Hello Pioneer Fans,

Busy week for us in the gym!

We started practice Monday with the coaches telling us they are raising their expectation of us. Coach talked to us about how we need to do away with “meritocracy.” The coaches all responded by holding us more accountable for all of the little details that make a big difference in our performances. In turn, we stepped up. It was a short practice week for us. We made the most of it with a lot of good focus on quality over quantity.

Our long competition weekend started with a trip up to Oklahoma on Friday the 5th to face the Sooners and Nebraska. We started off on beam and had our season high score. Then on floor we maintained our momentum. Vault and bars were also great events for us! This was our first meet this season where we did not have to count a fall! We had a few mistakes, but we worked together as a team to pick it back up the very next routine. It was great to see everyone working and fighting together. We placed third with a 192.575. Although we did well, we knew there was still room for improvement.

On Sunday the 7th, we had a home quad meet against Centenary College, Air Force and Northern Illinois. This was great meet because we are all very close ranked teams. The winner would have to fight for that top spot. We started off on vault and recorded our season high - 48.525. We carried our focus over to bars where Rashonda and Chay hit big routines to score a 9.7 and tie for third. Rashonda lead the beam team as well where she scored a career high of 9.8! We had to count a fall on beam which was not ideal, but we worked together as a team to pick it back up and put on some great floor routines! Kristin Edwards had a standout performance on floor, scoring a career high of 9.850!

We came out of the meet the winner with a 193.125, followed by Northern Illinois, Air Force then Centenary College. It was a great weekend for the Pioneers! We still have work to do this week in preparation for the LSU Tigers on Friday!!

Texas Rocks!
Mollie Blessing
Junior