Brookfield's Mierow Earns Spot on 2018 UW-Whitewater Gymnastics Roster

2018 Jan 9

Kate Mierow, a native of Brookfield, WI, and graduate of Brookfield Central High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnastics team during the 2018 season, which begins this Friday with a dual meet at UW-Eau Claire.

Mierow, a senior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnastics team enters the 2018 season with high expectations, including hopes for a second consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and second straight National Collegiate Gymnastics Association national title.

Behind their 2018 team motto, "Battle with Heart", the Warhawks look to build on their success as one of the most consistent small college programs in the nation.

Head coach Jennifer Regan, who is in her 16th year at the helm of the program, claimed NCGA National Coach of the Year honors in 2017 after leading the team to its fourth national championship in the last six years and fifth WIAC/NCGA West Regional title in the last eight.

UW-Whitewater will begin its 2018 schedule with a two-meet road trip starting this Friday as it visits UW-Eau Claire and concluding Sunday with a meet at Hamline (Minn.).

The Warhawks open their home schedule Jan. 20 against another WIAC foe, Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.), on Parents and 10.0 Club Night at Russell Arena.

UW-Whitewater visits Winona State (Minn.) for a tri-meet on Jan. 26, then heads to New Brunswick, N.J., on Feb. 3 for a quad meet featuring host Rutgers and two other scholarship opponents in Division I Ohio State and Division II West Chester (Pa.).

The Warhawks host the annual Harley Davidson Meet on Feb. 9 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. The tri-meet also features Division II Lindenwood and UW-Stout.

After a trip to UW-Oshkosh on Feb. 16, UW-Whitewater closes the regular season Feb. 24 at home against UW-La Crosse on Alumni and Senior Night at Russell Arena.

The postseason begins March 4 at the WIAC/NCGA West Regional Championships at Gustavus Adolphus and concludes March 23-24 at the NCGA Championships at Springfield (Mass.) College.

Junior Lisa O'Donnell (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) leads a group of 11 returners for the Warhawks.

A seven-time All-American during her career, O'Donnell claimed national championships on vault and in the all-around in 2017 and added top five finishes in each of the other three individual events - uneven parallel bars (2nd), floor exercise (5th) and balance beam (T-5th). She also claimed WIAC championships in the all-around and on vault last season and currently holds school records on bars, floor and all-around.

Other returning All-Americans include seniors Kate Mierow (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) and Chloe Rehberg (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove). Mierow tied for seventh on bars last season to earn her first All-America honor, and Rehberg became a two-time All-America for her career by tying for 10th on vault.

Mierow claimed the conference championship on beam in 2015 and was All-WIAC on bars and floor a year ago, while Rehberg was a vault alternate for the NCAA Regional as a freshman in 2015.

Other returning seniors include Lewa Evans (Milwaukee, Wis./Whitefish Bay) and Christina Slack (Albrightsville, Pa./Jim Thorpe). Evans is tied for 15th in the program record book on floor with a career-high score of 9.775, while Slack is a three-time National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Scholastic All-American.

Bailey Fitzpatrick (Burlington, Wis./Burlington), Abby Helmke (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central), Franchesca Hutton (Shakopee, Minn./Main Street School of Performing Arts) and Sarah Rhodes (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) join O'Donnell as returning juniors. Hutton is a two-time All-WIAC honoree and two-time NCGA national qualifier on beam.

Acacia Fossum (Gladstone, N.D./Richardton-Taylor) and Lauren Marshall (Winthrop Harbor, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) represent the returning sophomore class.

Junior Erika Briscoe (Solon, Iowa/Solon), freshmen Hayley Hartfiel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Florida Virtual School), Vanessa Olinger (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township), Jessi Rondeau (Norwood Young America, Minn./Central) and Blaise Wilson (Thornton, Colo./Legacy) each begin their first season with the program.