Corrinne Tarver

Last updated

Corrinne Tarver
Alternative name(s)Corrinne Wright
Born1968 (age 55–56)
Hometown Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Height4 ft 9 in (145 cm) [lower-alpha 1]
Years on national team1985–1986 (U.S.)
College team Georgia (1987–1990)
Former coach(es) Suzanne Yoculan (Georgia)
Medal record
Representing Georgia GymDogs
Georgia Athletics logo.svg
NCAA Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1987 Salt Lake City Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1989 Athens Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1989 AthensAll Around
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1989 AthensFloor
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1987 Salt Lake CityFloor
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1988 Salt Lake City Floor
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1989 AthensUneven Bars
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1987 Salt Lake CityAll Around
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1989 AthensVault
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1990 Corvallis Team
Coaching career
Current position
Team Fisk (2022–)

Corrinne Wright Tarver (born 1968) is an American gymnastics coach and former artistic gymnast. In 1989, representing the Georgia Bulldogs, she won the NCAA All-Around Gymnastics Championships, becoming the first African-American woman to do so. In 2022, she became the inaugural coach of the Fisk University gymnastics team.

Contents

Early life

Corrinne Wright grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. [3] She took up gymnastics in the footsteps of her older sister. [4] Early on she trained at a local YWCA without a dedicated space for gymnastics before beginning to commute to practice more intensively at a gymnastics facility in Stamford, Connecticut. [3] [4] In 1985 and 1986, she competed for the U.S. national artistic gymnastics team. [4] Recruited by the University of Georgia Bulldogs coach Suzanne Yoculan, Wright decided to go to Georgia after her first visit to the campus, in Athens. [4]

NCAA career

Wright was the first African-American member of the Georgia Bulldogs gymnastics team. [4] A nine-time All-American in her four years with the GymDogs, she helped win NCAA Team Championships in 1987 and 1989 as an early standout for Yoculan's burgeoning dynasty. [4] Yoculan remembered Wright as a stellar and fierce competitor who could sometimes be loath to practice. [2] [4] Wright later called herself "a ham ... I loved having all the eyes on me". [3] She would be inducted into the Georgia Bulldogs' Circle of Honor in 2005. [5]

In her first year, while helping Georgia to win its first team NCAA title, Wright placed third in all-around at the 1987 NCAA Championships with a score of 37.80, 0.30 behind champion Kelly Garrison-Steves of Oklahoma, and second in floor exercise with a score of 9.70, 0.10 behind Kim Hamilton of UCLA. [6] In her floor routine, she became the first NCAA gymnast to perform three double saltos in one routine and the first to land a double layout. [7] She was considered a contender for all-around at the 1988 Championships, despite some consistency issues, and sought to increase the difficulty of her routines, but an ankle injury restricted her practice during the season. [5] [8] She ended up repeating her floor result for second place by the same margin behind Hamilton, and made all-American on vault, but did not contend for all-around. [5] [9]

As a junior in 1989, while helping to win a second team NCAA title for Georgia, Wright won the NCAA's all-around title, becoming the first African-American woman to do so. [4] Her total score of 38.90, tied for the all-around record at that point, edged her nearest competitors by 0.20. [1] [10] Her strong floor routine—an ebullient display of tumbling, including a double layout, set to the music of Who Framed Roger Rabbit —earned her a score of 9.90, tied with Hamilton for first place. [1] [10] [11] The co-champion floor routines, performed back to back, were "as different as night and day": following Wright's effervescent and crowd-pleasing routine (with her coach describing her as "a little dynamo"), 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) Hamilton's balletic performance "was all lines and grace". [1] [2] Wright additionally medaled in uneven bars (9.80 in the event finals) and vault (9.675). [1] [10] She finished her college career the next year with an all-American showing in all-around in 1990. [4]

Coaching career

After completing her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree at Georgia in 1991, Wright went to New York Law School, earning her Juris Doctor (JD) in 1996. [12] [13] She worked afterward in athletic administration for the NCAA's Northeast Conference and as a member of the athletic departments of Stockton and Syracuse. [12] [13] She has worked as a gymnastics coach since the 1990s, including at Star Bound Gymnastics Academy in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and as an assistant coach for Pennsylvania beginning in 2009. [12] [14]

