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Officially …

Ashley Postell (Utah) finished 2nd with 39.55. (This is the third season in a row Postell has finished as runner up.)

Still, Tasha was disappointed as her UCLA team was eliminated from the Super 6. Only the top 3 teams qualify.

Stanford did an excellent job to get through.

“Bittersweet” was the word Tasha used in a post-meet interview. Winning the All-around but having your team eliminated is no fun at all. I had not realized that Tasha came in ill. Has Achilles tendon pain. Did not warm-up Floor or Vault to “save” herself in order to count for the team score.

Recall that Tasha was on the 2003 World Championship team that became the first U.S. team in history to ever win the gold medal at Worlds. And that she won the NCAA Championships in 2005. This is her second title.

Tasha Schwikert – UCLA bio

Tasha Schwikert – Wikipedia

… live from Athens, Georgia.

Happy us.

That will certainly get Kristina through to event Finals. Top 4 scores from each of the two sessions (plus ties) qualify for Finals Saturday. Ashley Postell, also from Utah, scored 9.90. That might not make it, but probably will.

So far (end of 2 rotations) Anna Li (UCLA) with the world’s biggest Tkachev is the only other 9.95

Kristina is the girl to beat, I think.

Tony Pizza in the Daily Utah Chronicle has a terrific in depth article on Utah’s most charismatic gymnast: Baskett is having a ball

This article hits the nail on the head. People love watching Kristina because she loves performing. Simple.

AP Photo by Douglas C. Pizac – 2007 Championships

Kristina Baskett reminds me of past NCAA great Kate Richardson (UCLA).

PS …

Am I crazy, or did Brandi Personett from Penn State in the first session compete double layout with 1/1 twist on Floor? (fall)

UPDATE: She did. And has no regrets about attempting the super skill.

My favourite team from Championships last year — Florida Gators — has won me over again, so far. I’ve only seen half the teams.

What a wonderful group of athletes. Melanie Sinclair, Ashley Reed, Corey Hartung. The whole team, in fact. They have everything.

Florida Gators bios

But if I had to pick one athlete to show my gymnasts the best of the NCAA, I’d choose Amanda Castillo. She is so enthusiastic. So energetic. And so good. A pleasure to watch.

Oh yes, she’s also on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Amanda is a role model for young gymnasts.

She came out of the fantastic Orlando Metro club. Why am I not surprised.

Florida gymnast Amanda Castillo reacts after finishing her floor routine during the first day of competition in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships Thursday April 24, 2008 …

(AP Photo/John Amis) – ESPN

Florida: 196.900
Alabama: 196.650
LSU: 196.575

Oklahoma: 196.075
Arkansas: 195.825
Oregon State: 195.475

Florida, Alabama and LSU qualify to the Super 6. Congratulations.

The competition was incredible, I thought. Notably stronger than last year. More difficulty. Better execution. Very few “missed” routines.

Scores were lower than at SEC Championships, for one example, but Head Coach Rhonda Faehn stated that the best 3 teams got through. And she’s right.

Florida Sophomore Melanie Sinclair was the surprise #1 in the preliminary All-Around. Melanie was quoted:

“It’s exciting (to be competing in the all-around). I haven’t been on top in all around in a long time. To be able to compete in all events this year is an incredible feeling. It’s great to be healthy enough to get out there and compete in all four events.”

The favourite, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney from LSU, had a fall on beam and did not show her best vault. Her coach, D-D Breaux, noted that Ashleigh will be back on the Floor Friday. D-D is asking her team to “compete with reckless abandon” in their first Super 6 Final.

For the first time since the NCAA moved to a two-round format in 1993, the LSU gymnastics team and head coach D-D Breaux have advanced …

LSUsports.net

Photo Galleries

Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor

watch video of Session 1

Second session goes tonight. Host Georgia will bring the home team advantage. It’s going to be NOISY.

Men who qualified for the 2008 Visa Championships at the 2008 U.S. Men’s Qualifier, held Wednesday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs:

1. Todd Thornton, Houston/U.S. Olympic Training Center, 156
2. Ryan Lieberman, Lake Forest, Ill./Stanford University, 106
3. Danell Leyva, Miami/Universal Gymnastics, 106
4. Alexy Bilozertchev, Hilliard, Ohio/OSU Boys Team, 105
5. Andrew Elkind, Cherry Hill, N.J./U.S. Olympic Training Center, 104
6. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif./Stanford University, 96
7. David Henderson, Crosby, Texas/U.S. Olympic Training Center, 90
8. Joe Catrambone, Deptford, N.J./University of Michigan, 88
9. Tyler Mizoguchi, Houston /Houston Gymnastics Academy, 87
10. Edward Mesa, Cooper City, Fla./Universal Gymnastics, 87
11. Jamie Henderson, Crosby, Texas/University of Oklahoma-Gattaca, 83
12. Tim Gentry, Plano, Texas/Stanford University, 82
13. Clay Strother, Jasper, Texas/Team Chevron, 77
14. Justin Laury, Marietta, Ga./Houston Gymnastics Academy, 72

details – USA Gymnastics

Visa Championships in Houston is the first “trial” for the American Olympic Team. The current National Team has already qualified to Houston.

