Auburn easily defeated BYU on Senior Night, but neither program raised their RQS. AU's Petrina Yokay led her team, winning the AA with a 39.15. Teammates Brianna Guy, Allyson Sandusky and Toi Garcia added wins on vault, bars, and floor, respectively. BYu's Natalie Eyre-Pickard won the beam.
Link: AU Release
Host SEMO defeated TWU on Friday night, 194.2 to 193.7. Taryn Vanderpool posted a career-high 38.825 to lead the Redhawks to the win. She also won bars while teammate Taylor Westrick won beam. For TWU, Kristin Edwards won floor while teammate Bethany Larimer and Kayla Jones tied for the vault title.
Link: TWU Release and SEMO Release
Florida posted a season-high 197.9 to easily defeat the Utes, who posted a season road-high of 196.475 despite counting a fall on bars. Florida's Alaina Johnson won the AA with a 39.675, just ahead of teammates Marissa King (39.65) and Ashanee Dickerson (39.625). Johnson tied with Dickerson for the bars title, with King for the beam title, and with Utes Georgia Dabritz and Kailah Delaney for the vault title. King and teammate Kytra Hunter tied for honors on floor, where the Gators posted a 49.6. Florida's RQS inches up to 197.395 after the win, while Utah rises to a 196.705.
Link: Utah Release
Michigan closed out the regular season with a big win over in-state rival MSU. Katie Zurales and teammate Joanna Sampson tied for the AA title for the Wolverines, who competed just seven athletes. Zurales won beam and floor for Michigan, while Sampson took the bars. MSU's Taira Neal won the vault. Their 196.025 lifts their RQS to a 195.71.
Link: Michigan Release
Missouri celebrated Senior Night with a win over Arkansas, 196.1 to 195.45. Jaime Pisani led the injury-plagued Gym-Backs, winning vault, beam, floor and the AA (39.6). Teammate Mariah Howdeshell won the bars. Missouri improved their RQS to 195.825, while Arkansas remained unchanged.
Link: MU Release
A solid 195.45 boosts NC State's RQS to 195.715 as they defeated Rutgers and W&M. Five different NC State athletes split the titles: Brooke Barr won vault, Rachel Fincham the bars, Jess Panza the beam and Diahanna Ham took the floor. Stephanie Ouellette's AA win completed the sweep.
Link: W&M Release
Mandy Klun, L10 from Illinois Gymnastics Institute (IGI) in Westmont, Illinois has committed to the University of Michigan. Mandy was the 2010 V/UB/FX and AA State Champion. She finished 2nd AA at Regionals and was a member of the Region 5 Allstar Delegation traveling to Slovenia and Venice, Italy. In 2011, Mandy was the UB & AA State Champion. She won BB at Regionals and took 2nd on V/UB at Nationals finishing 15AA. She was a member of the Region 5 Allstar Delegation traveling to Rio de Janiero, Brazil. This season, Mandy finished 3rd AA at Twistars, 2nd AA at Circle of Stars winning UB and V. She took 3rd on V at Chicago Style.
Racquel Chavez, L10 at Stars Gymnastics in Texas, has committed to Kentucky according to a post on her club's web page. She stared the 2011 season with a 2nd place (1st UB) finish at the Winter Cup Challenge and captured several top 5 finishes throughout the season.
Jessica Gracia, L10 at Sonshine Gymnastics in North Carolina, has committed to University of New Hampshire. Gracia is putting forth a strong season this year, winning the Bull City Challenge (1st AA; 1st V/UB/BB), finishing 2nd AA at Tiger Paw (1st V/BB), 2nd AA at Jim Gault (1st V/FX), and 2nd AA at Gasparilla (1st V).
We're already down to the last few weeks of the season, and teams are jockeying for one of 36 spots at the Regional meet. However, there are several meets left before the end of the season, so we're still likely to see a significant shake-up in the standings. Here's a few observations from the action in February...