In March 2022, Fisk University in Nashville hired Wright (by now known as Corrinne Tarver) as the head coach for its fledgling gymnastics program, the first such team at a historically black college in the country. [12] [15] While building the team, Tarver asked recruits, "Do you want to make history?" [16] [17] Tarver additionally became Fisk's athletic director in July 2022. [18] The Fisk Lady Gymdogs held their first practice on August 8, 2022, [19] and made their competitive debut at a Super 16 meet in Las Vegas on January 6, 2023, but placed last out of four teams. [16] The Fisk team, composed of freshman and transfers, attracted support on social media. [20] They had a poor win–loss record but managed to close their first regular season with a home win over Greenville. [21] Three Gymdogs—Morgan Price, Liberty Mora, and Zyia Coleman—competed at the 2023 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships, two winning All-American honors (Price on floor and Mora on beam). [22]

Notes

  1. ↑ A contemporary article by the United States Gymnastics Federation gives a height of 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m), [1] while an autobiography by former coach Suzanne Yoculan gives a height of 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 m). [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney Kupets</span> American artistic gymnast (born 1986)

Courtney Anne Kupets Carter is an American former artistic gymnast. She is a two-time Olympic medalist from the 2004 Olympics, the 2002 world champion on the uneven bars, the 2003 U.S. national all-around champion, and the 2004 U.S. national all-around co-champion. She is also a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2003 World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney McCool</span> American artistic gymnast

Courtney Lynn McCool-Griffeth is an American former artistic gymnast who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. She was coached by Al and Armine Fong of Great American Gymnastic Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Bulldogs</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of University of Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The official mascot is an English Bulldog named Uga,, while the costumed character version of Uga is Hairy Dawg. Most of the school's athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs, with the exception of the women's basketball team, known as the "Lady Bulldogs", and the women's gymnastics team, known as the "GymDogs".

Suzanne Paige Yoculan was the head coach of the women's gymnastics program at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia from 1983 to 2009. During her tenure, she built the Georgia gymnastics program into a national powerhouse and is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of collegiate gymnastics. Along with Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson, Yoculan was featured in the 2014 ESPN documentary Sarah & Suzanne, about the rivalry of the two coaches and their gymnastic teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia GymDogs</span> Womens gymnastics program at the University of Georgia

The Georgia GymDogs is the women's gymnastics team of the University of Georgia. The team is part of NCAA Division I and competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The GymDogs compete in Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Taylor (gymnast)</span> American gymnast

Grace Taylor is an American gymnast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Crimson Tide women's gymnastics</span> Womens gymnastics program at the University of Alabama

The Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastics is a Division I gymnastics team representing the University of Alabama in NCAA competition. The Tide hosts its home matches in Coleman Coliseum on the university's Tuscaloosa, Alabama campus. One of only eight gymnastics teams to win the national title, the Crimson Tide has won six NCAA championships, ten SEC championships, and an NCAA-record 32 Regional championships. The team is led by first-year head coach Ashley Priess-Johnston, who succeeded Dana Duckworth following the 2022 season.

Sabrina Vega is a retired American gymnast from Carmel, New York. She was a five-time national team member and a member of the United States team that won gold at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She later competed for the University of Georgia from 2017 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyla Ross</span> American artistic gymnast

Kyla Briana Ross is a retired American artistic gymnast and current assistant coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. She is the first female gymnast to win NCAA, World, and Olympic championship titles.

The 2009 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the twenty eighth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 2008 was Georgia. The Competition took place in Lincoln, Nebraska hosted by the University of Nebraska in the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The 1989 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the eighth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 1988 was Alabama. The competition took place in Athens, Georgia hosted by the University of Georgia in the Georgia Coliseum. The 1989 Championship was won by host Georgia, their second title, with a record score of 192.650.

Karin Lichey Usry is an American gymnast She attended the University of Georgia from 1996 to 1999, and was part of both NCAA Championship teams in 1998 and 1999. She earned first-team All-America certificates in all five categories both of those years and earned a total of 11 All-America awards in her career. The Southeastern Conference recognized her as its Freshman of the Year in 1996 and Gymnast of the Year in 1999. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nations's top gymnast in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA women's gymnastics tournament</span> Gymnastics tournament

The NCAA women's gymnastics tournament is an annual gymnastics competition to determine the best collegiate women's gymnastics team in the country. Unlike most NCAA sports, the women's gymnastics championship is not separated into divisions and uses a single National Collegiate tournament instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Dabritz</span> American artistic gymnast

Georgia Lee Dabritz is a retired college American artistic gymnast, who was a member of the Utah Red Rocks women's gymnastics team from 2011 through to college graduation in 2015.

Artistic gymnastics is a type of gymnastics in which athletes compete with short routines on various equipment, including bars, beams, rings, pommel horses, vaulting tables, and on a sprung floor. Gymnastics is well-established in the United States, where available programs range from recreational classes, casual summer camps, and children's leagues; to highly competitive collegiate leagues and four national teams. Although this is not unique to the United States, due to the physically demanding nature of the sport there are fewer options for adult gymnastics outside the elite level, although local parks and recreation departments often have limited offerings.

