Hello Everyone!

Spring classes are now well underway and everyone seems to have adapted to the craziness of class, practice, homework, and traveling. Due to the many Friday meets this season, second semester may prove to be a little more challenging than the first, but I know everyone is working hard and doing their best to keep on top of their schoolwork. As a freshman, balancing class and competition season has certainly been one of the biggest adjustments I've had to make, but so far it has been a pretty smooth transition. There are so many resources available and people willing to help out that it has made things a lot easier!

With our confidence a little lacking lately because of a couple of bumpy away meets, it seems like all of the girls and coaches walked into the gym on Monday with new attitudes and a burst of enthusiasm. Everyone has been working extremely hard on polishing their routines and eliminating the little deductions. All of that hard work certainly showed this week, as we had an outstanding home meet that has given us a much needed confidence boost! After three weekends in a row on the road, everyone was clearly excited to compete on our home turf. The team was able to channel that excitement, helping us put together our highest team score yet and pull off a win against George Washington!

We started Thursday's competition on the vault, where stuck landings on Lindsey Bonomo's handspring-front and Candice King's booming full-twisting layout yurchenko set the pace for the rest of the meet. Next, we had a very solid performance on bars, hitting six-for-six and sticking even more landings. Moving to the beam, we once again hit all six routines and had phenomenal performances by both freshman Brandi George and senior Angela Ferg, with a 9.8 and a 9.75, respectively. Lastly we moved to the floor, where freshman Talia Tossone engaged the crowd with her hilarious rendition of the "Napoleon Dynamite" dance and Michele Brenner hit a beautiful routine for a 9.775.

Now that we have pieced together a strong meet, we definitely know what it feels like to get the job done. Between those solid routines, a few more upgrades, and a couple more girls getting healthy, our team should continue to improve and turn out a great second half of the season! We are looking forward to keeping the momentum going and blowing away the competition in New Hampshire this upcoming weekend!

Thanks for reading and for all your support! Take care!

Allie