Kiersten Graber, L10 at Flip City in Arizona, has committed to Washington and will join the team this fall. This season she has finished 3rd all around at the Arizona Grand meet and the Classic Rock. She finished 5th at the Lady Luck and Chinese New Year (1st FX) meets. She was the 2011 Arizona state beam champ.
As most parents know the high school years can be challenging, add to that the college recruiting process. I know first hand as we went through it with our daughter. Many times it is awkward for girls at this age to feel confident in putting themselves "out there" to be judged by anyone, let alone college coaches. The temptation for the parent is to take the lead and actually write the emails and make the contacts.
Whatever you do ........do not do this!
It is however appropriate to encourage your daughter and help her set goals to getting recruited. Sitting with your gymnast and making a list of schools she would be eligible to attend, and then coming alongside her to guide her, is a much better choice. College coaches can tell if letters and emails have been written by parents. Although I do not believe a college coach will turn away a recruit because of this issue, it is so much more encouraging to the coach if it appears the letter is coming directly from the heart of the athlete.
This principle of self-initiative frequently transfers over to great things in the recruiting process. Gymnasts who can communicate on her own, even if the letter has mistakes or is not eloquent, shows the desire and maturity of the athlete. Coaches are looking for leaders and communicators. They understand it can be hard for high school girls to write or call but they can see past that.
I remember walking through this process with our daughter, who was a soccer player. It was like pulling teeth to get her to write to a coach. She was a confident athlete and person. She had great grades and knew what she wanted, but when it came to emailing a coach back or calling a coach, she really struggled at times. I often thought it would be way easier if I just emailed the coach back, but in the end I knew that would not be best. It was a process that she needed to experience herself and be challenged to grow in new ways.
So I ask again "who does the recruiting in your house?". Make it a team effort, with the bulk of the work being done by the daughter. In the end, it is like anything else, she will feel great satisfaction in knowing she worked hard and will have learned lots of good things about herself along the way.
About Jill Hicks:
Jill Hicks is a former elite gymnast, Division I college athlete, club coach and Division I college gymnastics coach (Cal State Fullerton, Oregon State) and the owner of Jill Hicks Consulting, where she provides recruiting services and choreography for prospective student-athletes and their families. For further information visit: www.jhicksconsulting.com
Editor's Note: Publication of this article is not an endorsement of any recruiting service. Always check with the NCAA or your school's compliance officer for any questions regarding recruiting rules, the latest timelines, or other issues.
OU leads the Men's National Rankings from Troester.com GymInfo for the Week of March 12th. Stanford moves into 2nd and Illinois is third. OU leads on FX, Rings, and PB. Stanford leads on vault, Ohio State on Rings, and Illinois on HB.
Individually, Jake Dalton of OU is the top AAer and leads on floor and p-bars. Cal's Glen Ishino is now tied with Ohio State's Ty Echard on pomme horse. On Rings, PSU's Scott Rosenthal remain on top of the standings. Stanford's Eddie Penev is first on vault, while Illinois' Paul Ruggeri still leads the high bar standings.
| Rank |
Team | Three Meet Average |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 356.267 |
| 2 | Stanford | 354.233 |
| 3 | Illinois | 353.683 |
| 4 | Penn State | 352.667 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 347.450 |
| 6 | Minnesota | 346.567 |
Link: Troester GymInfo
We are nearing our final two weekends of competition, and the race for the 36 spots at Regionals is becoming intense. The race for the Top 18 seeds (the teams that can be placed in any Regional) is also becoming quite close, with a lot of movement this week in the Top 36.
Florida stays on top, however, followed by OU and UCLA.
PSU's Sharaya Musser won the all around with a score of 39.400. Musser also won bars and floor. PSU's Madison Merriam won vault and Pitt's Alicia Talucci won beam.
MSU's Dani Levy won the all around, scoring 38.900. MSU swept the individual events with Jackie Berg picking up wins on bars and floor. Sarena Bumbarger won the beam title and the vault win was a tie between Ashley Noll and Tiara Neal.