Corrinne Tarver
American gymnastics coach (born 1968)
Corrinne Tarver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alternative name(s) | Corrinne Wright | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 1968 (age 54 – 55) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hometown | Mount Vernon , New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 4 ft 9 in (145 cm) [lower-alpha 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years on national team | 1985–1986 ( U.S. ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | Georgia (1987–1990) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former coach(es) | Suzanne Yoculan (Georgia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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 .
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
- ↑ 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]
References
- 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 .
- 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 . p. 25, 130–131. ISBN 1588181111 – via Internet Archive .
- 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 .
- 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 .
- 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 .
- ↑ "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 .
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ Botkin, Mike (March–April 1988). "Feeding Frenzy" . USA Gymnastics . Vol. 17, no. 2. United States Gymnastics Federation . pp. 34–35 – via Internet Archive .
- ↑ "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 .
- 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 .
- ↑ "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 .
- 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 .
- 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 .
- ↑ "Corrinne Wright Named Assistant Gymnastics Coach" . University of Pennsylvania . November 11, 2009. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023 . Retrieved April 14, 2023 .
- ↑ 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 .
- 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 .
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ "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 .
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ "2022-23 Gymnastics Schedule" . fiskathletics.com . Fisk University . Archived from the original on April 15, 2023.
- ↑ 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
- "HBCU Fisk University making history with gymnastics program" (video). ESPN . April 11, 2023.