Fisk University’s gymnastics team coach, Corrinne Tarver, embodies the goal of the historical team. The Bulldogs have been in the media after their stunning debut in their very first NCAA-level meet in Las Vegas as the first HBCU gymnastics team on January 6.
As an experienced vet to the gymnastics world, Tarver led her team to 4th place in the Super 16 invitational, the largest women’s collegiate competition in the US. According to Inside Gymnastics, Tarver was the first Black gymnast to “win the NCAA All-Around championship” back in 1989 while on the US National team.
In honor of Corinne Tarver being named the head coach at Fisk University, here’s a throwback to her fabulous floor routine from the 1989 NCAA Championships! 🤩In her time as a Georgia gymnast, Corinne became the first Black gymnast to win an NCAA All-Around title! pic.twitter.com/XFTdQp86qh
— Inside Gymnastics (@InsideGym) March 9, 2022
The HBCU gymnastics team was announced to be conceived back in February of last year. Fisk University announced Tarver’s team as a product of so many talented athletes coming to the university. The HBCU wrote, “In recent years, the University has focused on increasing its athletic profile, considering the growing interest among student-athletes for an elite HBCU experience…Fisk is poised to develop elite national programs.”
“The University is committed to preparing the next generation of leaders and c-suite executives. Student-Athletes depend on an institution that enables them to translate their unique skills to professional success. Fisk’s many corporate partners are excited about the talent pipelines and the programming that has been put in place to maximize the potential of our students and our student-athletes.”
After its first competition, Fisk’s gymnastics team lived to its elite expectations. As previously reported by NewsOnyx, the 16 members of the Bulldogs achieved a score of 186.700, with gymnast Morgan Price scoring 9.9 points on the vault. At 4th place out of over 300 top athletes, the Fisk Bulldogs made their mark in their first competition as an HBCU collegiate team.
That’ll get your team hyped‼️@price_morgan with a 9.9 score for @FiskUGymnastics in the teams’ 1st vault competition ever. 😱 pic.twitter.com/15JYHQnJLp
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 6, 2023
