The gymnastics team will be looking to defend its 2007 East Atlantic Gymnastics League title this weekend in its conference championships in Morgantown, W. Va.

But for senior Leigha Hancock, it will also be the final go-around at what has been quite a profitable event for her individually.

Hancock was the EAGL champion on the vault her sophomore year, 2006, and she took home first place in the beam last season. To say the least, it’s an event she’s quite comfortable competing in.

“It feels good to go back to EAGL, but it’s sad that it’s going to be my last time, the seniors’ last time,” Hancock said. “It’s great that we won last year; [I’m] hoping for the same outcome.”

But while she has had plenty of individual success in the event, the biggest thing at the meet will be how the team finishes. And even with a different season and the accompanying changes to the team, Hancock still sees nothing the team needs to change to repeat as conference champion.

“We’re the best in the conference, so I wouldn’t necessarily say we have to do anything different [than last year]. We just have to make sure that we are as good as we are because other teams might come up that we are not expecting,” she said. “They may have their best meet, but we haven’t had our best meet yet. So that’s working in our favor right now.”

The team has spent much of the season ranked in the top 20 in the country, but recently has fallen to No. 21. With the importance of a squad’s average score in determining postseason placement, EAGL championships will provide an important opportunity for State to boost its credentials.

“This meet is huge for us. If we [get] another 196, then we could potentially go back into the top 18, which is one of our goals for this year,” Hancock said.