Hello Pioneer Fans,

Welcome back to another year exciting year of TWU gymnastics! My name is Jennifer Kingsbury and I am a fifth-year senior and biology major. I injured my ACL two years ago and I was fortunate enough to come back for another year and be a part of this talented team.

This year started off with moving the freshmen into the dorms on the 19th. We have four new members this year, all of which will add depth to this already experienced team. After they got settled in, the team headed over to Coach’s house for the annual welcome back BBQ. This was a great opportunity for the rookies (pictured at right, participating in an icebreaker game) and their families to meet the staff and team members. Towards the end of the night the team sat down to have the traditional start of the year meeting. The eight seniors led the talk by giving some basic rules and advice to the newcomers. I am very excited to be part of this large group of seniors. Each gymnast brings in experience and her own brand of leadership. I would like to see all of the seniors work together this year so we can accomplish any goal we set our minds to. Personally, I would like to see our team take it to the next level and become the first D2 team to qualify to the NCAA regional competition!

Throughout the rest of the first week our freshmen participated in Pioneer Camp activities. This program is designed to help prepare incoming freshmen for their first week of classes and life in the dorms. The freshmen also attended a lunch at our assistant coach’s new house! On Saturday we attended student-athlete orientation. During the afternoon all of the athletes were split into teams and competed in the annual PAC (Pioneer Athletes in Competition) Derby. This was a great way for the student-athletes to meet people from different teams and hopefully create lasting friendships. On Sunday the gymnastics team went to the first annual TWU Alumni Soccer Game. This was fun activity because the upperclassmen got the chance to catch up with our friends who had recently graduated.

Monday the 25th marked the first day of classes and Tuesday morning was the mile-and-a-half run test. Almost everyone made it in the required amount of time and nine girls managed to post a personal best. This shows the dedication of the returning team to meet Coach’s goal of coming back in better shape than when we left. The rest of the week was filled with open gyms and required conditioning. Friday morning was our first hard conditioning session and everyone did a great job. We had the rest of Friday and all of Saturday to relax, so some of the upperclassmen took their little sisters out to eat. The seniors enjoyed the weekend by celebrating fellow seniors Brista and Brittany’s birthdays. On Sunday night we had another open gym and then weight room orientation. Since there are no classes on Labor Day we are having a tough practice of running and conditioning in the morning, and then relaxing the rest of the day. Some of the team even has plans to go over to Mollie’s house to cook out and swim in the pool.

A lot has happened already in the first two weeks of the season. Check back next week so you don’t miss a thing!

Go Pioneers!

Jennifer Kingsbury
Senior