By AVERY WIGGINS
Fisk University’s women’s gymnastics squad became the first HBCU to participate in a college competition on Friday.
Fisk competed in the two-day Super 16 tournament in Las Vegas. On the first day, they placed fourth in session one with a cumulative score of 186.700.
Fisk got right to work, with Naimah Muhammad showing off her tumbling abilities and achieving a 9.600 on the floor exercises thanks to a double tuck maneuver.
On the floor movements, Kaylei McDonald, Kiara Richmon, and Zyia Coleman received marks of 9.475, 9.700, and 9.600, respectively.
Liberty Mora and Morgan Price were two other noteworthy acts on the day. Mora performed a dance performance on the platform, culminating in a double-pike.
Price, a highly regarded recruit who transferred from Arkansas to Fisk, achieved a 9.900 by performing a yurchenko vault.
Corrine Tarver, the first black woman to win the NCAA All-Around Championship in 1989, was well conscious of the importance of this moment, having spoken to ESPN about how they have been welcomed by the other programs as they take this one big move on behalf of all HBCUs.
“Everyone is excited to have us here,” Tarver said. “It makes me feel so good to feel all the love from all the other teams.”
Despite not competing in this particular competition, Stanford University’s women’s gymnastics team released a 21-second film welcoming Fisk to NCAA gymnastics.
On January 13, Fisk will compete against 2021 national winner Michigan in Ann Arbor.