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Corrinne Tarver

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Corrinne Tarver
Alternative name(s)Corrinne Wright
Born1968 (age 55–56)
HometownMount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Height4 ft 9 in (145 cm)[a]
Years on national team1985–1986 (U.S.)
College teamGeorgia (1987–1990)
Former coach(es)Suzanne Yoculan (Georgia)
Medal record
Representing Georgia GymDogs
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 1987 Salt Lake City Team
Gold medal – first place 1989 Athens Team
Gold medal – first place 1989 Athens All Around
Gold medal – first place 1989 Athens Floor
Silver medal – second place 1987 Salt Lake City Floor
Silver medal – second place 1988 Salt Lake City Floor
Silver medal – second place 1989 Athens Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Salt Lake City All Around
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Athens Vault
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Corvallis Team
Coaching career
Current position
TeamFisk (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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ 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

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  1. ^ a b c d e 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.
  2. ^ a b c Yoculan, Suzanne; Donaldson, Bill (2005). Perfect 10: The UGA GymDogs & the Rise of Women's College Gymnastics in America. Hill Street Press. pp. 25, 130–131. ISBN 1588181111 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b c 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.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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.
  5. ^ a b c "Gymnastics Circle of Honor". georgiadogs.com. University of Georgia. December 12, 2008. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Botkin, Mike (March–April 1988). "Feeding Frenzy". USA Gymnastics. Vol. 17, no. 2. United States Gymnastics Federation. pp. 34–35 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ a b c "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ a b c d 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.
  13. ^ a b "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.
  14. ^ "Corrinne Wright Named Assistant Gymnastics Coach". University of Pennsylvania. November 11, 2009. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ a b 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "2022-23 Gymnastics Schedule". fiskathletics.com. Fisk University. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023.
  22. ^ 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

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