Cornell gymnastics will host the 48th Ivy Classic on Sunday at Newman Arena while celebrating the momentous occasion of the program’s 50th anniversary.
Since the program’s inception in 1974, Cornell gymnastics has grown to achieve various athletic goals — including winning 12 first-place Ivy League titles — and produced some incredible athletes.
In honor of 50 years, The Sun looked back on the program’s rich history leading up to this anniversary.
A Brief Historic Recap
Cornell gymnastics first began in 1974 under head coach Gretchen Dowsing. She would coach the Red for five seasons, during which it would have incredible success. Cornell would go 30-11, and through the final two seasons of Dowsing’s coaching reign, they placed first in the Ivy League. The program also saw success from gymnast Renee Hack, a three-time All-Ivy gymnast who competed on the U.S. national team.
During this time, the team was based in Helen Newman’s gym, where they had to set up and break down their own equipment every day.
“Like all other women’s sports at the time, it was very bare bones,” said current head coach Melanie Hall. “So any of the success they were able to have is a testament to the strength of this program.”
For the 1979-1980 season, then-head coach Joanne Beck replaced Dowsing after she “resigned unexpectedly” from coaching the team after a second-place Ivy finish and a 3-4 record.
The following year, Betsy East MILR ’89 became head coach of the Red and held the title for four years. During her reign as head coach, the program produced various successful athletes, including Ellen Mayer ’84, who became the first Cornellian gymnast named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-American first team and Birgit Zeeb-Stevenson ‘85, who set various team records and became the first gymnast inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame. The team also placed in the top three in the Ivy League for all the seasons she was head coach.
East transitioned into an assistant athletic director of women’s athletics for the Red in 1985 and worked as a Dean for the College of Engineering until 2017.
“She is still around at Cornell and I think she demonstrates our athletic and academic dedication as a program,” Hall said.
From 1984 through 1989, Alicia Goode became the next head coach and held a cumulative record of 40-32 for the Red. However, the Red faced uncertainty during this time.
An over $600,000 budget cut headed by then-athletic director Laing Kennedy canceled the women’s gymnastics season for one year following the 1992-1993 season and cut the men’s gymnastics program entirely.
“The [women’s] program was dropped for about a year but it was immediately brought back after the Courts ruled that the team could not be cut under Title IX,” Hall said.
In 1990, the Ivy League dropped the sport’s Ivy League Championship since only four teams (Cornell, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania and Brown) were left to compete in the division. Thus, the Ivy League Championship meet became the Ivy League Classic meet.
Fast forward to 1994, and head coach Paul Beckwith takes the reins of the program with his assistant (and now head) coach Hall. Both had previously known each other as Hall was a gymnast at Radford University under Beckwith. Together, the two coached for 27 years.
The Red has many notable accomplishments during that quarter-century under its coaching staff. Cornell qualified for the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championship for the first time, placed first at the ECAC Championships (its best-ever finish) in 2016 and achieved several historic milestones, including Ivy League titles and individual national championships.
For Hall, her favorite moments were winning her first ever Ivy Championship during the 2008-2009 season and qualifying as a team for the Collegiate National Championship.
“Being the first non-scholarship school to make it to that level and tying for first, the championship in 2009 was incredible,” Hall said. “It goes to show the type of academically and athletically successful athletes that this program has.”
The program success and its totality Hall said can be summarized in two words: family and perseverance.
“There has been setback after setback after setback,” Hall said. “There is this constant pushing to the next level and we do this pushing by ourselves because we do not have a men’s team since historically it is those teams that get those opportunities and financial support. So us pushing by ourselves shows how much this program has gone through and highlights its capabilities.”
Chall’s Impact and The Future
Morgan Chall ’19 reflected on her experience as a member of the gymnastics team, stating it was the best decision of her life to attend Cornell.
Chall highlighted the success that the program has seen since she first joined the team about a decade ago. First, the program had been the only Division I team to practice in the same gym they competed in until they moved to Bartels Hall during her freshman year — which is not ideal for a team of that caliber. Chall also spearheaded the first “Beauty and the Beast” competition that gymnastics hosted with the wrestling team. During this competition, both teams compete together.
Chall and team captain at the time Malia Mackey '19 helped introduce the switch from red to black uniforms to the team which she said were much more comfortable for the athletes to compete in.
“I wish I could go back and fully appreciate how amazing this program was for me and what a remarkable place Cornell really is,” Chall said.
She was also an advocate for student athletics as a Division I student-athlete representative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Board of Directors. Another important move Chall accomplished for athletes advocating to open dining halls after hours for athletes to grab dinner after practice.
Looking forward, both Chall and Hall reflected on what they hope to see more for the program. Chall noted the importance of attracting more financial allocations to the team.
“Money is what speaks at the end of the day, and that is what will allow the program to hopefully see another 50 years of success,” Chall said. “The athletes and people that this program has produced go on to be incredibly successful people in their respective fields and they all can attribute their success to Cornell gymnastics.
For Hall, she wants to see her athletes continue to demonstrate grit and passion in the gym every day.
“I want to see more people pushing the boundaries and becoming a little better every day,” Hall said.
When Hall reflected on all her experiences at Cornell she said that the people she has met are what motivate her when she faces a challenge.
“Our athletes are really what keep me going every single day,” Hall said. “Our goal is not to send out these athletes but also as strong, good members of society.”
The Ivy Classic meet will take place on Feb. 23 in Newman Arena.
