KF
Katie Fiorilli
  • communication sciences and disorders
  • Class of 2017
  • Solon, Ohio

Solon Native Fiorilli Opens Gymnastics Season at UW-Whitewater

2016 Jan 5

Katie Fiorilli, a native of Solon, OH, and graduate of Solon High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnastics program during the 2016 season, which begins Friday at UW-Eau Claire.

Fiorilli, a junior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders.

See below for a complete season preview of the 2016 Warhawks.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnastics team enters the 2016 season looking to make good on its team mantra - "Never Settle" - while sustaining its spot among the nation's most successful collegiate programs.

The Warhawks finished the 2015 campaign with their fourth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference/National Collegiate Gymnastics Association West Regional championship and a national runner-up finish at the NCGA Division III Championships.

Under head coach Jennifer Regan, who enters her 14th year at the helm of the program, UW-Whitewater has recorded seven consecutive national top-three finishes, including a run of three straight NCGA national titles from 2012-14. The Warhawks have also claimed four of the last six WIAC/NCGA West Regional championships.

UW-Whitewater's 2016 season begins Friday with a quad meet at UW-Eau Claire. The team will finish the weekend Sunday with a meet at Hamline (Minn.).

After a quad meet at Winona (Minn.) State on Jan. 15, the Warhawks open their home slate Jan. 23 with a quad meet against conference rivals UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh on Parents/10.0 Club Night at Russell Arena.

Other home meets include Gustavus Adolphus for Breast Cancer Awareness Day on Feb. 6, Centenary (La.) on Feb. 19 and UW-La Crosse for Alumni/Senior Night on Feb. 27. Other away meets include at Southeast Missouri State (Jan. 29) and at UW-Oshkosh (Feb. 13).

The postseason begins with the WIAC/NCGA West Regional on March 4 at UW-La Crosse, and wraps up March 18-19 at the NCGA National Championship at The College at Brockport (N.Y.).

UW-Whitewater enters the year with six seniors. The class includes Ginny Ebker (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit), Steffi Heuer (Clarksville, Tenn./Middle College at APSU), Hannah Lee (Clarksville, Tenn./Clarksville), Megan Love (Henrico, Va./Godwin), Amanda Quinn (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) and Kristin Shackleton (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central).

Heuer tallied All-America recognition with a third-place national finish on the balance beam, while Lee qualified for the national meet and was All-WIAC on the balance beam. Shackleton qualified for the NCGA Championship on the beam.

Katie Fiorilli (Solon, Ohio/Solon) and Courtney Pickett (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) highlight an outstanding junior class.

Fiorilli claimed three individual national titles a season ago, including the all-around, vault and bars competitions, and qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship for the second straight year. She is a seven-time All-American, a two-time all-around national champion and a two-time WIAC champion. In 2015, the College Sports Information Directors of America selected Fiorilli as a third team Academic All-American.

Pickett earned a trio All-America honors in 2015, placing second in the all-around, seventh on the beam and 12th on the bars. The six-time All-American won the all-around title at the WIAC/NCGA West Regional Championships last season and the national championship on the vault in 2014. Pickett qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship, where she placed 15th in the all-around standings.

Other returning juniors include Kelsea Fischer (Grandville, Mich./Grandville), McKenzie Foster (Manitou Beach, Mich./Addison) and Francesca Smith (Richland, Wash./Richland). Mackenzie Smith (Milwaukee, Wis./Martin Luther) joins the team after competing for two years at Division I Michigan State University.

Chloe Rehberg (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) leads the sophomore class. She garnered All-America accolades in the vault with a national runner-up finish in 2015. Rehberg was named a vault alternate for the NCAA Regional Championship.

Sophomore Kate Mierow (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) is the defending WIAC/NCGA West Region champion and a 2015 national qualifier in the balance beam.

Sarah Rhodes (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) and Christina Slack (Albrightsville, Pa./Jim Thorpe) round out the sophomore class.

Freshmen Bailey Fitzpatrick (Burlington, Wis./Burlington), Abby Helmke (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central), Franchesca Hutton (Shakopee, Minn./Main Street School of Performing Arts), Lisa O'Donnell (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West), Destiny Patrick (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) and Katlyn Turek (Newport News, Va./Woodside) enter their first season with the program.