An Ivy Classic champion as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach at Penn, Kirsten (Strausbaugh) Becker C'13 was promoted to the women's gymnastics head coaching position in May 2020 after serving five years as the program's assistant coach.
In four seasons at the helm, Becker has led the Quakers to four consecutive Gymnastics East Conference (GEC) Regular Season and Championship team titles from 2022-25 and won back-to-back Ivy Classic titles in 2024 and 2025.
The Quakers repeated the “treble” in Becker’s fourth season as head coach, winning their fourth-straight GEC Regular Season and GEC Championships title and repeating as Ivy Classic champions for the first time since 2012. Penn saw two gymnasts qualify for NCAA Regionals (Mimi Fletcher on beam; Skyelar Kerico on all-around) with Fletcher being the first freshman since 1991 to compete at NCAA’s. Under Becker’s guidance, Kerico experienced one of the greatest seasons in Penn gymnastics history. The junior repeated as GEC Gymnast of the Year and won GEC Co-Performance of the Year for her record-breaking 9.925 on vault against West Virginia (3/14). She took home three GEC titles (vault, bars and all-around) and two Ivy Classic titles (bars and all-around). Kerico also set a new school and Ivy League record in the all-around with a 39.450 at the NCAA Regionals (4/3). Jordan Barrow also saw huge success in her second season in University City, winning a GEC title (beam) and repeating as the Ivy Classic champion on vault. Overall, the Quakers had a program-record 17 first-team All-GEC selections in 2025 with 21 total honorees. As a team, Penn finished with its highest end-of-year ranking at No. 45. Becker was named GEC Coach of the Year for the second time in three years.
Penn completed the "treble" in Becker's third season as head coach, taking care of business as GEC Regular Season and Championship champions, along with the Ivy Classic. With Becker in charge, Skyelar Kerico was named GEC Gymnast of the Year after claiming two GEC titles in beam and all-around, becoming the first Quaker since Becker in 2012 to achieve it. There were a program-record 14 first-team All-GEC selections in 2024 and 21 total, the most in program history. The Quakers finished with the best final national qualifying score (NQS) in program history with a 195.645. Becker also coached four Ivy Classic champions including Jordan Barrow (vault), Sara Kenefick (vault), Kerico (all-around) and Samantha Wu (beam). In addition to her several accolades, Kerico broke a 12-year-old program record for all-around score with a 39.325 at the Ivy Classic.
Her second season in charge, Becker led Penn back to the top with its second straight GEC Regular Season and Championship team titles. Under her guidance, McCaleigh Marr was named GEC Co-Specialist of the Year and freshman Marissa Lassiter earned GEC Newcomer of the Year honors. Two individual program records were set during the season as Campbell Marr scored a 9.900 on vault at Temple while Campbell and McCaleigh Marr notched twin scores of 9.950 on balance beam at Temple. Six Quakers earned a total of nine first-team All-GEC honors while seven earned eight second-team laurels. While Penn took second in the Ivy Classic for the second straight year, McCaleigh Marr won the Ivy Classic title on balance beam. Becker was named GEC Coach of the Year for the first time, while assistants Casey Rohrbaugh and Cassie Hageman were named GEC Assistant Coaches of the Year.
Becker's first season as head coach was certainly a successful one, as the Quakers won both the regular-season and Championship team titles in the inaugural season of the Gymnastic East Conference (GEC) and McCaleigh Marr was an individual qualifier on the balance beam at the NCAA Regional in Norman, Okla. The team also set a pair of program scoring records, scoring 194.775 in a dual with Ursinus on February 20 and posting its best score on the road three separate times with a 195.375 at Towson on February 13, a 196.225 at Maryland on March 13, and finally a 196.950 six days later at the GEC Championships.
Individually, three program records were tied during the season. Marr twice tied a 22-year-old record on the beam by scoring 9.950 at Towson on February 13 and again at the GEC Championships on March 19. Marr also posted the second-best score in program history in the bars at the GEC Championships. Sara Kenefick tied a 21-year-old mark on the floor exercise at the GECs (9.975). Finally, Ariyana Agarwala tied the program's 10-year-old record for vault score at the Maryland Quad on March 13 (9.900). Marr and Kenefick won the beam and floor at GECs, respectively, and Penn compiled eight first-team and nine second-team honors at the inaugural Championships.
During her five years as an assistant coach, Becker helped lead the Quakers to the 2020 Ivy Classic title and their highest team score in program history in 2019.
As an assistant coach, Becker mentored 20 All-ECAC gymnasts, six ECAC Scholar-Athletes, four ECAC individual champions, and three Ivy Classic champions and helped Penn win the 2020 Ivy Classic with the second-best score in program history (194.850). In 2020, Penn freshmen were named ECAC Co-Specialist of the Year (McCaleigh Marr) and ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year (Rebekah Lashley), both firsts for the program.
In 2019, the Red and Blue compiled its best National Qualifying Score (NQS) ever with a 195.075 at Maryland, breaking a 15-year old record. As the program's beam and floor exercise coach, Becker led the Quakers to their best beam score in program history (49.125) and in 2018 coached the program's first NCAA Regional qualifier in five years in Alex Hartke.
A decorated collegiate gymnast for Penn, the former Kirsten Strausbaugh was a two-time team captain and the 2013 ECAC Gymnast of the Year. A two-time NCAA Regional qualifier, she helped the Quakers to two ECAC championships and two Ivy Classic titles. Strausbaugh was the 2013 USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals Uneven Bars champion and was Penn's nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award as a senior.
A 2013 Penn graduate with a degree in communication, she is currently pursuing a master's in organizational dynamics from the University. She is married to former Penn quarterback Ryan Becker W'13 and they have two sons, Drew and Eli.
