Feb. 4, 2007
Hi Everybody!!!
Well we now have the first full week of spring classes behind us. Everyone has started to adjust to their schedules and resume the balancing act of managing schoolwork, practicing, and competing. The entire team is working really hard both in and out of the gym, and things are starting to come together for us.
In practice this past week people really started to step up. Lindsey Bonomo, Marisa St. Louis, and Rachel Colon all put together floor routines in the gym, which will help to increase our depth on that event. Bars, beam, and vault are looking good as well, as people continue to polish and clean their routines.
On Friday we competed in the Governor's Cup meet at North Carolina State University. The premise of this meet is rather unique. Of the four teams at this competition two were from the state of North Carolina (UNC and NC State) and two were from Maryland (us and Towson). At the end of the meet the scores from the two Maryland teams are combined and compared against the scores from the two North Carolina teams, and the state with the highest combined total wins the Governor's Cup. Even though the state of Maryland did not take home the cup this year, as a team there were many highlights in this meet.
We started the night on bars where freshman lead-off Margaux Meeks hit a phenomenal routine complete with a stuck dismount for a 9.65. We had a few struggles in the middle of the rotation but solid routines by Brandi George and Rachel Colon helped to keep us on track.
Next we moved to beam, where despite some tight judging we still displayed some difficult routines with grace and poise. Talia Tossone had a 9.65 and was our top scorer on the event.
With our last two events being floor and vault we really wanted to turn up the energy level and not hold anything back. We hit 6 for 6 on both events and were very happy to finish up the night on such a strong note. We competed four 10.0 vaults this meet, the most we have competed all season long. Candice King competed her yurchenko full for the first time and was rewarded for the effort with a 9.75, as well as set-up Brandi George and Angela Ferg to hit their vaults and score a 9.8 and a 9.825 respectively.
We are now headed back into the gym, with our goal for the week being to really focus on the little details in order to make sure we aren't giving away any unnecessary tenths. After three weeks of traveling we are eager to compete at home this week against GW. So clear your calendars, and we'll see you Thursday February 8 at 7 pm for another exciting Terps gymnastics meet!!!!!
Take Care,
Gretchen
