Hey Pioneer fans,

I am senior Michelle Graves back to give you another update on your TWU gymnastics team.

Well, we have gotten through another week of “Kamp Kudlac,” consisting of more two-a-days and long, intense practices. This week has been great; we kept our focus and worked on perfecting our routines for our first competition of 2010! Although we are working out more than usual, and our bodies are quite sore, we have kept our heads held high and smiles on our faces. The coaches even complimented us by saying, “this has been one of the most enjoyable ‘Kamp Kudlac’s’ ever!’’ Hearing that boosted our confidence even more, and pushed us to continue working.

On Friday we left for the University of Kentucky super excited and ready to prove how hard we have all been working. It was ‘Excite Night’ for Kentucky and many people were in attendance. With all the commotion going on I think many of us lost our focus and things did not go as planned. Bars went pretty well with Rashonda Cannie posting a 9.700, and not having to count a fall. The vault team was able to lift our spirits, with everyone averaging a 9.600 and we did not have to count any falls after the first two events!

We went to floor and made several mistakes, but still maintained our confidence. Freshman Amy Winczura scored a 9.550 on floor in her very first college meet. Great job, Amy! Our last event was beam, and we were all confident that we could bring it back on this event. However, it seemed as if we let our nerves get to us and lost that confidence in each other that we had been displaying in our practices.

Overall, we did not perform to our ability in Kentucky, but we will not let this lower our spirits. We plan on returning to the gym this week with more focus and determination to ensure that we compete to our true ability at Centenary next week!

Keep checking the website for updates on our next competition!

Go Pioneers!

Michelle Graves
Senior