I’ll post the full list of Olympic candidates when available.

… Olympian Morgan Hamm returned to competition following surgery but withdrew after two events (high bar and floor) due to illness. A source told Inside Gymnastics he had an allergic reaction to something during the day and was having trouble breathing. Hamm will petition the Men’s Program Committee to compete at the Visa Championships. In addition, Justin Spring of Burke, Va., who was returning to competition after injuring his knee at the 2007 Visa Championships, withdrew after three events. He sprained his right ankle on this dismount in the floor exercise (full twisting double back). As a member of the senior national team, Spring is already qualified for the Visa Championships. …

Thornton Wins National Qualifier – Inside Gymnastics

Blaine Wilson, the five-time national champion trying an Olympic comeback participated in warm-ups but decided not to compete. He has an ankle injury.

The Men’s Program Committee will decide on petitions on Friday.

Host Georgia are the favourites.

Honestly, any of the 12 teams could win if they stuck every landing.

Official Women’s NCAA Championships home page

Thursday April 24th is the most exciting day for me — the qualifying competition. Which of the 12 fantastic teams will get through to Super 6?

Georgia Gymnastics

I spoke with Mike Lorenzen, President National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women and Assistant Coach, Stanford Women’s Gymnastics. He agreed that 2008 saw incredible parity between the top teams.

When I suggested it might be time for rule changes to separate the best of the best, he was diplomatically noncommittal.

I don’t want to lower scores nor contribute in any way to increasing injury rates. Yet I’d love to see more Yurchenko 3/2 vaults. Fewer “easy” beam dismounts. Incentive to compete more complicated bar routines.

Floor is good now. The emphasis is on “selling” a routine to the audience. I like that.

Case study:

Rhonda Faehn, Head Coach of the Florida Gator NCAA gymnastics team. She had her first child Jan. 8th.

How hard is that?

“I give her props,” Florida sophomore Melanie Sinclair said. “That’s a difficult task to take on. She doesn’t get much sleep. But she comes in every day smiling with a great attitude. You see no change in how she carries herself to us. That’s how good a coach she is. She can separate her coaching life from her personal life.

Timing certainly was not ideal for a College coach.

On the other hand, where can an infant get more loving attention than in a gymnastics gym?

… Faehn’s nanny was recommended by Gator volleyball coach Mary Wise, who frequently offered Faehn advice based on her own experiences. Wise took over the Gators volleyball program in 1991 with a two-year-old son, Matt, and gave birth to her second child, Mitchell, during her fourth season.

“It takes a village to raise your children,” Wise said. “Especially for female head coaches.” …

Faehn is gymnastics’ mother superior – Gainsville Sun

Still, it’s much easier to be a coach with children, than a competitor with children: 38-year-old Tina Wise, Level 8 gymnast

(via Shergymrag)

Well deserved. Congratulations!

After leading the Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team to an eighth national title and fifth in the last seven years, OU’s coaching staff has earned well-deserved national recognition. Head Coach Mark Williams was named the National Coach of the Year, while assistants Daniel Furney and Rustam Sharipov were honored as the National Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year. …

Sooners Gymnastics

Thursday Aussie’s top Olympic hopeful Daria Joura carried the Olympic torch. What a thrill, for her!

Australian Gym Blog offers good advice:

… To anyone who has an opinion to voice on the Tibet issue, or who opposes the torch relay, and plans to overtly show their intentions as the torch goes by, please do it peacefully. I understand that passive action is in no way equitable to what China may have done to certain people over time, and of course the torch relay is attempting to distract from a lot of flaws, but the Olympic event itself stands for a lot. One of my best friends ran with the Sydney Olympic torch nearly a decade ago and that was an amazing experience for all involved, even us spectating. I would have hated for someone to try and physically wrench the torch off of her.

The torchbearers are not the ones involved in the bigger issues. They’re simply there to take part.

If you must protest against what the torch stands for – turn your back. You’ll be making a statement and making it peacefully. Nobody deserves to be hurt or frightened. Anger begets violence, if Yoda has taught us anything. Just turn your back as the torch passes, it’s the smart and safe thing to do.

Australian Gym Blog

Dasha – Olympic Test Meet – Olympic Spirit blog