Sept. 11, 2006

"Play it again, Sam!" I can't believe another year is upon us. We have six new freshmen worrying about fitting in and about performing up to expectations; trust me, expectations are running high!

I am very fortunate to have a great support staff. As you can tell our media relations representative, Ann Cabiness has been doing a phenomenal job with the alumni page on the Internet. She is being helped by former team member, Ashley LeVine, who is writing specifically for our gymnastics team! Kristen Taylor is our new athletic trainer, and is wonderful. We are excited to be working with Barry Kagan, once again, for strength and conditioning. Also, Jessica Myers is our academic advisor, and she is working along with ASCDU to make sure we start the year off right.

"Boot Camp" starts on Sunday, September 10th. We are more sophisticated these days; we have fartlek (a sprint/jog/walk program), spin class, lifting, and cardio kickboxing on tap for our preseason strength and conditioning this year...a far cry from simply running in Cole Field House or in Byrd Stadium. I still run a bit, and squat, etc. but, I am thankful that Brett and Vicki are with me to keep up with the physical challenges that the team ladies ask of us.

We have a great mix of young and old gymnasts. The freshmen (also known as the `super six') are our future. Sophomores, led by Kim Loew, Lindsey Willner, and Kelsey Nelligan are experienced and eager to perform. Juniors, Gretchen Kittelberger, Morgan Fishbein, and Lindsey Bonomo add depth in all events. Seniors Rachel Colon (co-captain), Angela Ferg (co-captain), and Marisa St. Louis are the leaders of the team. Coming back as individual competitors at NCAA Regionals last year, Colon and Ferg are determined to push the team into a Top 20 ranking.

I hope you follow us through the year as we get to share our memories online. Remember we host EAGL Conference Championships in March, a great time to come back and visit The Comcast Center!

Be well, Duke