Set for the 2023-2024 season, the new gymnastics program at Clemson currently has a six athlete roster, backed by what is now a three-person staff committee.
After announcing the onset of the team in 2021, Clemson is the fourth ACC team to develop a gymnastics program, after UNC, Pittsburgh and NC State.
With the Tigers’ first season rapidly approaching, head coach Amy Smith announced in early October that Madison Hargrave will be named the program’s director of operations.
Hargrave was a student-athlete at the University of North Carolina, where she was coached by Smith. She then went on to work as volunteer assistant coach at North Carolina State before coming to Clemson.
Alongside Smith and Hargrave is Erik Lewis, the Tigers’ associate head coach. Lewis previously competed at Auburn as a gymnast before heading to Utah State as an assistant coach and as associate head coach.
“Erik has been an integral part in building the successes that we have seen at Utah State in the past few years, not only gymnastically, but academically as well,” Smith said of Lewis.
The six gymnasts of the inaugural class, Molly Arnold, Trinity Brown, Brie Clark, Eve Jackson, Kielyn McCright and Rebecca Wells, have all followed Smith and Lewis from Utah State.
Arnold will be competing in vault, bars and floor. Brown will tackle vault and floor, with McCright to perform on beam.
Clark will also be on vault, floor and beam. She was named a second-team All-American and the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference freshman and floor specialist of the year in March 2022, while at Utah State.
Jackson and Wells are the team’s all-around competitors, performing in each event. Wells was the MRGC all-around champion and was first-team all-conference for all-around and vault. She holds a second-team all-conference title for beam as well.
The team currently practices at an off-campus facility while their newly approved 21,000 square foot practice gymnasium is being built. The Tigers will eventually host competitions in Littlejohn Coliseum.
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Clemson gymnastics continues preparation for inaugural season with staff addition
Kiley Bouchard, Senior Reporter
October 24, 2022
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