Ohio State finished the season fifth in the Champaign regional during the 2017 season. The Buckeyes will be very interesting to watch in 2018 after a coaching change in the offseason. Former Utah assistant Meredith Paulicivic took over for the Buckeyes after Carey Fagan was promoted within the athletic department. Paulicivic was known at Utah for her choreography on floor, and Ohio State returns all-arounder Alexis Mattern. Mattern advanced to nationals after a stellar performance at regionals.

Outgoing: Michelle Burns, Tenille Funches, Erin Malone, Jaine VanPutten

The Buckeyes lose a total of five routines from their lineups in 2017 from the graduating seniors. Funches competed on uneven bars consistently during the 2017 season and also contributed on balance beam in the latter part of the season. Malone contributed on floor exercise with three of five routines scoring a 9.675 or better. VanPutten competed on vault and bars 12 times last season and scored a 9.700 or better in 20 of 24 routines. Burns competed on vault in one meet during the 2017 season, but was a solid contributor on both beam and floor during her sophomore season.

Incoming: Danica Abanto, Brooke Chesney, Leonie Gast, Morgan Lowe, Kali Schierl, Jenna Swartzentruber

Danica Abanto

Tyler, Texas
Trained at Texas East

Abanto is a four-time national qualifier attending either J.O. nationals or the J.O. NIT four straight seasons, from 2014 through 2017. She finished 11th on floor exercise at the 2017 Region 3 championships. Abanto earned silver on floor and bronze on uneven bars at the Texas state championships where she was fourth in the all-around and sixth on both vault and beam. She picked up silver on bars and bronze on floor at regionals in 2016 and finished 15th in the all-around at nationals. Abanto is a two-time silver medalist on uneven bars at nationals in 2014 and 2015. She was the 2014 Region 3 uneven bars champion.

Video courtesy of Danica Abanto

Impact event: Uneven bars

Brooke Chesney

Ohio
Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy

Chesney is a three-time J.O. nationals qualifier who finished 11th on floor and 15th on uneven bars in 2017. She was the 2017 Ohio state all-around champion and earned silver on both bars and floor. She was fifth in the all-around at the 2017 Region 5 championships where she picked up fourth on floor and sixth on uneven bars. Chesney was fifth in the all-around, earned bronze on floor, and finished fourth on bars at J.O. Nationals in 2014. She earned regional titles on bars and floor in 2015 where she also grabbed silver in the all-around. Chesney was the 2014 state champion on floor exercise and vault.

Video courtesy of Region 5 Gymnastics Insider

Impact events: Uneven bars and floor exercise

Morgan Lowe

Richardson, Texas
Trained at WOGA

Lowe is a two-time national qualifier finishing fourth on vault at J.O. nationals in 2016. Lowe took fourth on balance beam — her only event — at the 2017 Texas state championships. She earned bronze on vault and in the all-around and fourth on both bars and beam at the Region 3 championships in 2016. She earned silver on all four events plus the all-around at the 2016 Texas state championships.

Video courtesy of p51asp

Impact event: Vault

Jenna Swartzentruber

Centerburg, Ohio
Trained at Buckeye Gymnastics

Swartzentruber is a four-time J.O. national championship qualifier from 2014 through 2017. She was eighth in the all-around in 2017 and finished fourth on vault and fifth on uneven bars. She was the Region 5 all-around champion and earned titles on vault, bars, and floor exercise in 2017 where she also picked up silver on beam. Swartzentruber was the 2017 Ohio state champion in the all-around and on vault, bars, and beam. She was the 2016 J.O. national champion on uneven bars and finished fifth on floor, sixth in the all-around, and seventh on vault. Swartzentruber earned regional titles on vault (2016) and in the all-around (2015). She was an Ohio state champion in the all-around, on bars, and beam in 2015. She qualified for the Nastia Liukin Cup in 2013 and 2016.

Video courtesy of Region 5 Gymnastics Insider

Impact event: All-around

Leonie Gast

Texas
Aerial Athletics

Gast finished fourth at the 2017 Texas state championships. She competed at the 2017 Region 3 championships and at the 2016 Texas state championships.

Impact event: Uneven bars

Kali Schierl

Wisconsin
Russell Gymnastics

Schierl competed at the 2017 Wisconsin state championships in her first year as a Level 10. She finished eighth on uneven bars and 12th on vault. Schierl was 13th in the all-around. She had a strong showing at the 2016 Level 9 Westerns with a fourth place finish on vault and an eighth-place finish on bars.

Impact events: Vault and uneven bars

By Lauren Green