Feb. 28, 2008
Hey Everybody!
This past week was one of our longer training weeks, considering that our meet was on Sunday rather than the usual Friday or Saturday. Everyone used this "extra" training time to work on fine-tuning our skills, focus on hitting handstands on bars, sticking dismounts, and showing off our floor routines. Mid-week, the captains called us all together to talk about ways we can keep improving throughout the rest of the season. It was great to hear the ways that we each think we can improve both individually and as a team! We ended up making posters and hanging them in the gym so that each day we will be reminded of our goals.
On Saturday morning we left for New Hampshire, and on Sunday we got a chance to prove that we don't just set goals, we achieve them. Our hard work in practice paid off with a victory over the University of New Hampshire Wildcats!!! Sunday's meet showed that we're learning to pull together as a team to get the job done. When we did have a fall, the next person stepped right up and gave a stellar performance. This was exemplified especially on beam, our last event. We were behind UNH by a few tenths and going into it, and we knew that we had to have a strong beam performance. We started off well, but knew we needed better.
Midway through lineup, was had a few mistakes, but then Talia performed a near-perfect routine, receiving a 9.9, and Brandi followed with a strong 9.825 to help us clinch the overall win over UNH. Moments like this are when I am so thankful to be part of such a close-knit team. We are like family, and when one person is having a hard time, we come together bring the whole team up, becoming even stronger than before. Other highlights of the night included stuck Yurchenko fulls by Gretchen and Brandi, a nailed full-in bar dismount by Allie, and crowd-pleasing floor routines by Michele and Brandi. All four individual event winners and the all-around winner were part of our lady Terps team, which is an amazing accomplishment and a first for us this season!
Now we just need to get back into the gym and keep working towards our goals. I know that we can build on this win and keep the momentum going! Expect to see some more great things at our next meet, this Saturday at UNC with UNH and William & Mary! Thanks for reading, and GO TERPS!
- KJ
