St. Pius Gymnast Commits to Southern Connecticut State

senior Jennifer Rochefort (Lilburn) will sign a National Letter of Intent to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. Rochefort, in her second year as co-captain of her team at the Georgia Gymnastics Academy, has been competing in gymnastics since the age of six.

Rochefort trains 20 hours a week year-round as a Level 10 gymnast (the highest level, aside from elite, which is an Olympic level). Last Sunday, she became the state champion in the Bars, Beam and All-Around Competition. In addition to the individual accolades, her team garnered a state title for the second consecutive year at the meet in Cartersville.

At the 2011 National Gymnastics Challenge, Rochefort placed third on bars and beam and second all-around. She began this season placing first all-around at the Ozone Invitational and at the Tiger Paw Classic. At the Cloverleaf Invitational, Rochefort placed first on both the bar and beam events and was named third all-around.

Southern Connecticut is a member of the NCAA Division II Gymnastics East Coast Athletic Conference. Since 1984, the Owls have won 13 ECAC championships and finished as runners-up 15 times. This year, the university finished as runners-up by three points. Nine Owl gymnasts selected for the 2012 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships held on April 13.