The Buckeyes rolled to a big win over visiting Kent State, hitting a 196.925. Sarah Miller led the way, winning the vault and beam. Teammate Melanie Shaffer won the floor while another Buckeye, Colleen Dean, tied for the bars title with Kent State's Erin Rothrock.
Link: Ohio State
Georgia defeated the visiting Bruins, led by Kat Ding's 39.65 AA win. Ding also won a share of titles on vault, beam and floor. She tied on vault with UCLA's Tauny Frattone. On beam, she tied with teammate Shayla Worley. Finally on floor, she tied with UCLA's Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs. GymDog Chelsea Davis won the only event that Ding didn't, the bars.
Link: UGA Release
Towson posted a big tri-meet win, led by senior Lindsay Poplaski's wins on the beam and in the AA. Teammate Kacy Cantanzaro won the vault and bars. Two more Tigers, Avis Hixon and Britney Russell, tied for the floor title.
Link: Towson Release
Dani Levy led the Spartans, winning bars and floor. Teammate Ashley Noll tied for the vault title with UIC's Chantel Turk. UIC's Catherine Dion won the beam.
Link: MSU Release
Illinois posted a 355.1 to down the visiting Buckeyes.
Link: Ohio State Release
PSU edged visiting Michigan and UNC in a close-fought contest after PSU struggled a bit on bars. Sharaya Musser led the way, posting a 39.65 in the AA. She also won the vault, beam and floor. For Michigan, Katie Zurales and Britnee Martinez tied for first.
Link: PSU Release
Host Ball State defeated Bowling Green by a narrow margin Friday night. Nicole Allen led the way, posting a 38.775 in the AA. Teammate Aftyn Siemer won floor while teammate Kayla Kmiecik tied for the bars title with BGSU's Monica Eaton. For BGSU, Danielle Wishart added a win on vault while Jamilah Ali won beam.
Link: Ball State Release
Claudia Salinas, L10 at US Gymnastics in New Jersey, has committed to Rutgers. She recently competed one event at the Excalibur meet and won the beam title. She was the L9 Eastern beam champion in 2008.
Gilly Hogue, L10 at Gymnastics and More in South Carolina, has committed to ASU. She qualified to JO Nationals last year, finishing 15th AA. This season she picked up an AA win at the Atlantis Crown (1st AA; 1st BB/FX) and she swept the events at the Beach Break meet. So far this season she has garnered three vault titles, three beam titles, three floor titles and one bars title.
Samantha Ward, L10 at Unique Sports Academy in Maryland, has committed to Towson. Ward qualified to regionals last season. This season she has finished 5th AA at the Maryland Classic and 4th AA at both Circle of Stars and the I Love NY Cup, where she finished 1st AA on bars.
Tiffany Foy, L10 at Everest in North Carolina, has committed to EMU. Foy qualified to JO Nationals last year. This season she won the Crown of the Carolinas (1st AA; 1st UB/BB/FX), finished 3rd AA at the National Judges Cup and 7th AA at the Atlanta Crown meet.
Alix Faden, a L10 at Gold Medal, has reportedly committed to PSU. At the 2011 L10 Nationals, she placed 41st AA. At the 2012 Parkette Invitational, she placed 3rd AA in her division.
Link: YouTube.com Channel
The college search for athletes is a quest, and unless you are the blue chip kid that the coaches are hovering over, you need a vehicle to drive the recruiting process in your favor. Personally, I believe the manner and how often you communicate with college coaches can make a big difference in your results.
Chelsea Raineri, L10 at Silvia's in Pa., has committed to ISU. Raineri competed in the 2011 NIT, finishing 3rd AA. This season she has finished in the top five in all of her meets, including a first place finish (1st AA; 1st V/FX) at the Maryland Classic. She has picked up three 1st place vault titles so far this season.
Our annual listing of "Superlatives" makes its 2012 debut! A "Superlative" is our listing of FIG "E" or higher level skills and 5.3 Start Value and higher vaults that have been attemped in NCAA competition. It's a way to recognize those athletes who continue to challenge themselves and the sport by competing these ultra difficult skills. At the same time, we recognize that training and competing high level skills could result in a higher rate of injury.
This list is incomplete! We'll update it as you provide the names of the athletes and their skills performed. Please submit your entries into This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
OU leads the way in the Troester.com GymInfo National Rankings for Men, for the week of February 27th. PSU is 2nd and Illinois is 3rd.
Stanford's Eddie Penev takes over the top spot in the AA rankings, in addition to the vault standings. OU's Jake Dalton is still king of the floor. Cal's Glen Ishino continues his lead on PH, while Scott Rosenthal holds steady at the top of the rings standings. Michigan's Sam Mikulak is the top p-bar worker, while Illini Paul Ruggeri is the top high bar guy.