University of Georgia Athletics
Journal Entry From Kelsey Ericksen
December 12, 2006 | Gymnastics
'First of all, thank you to all who attended our Sneak Peak intrasquad this weekend. It meant so much to all of us to have such a great turnout, and so much fan support. For those of you who were able to make it, you saw what an amazing team we have this year. And for those of you who could not, here is a little recap of the event.
'All the girls showed up with a lot of spirit. Each team made signs and t-shirts, and came prepared with cheers. The rivalry within the team made for a great competition and got our nerves going to prepare us for the upcoming season.
'The Red team consisted of the freshmen and sophomore class, and they began on bars. They had a strong showing, highlighted by a 9.9 from Marcia Newby and a 9.95 from Tiffany Tolnay. Courtney Kupets also showed off her new bar routine, which includes a new release. The juniors and seniors represented the Black team, and began on the beam. I led off the lineup and was followed by Megan, Nikki, and Katie. Unfortunately, we had to count a couple falls on our first rotation which put us behind after the first event.
'In the second rotation, we switched events, putting the Red team on beam and the Black team on bars. Our bar lineup consisted of Adrienne, Ashley, Nikki, myself, and Katie. We hit five strong routines, and Katie helped us finish strong with a 9.9. Over on the beam, the freshmen and sophomores also had a strong showing, with no falls, and a great routine by Grace Taylor, which earned a 9.9.
'The third rotation had the Black team on vault and the Red team on floor. The floor routines were very exciting, packed with powerful tumbling and great, new choreography. Five freshmen showed off their new routines: Courtney McCool, Marcia Newby, Grace Taylor, Lauren Johnson, and Lauren Sessler. Each did very well for their first performance under pressure. Over on the vault, we upperclassmen had our strongest event for the day. Between Adrienne, Ashley, Megan, Katie, and myself, we came up with a 49.4, including 9.9’s from Ashley and myself and a 9.95 from Katie.
'The day ended with the Red team on vault and Black team on floor. As expected, Tiffany and Courtney Kupets produced powerful vaults, helping to boost their vault score. Four freshmen also performed on the vault, including yurchenko fulls from Lauren Sessler and Christi Fortunado, a yurchenko ½ from Marcia Newby, and the same vault as the Kupets’s sisters from Lauren Johnson. All four landed their vaults, showing great improvement since the beginning of the fall. They will definitely add depth to our vault lineup. On the floor, Katie, myself, and Nikki performed full routines, and Ashley showed off her new choreography, but is saving her tumbling for the big show in a few weeks.
'Overall, our team looked very strong for this point in the season. Unfortunately, the youngsters were able to maintain their lead over us upperclassmen after the first event, to come up with the win (although they definitely had an advantage with more people). The six freshmen add a lot of talent and depth to an already strong and experienced team. You can expect to see significant contributions from them during the upcoming season.
'As the fall semester is wrapping up, we are focusing on finals and popping into the gym when we have an opportunity. In a few days, we will all head to our homes to enjoy the holidays with family. Then, it’s back to Athens to train for the quickly-approaching season! With only six practices between Christmas and the first meet, we are focusing on maintaining our endurance over the break and fine-tuning the small details.
'Again, thank you for all the support at the Sneak Peak this weekend. Your attendance helped us get rid of the “first-meet jitters” so we can be calm and confident against Stanford on January 6. We look forward to seeing all of you there! Enjoy the Holidays!
Go Dogs!'
*Kelsey*
