see you now. It's pretty surreal because I get it's something. I never thought I would be able to do and just seeing my name on the TV saying that I qualified individually was just like crazy," says Minervini.
It's Miniverni's first year competing all-around.
"It's definitely a lot more pressure, and it's a lot harder than doing one event or doing two events like I did last year, but it's also equally as much more rewarding when you can go out there and hit all four of your events and put up good scores for your team. It's just like a good feeling to know that you're, like, capable of doing that," says Minervini.
In Pennsylvania she received a score of 39.350. Her second highest all-around performance of the year.
The Tigers were also represented by their leader and senior, Clara Hong. She competed on the beam, scoring a 9.5 in her final collegiate event.
"I'm super excited that I got to get one more meet, one more beam routine. It was just exciting to know that I could continue my career because this is the last year," says Hong.
Reflecting on her four years at Towson, Hong says this is the year she feels she transformed into a leader for the girls.
"It took until senior year, being the oldest person, having three years under me, looking up to me. I feel like it really made me like blossom into a leader," says Hong.
She says her time at Towson was unlike anything she's ever experienced.
"It was super unique and life-changing. It's nothing that you can't compare to anything else in the world," says Hong.
