Gymnastics | 6/18/2024 10:44:00 AM

DENTON, Texas (June 18, 2024) – The main purpose of barriers are to prevent movement or access. If you take a look around, you will most likely find numerous examples of barriers – roadblocks, locked doors, credentialed access or ticketing at sporting events are all examples of barriers which curb movement or prevent access. Nevertheless, oftentimes the strongest barriers in our lives are barriers of our own creation – mental constraints we place on ourselves to prevent movement – I can't… I'm not good enough… There's no way… When we tell ourselves these statements enough, they become a physical barrier in our life, which hold us back from achieving our best and brightest potential.

Each year, the Texas Woman's gymnastics team creates a motto and hashtag to embody their mission and goals for the year. For the 2024 season, they aimed to break barriers – physical and mental – that stood in their way of success.

A barrier which exists in our world that you may be unfamiliar with is the sound barrier. As an object approaches the speed of sound or Mach 1, a sudden increase in aerodynamic drag is created, which creates an invisible sound barrier. To "break" the sound barrier, an aircraft would have to first achieve and then exceed Mach 1. When Mach 1 is broken, a loud and continuous sonic boom is created that can shatter windows on the ground.

To break barriers and to create a continuous ripple effect for the future – this is what the 2024 TWU gymnastics team set out to do. With #M1 or Mach 1 as their motto, the Pioneers, in simplest terms, set out to do things that had never been done before. They set out to be Pioneers.

"M1 meant that we were going to be the first," senior Steelie King said. "Although we didn't achieve all our goals, we set this program up for the following years to come."

For freshman Bailey Bourgeois, in her first season of college gymnastics, she found meaning and purpose in the team's motto.

"Mach 1 was my first hashtag and first team, and I loved being a part of it," Bourgeois said. "Mach 1 means breaking the sound barrier at an exponential rate and continuing to go up without looking back, and I feel like this team truly encapsulated that this season. Was it a perfect season? No, but there was so much that came out of it, and we accomplished so much as a team and program. Lots of barriers and records were broken this season, and this team was definitely special - that sums up Mach 1, breaking barriers, going all out and having no regrets."

The motto Mach 1 helped the Pioneers establish an identity and a purpose for the 2024 season.

"The M1 motto was something this team established at the very beginning of the season," junior Emma Brkljacic said. "It meant so much more to us than just breaking barriers. Throughout the season, we used it to help us find our team identity, create our missions and grow as a team together."

During the course of the 2024 season, the team broke barriers, setting eight new program records:

• Season Opener Record – 193.775 (at Illinois State Quad Meet Jan. 12)
• Home Opener Record – 194.700 (vs. Lindenwood Jan. 27)
• Floor Team Record – 49.375 (vs. Missouri Feb. 3)
• Daisy Woodring sets Individual Record on Vault – 9.950 (at Utah State Quad Meet Feb. 23)
• Highest Attendance – 1,305 (vs. OU, Clemson and Penn March 3)
• Multiple 196.000 team scores for first time in program history
• Kaitlyn Hoiland sets Individual Record on Bars – 9.950 (vs. Centenary March 17)
• Highest NQS in program history – 195.575

While each record was special, sophomore Brooke Ferrari said her favorite moment of the season was scoring the first 196 at home in Kitty Magee Arena on March 3 in front of a record-breaking crowd.

"My favorite memory was our first 196 of the season," Ferrari said. "The whole team and everybody in the stands just had this great energy, and it made for a really exciting meet. We all just had a lot of fun, and our gymnastics translated that."

The broken records were monumental moments, which the entire team achieved together.

"Each time we broke a record, it was pure joy," sophomore Kami Zarlengo said. "Knowing that we were doing it together, and it was just so exciting and rewarding to know we were re-writing the history books."

The broken records this season truly proved - when you are breaking barriers, you can achieve your best.

Senior Emily Six said she experienced calm, knowing the records were being broken by this team.

"It was exciting for sure, but it was something we made an expectation this year, so it felt like we just did our jobs and got the job done well, but in the most fun way," Six said.

While the 2024 team may have not claimed a title, they made history and created a "continuous sonic boom," which will resonate for years to come. Throughout all the records they broke and everything they accomplished, they remained true to each other. In a sport that is sometimes looked on as an individual sport, they competed as a team and experienced all the high and all the lows together.

"This year, we set out to start exponential growth in this program by making small meaningful decisions and changes," graduate student Daisy Woodring said. "While we set numerous records this season, we still didn't achieve everything we hoped, but we have to remember the results of making small changes are not always seen overnight or in one season. I believe the effects of what this team did this year will multiply with time and the program will reap even greater rewards in the years to come. This M1 team is the spark of a fire that will burn in the future teams of this one-of-a-kind program."

For Sophia Isbell, her freshman season embodied all her dreams and more.

"What was special to me is how driven we all were to reach our goals, and how close each and every one of us were," Isbell said. "The bonds we built in preseason and season are so special to me, and the memories we made together as this team will always hold a special place in my heart."

Sometimes the barriers that need to break are ones we have created within ourselves, and, sometimes, only the right group of people can help you eradicate those barriers.

"This team changed my life," senior Kaitlyn Hoiland said. "This season, with this team, gave me confidence in myself that I didn't know I could have and helped me grow my love for the sport even more. This season will be something I always look back on as the season that made me not only a better gymnast, but a better person."

"This team was so special to me this season," freshman Sofia Steffan said. "We worked so hard throughout preseason to break all of the records we did, and we will not stop pushing for more next season."

Freshman Caroline Bowns said the moment she remembers from the season, which truly personifies the identity of the team was a small, but powerful moment.

"Emma Brklijacic, when she finished her beam routine on Day Two of Nationals, and she ran up to Steelie saying, "I've got your back," Bowns said. "That's who this team is. We have each other's backs."

While the 2024 team may have not claimed a title, they made history and created a "continuous sonic boom," which will resonate for years to come, and they close the chapter of 2024 with gratitude.

"Something special to me about this season was just how thankful I was the entire year to be on this team," freshman Sophie Hernandez said. "The coaches are great people who genuinely care about you, as not just an athlete, but a person, and the team creates such a positive and fun environment where everyone truly wants what is best for one another."