The Oregon State Beavers women's gymnastics team represents Oregon State University in NCAA women's artistic gymnastics, competing at the Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon.

Danna Durante is an American gymnastics coach who served as the head coach of the University of Georgia Gym Dogs gymnastics program from 2012 to 2017. Prior to her head coaching appointment at Georgia, Durante has been involved with three other school teams. Her largest role was the role of head coach of the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears gymnastics team for the 2012 season. However, a large proportion of her coaching career has been spent at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, coaching the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's gymnastics team. She joined the Cornhuskers in 2003 as an assistant coach and remained with the team for eight seasons, serving as an associate head coach for the latter three. Her first college coaching appointment came in 1998 when she was hired as an assistant for the University of Washington and the Washington Huskies gymnastics program.

Haleigh Alexandra Bryant is an American artistic gymnast currently competing for Louisiana State University in the NCAA. She is the 2024 NCAA Champion in the team and individual all-around, and is the 2021 NCAA Champion on vault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Hamilton (gymnast)</span> American former gymnast

Kim Hamilton Anthony is an American motivational speaker and former artistic gymnast. Representing the UCLA Bruins, she won the floor exercise title at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in 1987, 1988, and 1989, becoming the first female gymnast to win three straight NCAA titles in an individual category. After gymnastics, she began working as a Christian chaplain and motivational speaker.

Morgan Price is an American artistic gymnast for Fisk University.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Starek, Joanna (July–August 1989). "1989 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. Vol. 18, no. 4. United States Gymnastics Federation. pp. 41–43 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 3 Yoculan, Suzanne; Donaldson, Bill (2005). Perfect 10: The UGA GymDogs & the Rise of Women's College Gymnastics in America. Hill Street Press. pp. 25, 130–131. ISBN   1588181111 – via Internet Archive.
  3. 1 2 3 Tolliver, Juanita (February 21, 2023). "The HBCU Vaulting Into Gymnastics History". What A Day (podcast). Crooked Media. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Frierson, John (February 21, 2022). "'One Of The Best Experiences Of My Life'". georgiadogs.com. University of Georgia. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Gymnastics Circle of Honor". georgiadogs.com. University of Georgia. December 12, 2008. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Georgia women shine on balance beam, end Utah's reign". The NCAA News. Vol. 24, no. 18. National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 29, 1987. p. 6 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ Billman, Claire (April 29, 2022). "Fisk University and Corrinne Tarver Continue Blazing Trails". collegegymnews.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ Botkin, Mike (March–April 1988). "Feeding Frenzy". USA Gymnastics. Vol. 17, no. 2. United States Gymnastics Federation. pp. 34–35 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ "Alabama captures women's gym title". The NCAA News. Vol. 25, no. 17. National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 27, 1988. p. 6 – via Internet Archive.
  10. 1 2 3 "Georgia women win second women's gym crown since '87". The NCAA News. Vol. 26, no. 16. National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 19, 1989. pp. 6–7 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ "NCAA Women's Gymnastics: UCLA's Hamilton Wins Two Titles as Bruins Impress". Los Angeles Times . April 16, 1989. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Frederiksen, Jens (March 9, 2022). "Fisk University Names Ivy League Coach Corrinne Tarver to Lead its New Women's Gymnastics Program" (press release). Fisk University. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "What's New with our Gym Dog Alumni". georgiadogs.com. University of Georgia. September 2, 2002. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Corrinne Wright Named Assistant Gymnastics Coach". University of Pennsylvania. November 11, 2009. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  15. ↑ White, Katelyn (March 9, 2022). "Fisk names ex-national champ to lead new gymnastics program". NashvillePost.com . Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Maine, D'Arcy (January 6, 2023). "Fisk University debuts as first HBCU team in NCAA gymnastics". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  17. ↑ Boone, Jade (March 21, 2023). "'Do you want to make history?' Fisk University competes as first HBCU with NCAA women's gymnastics team". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Corrinne Tarver Promoted to Athletic Director at Fisk University". Fisk University. July 7, 2022. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  19. ↑ Smith, Robin (August 18, 2022). "Fisk Launches First Ever HBCU Women's Gymnastics Program". Chattanooga News Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  20. ↑ Becton, Stan (January 30, 2023). "A closer look at Fisk gymnastics and what makes it different". NCAA. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  21. ↑ "2022-23 Gymnastics Schedule". fiskathletics.com. Fisk University. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023.
  22. ↑ Mosley, Kyle T. (April 9, 2023). "Fisk University Gymnasts Earn Medals and First-Team All-American Honors at 2023 National Championships". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.