Nov. 17, 2008

Written by: Becca Pang

Hey everyone!

So much has happened in the past couple of months and the time is going by incredibly fast! As a freshman, there have been lots of changes for me and I feel so grateful to have such wonderful teammates and coaches who are there for support in and out of the gym. One of the biggest challenges has been adjusting to the weather. I'm freezing here and it's only November! It's nothing like the Hawaii weather I'm used to. I even saw snow at the end of October! I wasn't even sure if it was snow at first but Alyssa Valbert, being from Illinois, was able to confirm that it was.

We've all been working hard in the gym preparing for our first intrasquad, which is in less than a week. It's exciting to see how well everyone's routines are coming together. Our vaults are all getting stronger, and this week we were challenged by having higher landing mats. Brandi George and Kyra Phillips both stepped up to the challenge and completed it with ease performing huge yurchenko fulls. Kelsey Nelligan's vault is also developing nicely, as she, too, raised her landing mats. Our bar routines are steadily improving and becoming more consistent. Candice King's bar routine is coming together nicely, Margaux Meeks has been working hard on her double layout dismount, and Allie Dama's full twisting double layout will be an awesome finish to her routine.

Beam continues to be a strong event for us and it shows by the increasing number of stuck routines we are able to complete as a team. Kaitlin Joseph and Kelsey McDermid both have new beam skills, which are coming along nicely. On floor we have continued to bring our tumbling passes to the hard ground. Abigail Adams is returning from injury well and surprised us the other day with her full in. Michele Brenner continues to shine on floor and her front through to double back is looking solid. Talia Tossone also put her front through to double back on the hard floor as well as her double pike. Our endurance floor routines are getting harder but everyone puts their best effort in to complete them because we know it will pay off when competition season comes! Although Lisa Reifschneider was not able to practice this week, she has been right there beside us motivating and cheering us on.

Not only is our gymnastics improving but we are also becoming a stronger and more unified team, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it all. We are all becoming more confident in the gym, and I'm looking forward to competition season.

Schoolwork has also been keeping us all very busy. However, we have found time to support our other Terrapin teams, as some of us went to the always-exciting basketball and football games this weekend. It's nice to spend time together outside of the gym, and I feel like we really are one big family!

Thanks for reading. GO TERPS!

Becca

Previous Terps Tumble Talks:
Nov. 10, 2008 - Allie Dama
Nov. 3, 2008 - Margaux Meeks
Oct. 27, 2008 - Kelsey McDermid
Oct. 20, 2008 - Brandi George
Oct. 13, 2008 - Lisa Reifschneider
Oct. 6, 2008 - Head coach Bob Nelligan