Four gymnasts from Gym America in Ann Arbor recently signed letters of intent to compete in college – the largest number of college gymnasts Gym America has ever produced in a single year.
Gym America’s college-bound gymnasts are Vanessa Moody (University of Pennsylvania), Darby Slater (Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.), Hannah Lewis (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) and Amelia Moorehouse (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire).
“We have seven graduating seniors this year, and four of them are going on to college gymnastics,” said Claudia Kretschmer, owner of Gym America. “We’re so excited for them. It’s rare for any gym to have four gymnasts moving on to compete in college, and all four of these girls have worked extremely hard to get where they’re at. They’re all going to do very well at the next level.”
Moody, a Dexter High School graduate, is an uneven bars specialist and two-time Level 10 regional qualifier. She was the bars champion at the Wolverine Classic in Saline and the Gasparilla Classic in Florida this year.
Slater, also a Dexter High School graduate, competed both Level 9 and 10 this year, and established herself as one of the top floor exercise gymnasts in the region. For the past two years, she was the Level 9 floor champion at both the state and regional meets. At Hamline, she’ll be joining another Gym America gymnast – Morgan Bradford of Ann Arbor, who competed as a freshman last year.
Lewis and Moorehouse will continue to be teammates as they move on to the college ranks at UW-Eau Claire. Lewis, a Saline High School graduate, lost almost two full seasons because of a double ACL tear, but she’s healing and ready to compete again in college. She was a standout on bars and beam as a Level 9-10 gymnast, and was the state champion on both bars and vault as a Level 7.
Moorehouse, a graduate of FlexTech High School in Brighton, has been a floor and beam specialist throughout her career, and was a three-time Level 9 regional qualifier. This season, she was the floor champion at the Wolverine Classic and Buckeye Classic, and took second on floor at regionals. She was the state champion on floor and beam as a Level 7.