Panthers Complete NCAA Gymnastics Regional Competition

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – University of Pittsburgh gymnasts Lauren Beckwith and Katrina Coca completed 2021 season competition at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Regional Meet at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va., Friday afternoon.

Beckwith, a sophomore, reached the pinnacle of her career thus far with a career-best 9.900 on balance beam. Coca, a graduate, completed her decorated six-year career with a 9.700 on uneven bars.

Despite their solid performances, neither of the gymnasts' scores qualified them to move on to the National Collegiate Gymnastics Final in Fort Worth, Texas (April 16-17). The top event specialist at each regional site who is not part of an advancing team or all-around competitor will advance to the national championships in that event only.

Teammate Katie Chamberlain, a junior, had qualified to compete on bars at the meet but was forced to scratch from competition due to injury.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Each gymnast was selected as one of the top 16 event specialists based on National Qualifying Scores (NQS). The three were placed at the Morgantown, W.Va., regional site.
Beckwith and Chamberlain earned the first National Collegiate Gymnastics Championships qualifications of their careers. Coca was a four-time regional qualifier (2016-19) and three-time competitor while at the University of Kentucky (2016, 2017, 2018), prior to transferring to Pitt before the 2020 season. The Wildcats qualified as a team in 2019 but Coca was unable to compete due to injury.

LAUREN BECKWITH – BEAM

A Westerville, Ohio, native, Beckwith led Pitt this season with a 9.856 NQS on beam.
Friday's meet marked a career-best performance for Beckwith on balance beam, scoring a 9.900.
She earned a team-best three individual beam titles during the 2021 regular season and was named to the All-East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) First Team for beam for the first time in her career prior to the EAGL Championship meet (March 20).

KATRINA COCA – BARS

To go from competing on just one event over her last six years as a collegiate gymnast, overcoming multiple injuries, including a ruptured Achilles in 2020, to competing as an all-arounder in 2021 can only be described as remarkable.
In her first season competing since 2018, Coca made a splash with her return the competition floor in 2021, earning a second-place ranking and All-EAGL First Team honors on bars with an NQS of 9.881. At the 2021 EAGL Championship, the Stillwater, Okla., native was named the league's Senior Gymnast of the Year.
Coca earned a team-best and career-best 9.900 on bars this season, recorded in a quad meet at Towson (Feb. 19). Her 9.900 on bars ties for eighth place all-time in the Pitt record book.

KATIE CHAMBERLAIN – BARS (SCRATCH)

Competing this year for the first time since the first meet of her freshman season in 2019, Chamberlain's triumphant return to the Pitt lineups included an All-EAGL First Team selection on bars with an NQS of 9.863.
The junior was tied for the team-best score of the season in the event with a career-best 9.900, which she earned in just her second meet back, against No. 23 Kent State (Jan. 24). Her 9.900 on bars ties for eighth place all-time in the Pitt record book.
The Simi Valley, Calif., native recorded back-to-back individual bars titles of the season in her first two meets (Jan. 15 and 24).

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