USAF has announced that Jeff Robinson has joined the men's coaching staff.
Rachel Spicer, L10 at Metroplex, has committed to Florida according to a Facebook posting. Spicer is the current JO national AA champ (5th V; 4th UB; 3rd BB and FX). She also finished 1st AA at her state and regional meets. She placed 4th AA at the 2009 JO Championships.
Personal Web Page (with video)
Arielle Bulls has committed to Southeast Missouri, according to her family and her recruiting website. She currently trains at Imagine Gymnastics. In 2010, she qualified to the L10 Nationals, where she competed in the Sr. A division. She also competed at the 2009 JO NIT meet.
Link: YouTube.com Channel
Christina Wood, a Level 10 gymnast with Desert Devils in Arizona, has committed to Arizona for the 2012-13 season. Last season she placed 2nd AA (1st BB) at her state meet; 5th at Regionals and 27th AA at JOs. She has been competing as a Level 10 since the 2007 season.
Colin Christ has been named the assistant men's coach at Cal, according to a school release.
Link: Cal Release
Today we honor the heroes of September 11th, 2001, including those who lost their lives. One of those people, Mari-Rae Sopper, closely touched the collegiate gymnastics community. As you may know, Mari-Rae Sopper was Head Coach of the University of California, Santa Barbara's women's gymnastics team. She was also a former standout collegiate gymnast and team captain for Iowa State. Many of you knew her in the capacity of coach, teammate, competitor, colleague and friend. In hours and days following 9/11, many of us suddenly realized the person we knew as "ISUFan", an enthusiastic supporter and contributor on the online college gymnastics forums, was actually Mari-Rae.
The college experience is, in many cases, the most important four years in the prospective student athlete’s life, as it will shape their future personal and professional direction. That being said, securing admission to a college or university that best match students’ desires, strengths, and aspirations is essential.
Tim Rivera has been named Assistant Coach for the William and Mary women's team. Rivera has collegiate coaching experience from various NCAA programs.
Michigan has announced the addition of Rheema Zakharia and Kristin Nagle to the roster. Zakharia was an earlier Michigan commit who was expected to sign last Fall but apparently did not sign in time for that release. Nagle is a L10 Regional qualifier who trained at Farmington Gymnastics. At the 2009 Region V L9 Regionals, she placed 1st on FX.
Link: UM Release
Nebraska has announced the hiring of former Husker athlete John Robinson as an assistant on the Men's team. The 2010 NU grad replaces Phil Cahoy, Sr.
Link: NU Release
Results from the Pan Am Championships Event Finals.
Kayla Ross and Sabrina Vega of the US finished first and second in the All Around competition at the Pan Am Championships. Former DU athlete Jessica Lopez finished third. Stanford's incoming freshman Kristina Vaculik finished sixth.
International Gymnast Magazine articleUSA Gymnastics has agreed to sanction the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association, providing a respected National Governing body for the fledgling sport derived from competitive cheer. The NCATA intends to pursue "emerging sports" status with the NCAA next spring. The lack of a governing association and a standard set of rules were among the evidence cited when a federal judged ruled against Quinnippiac's attempt to cut its women's volleyball squad, and the subsequent conversion of its existing cheer squad to a competitive team (to meet Title IX requirements).
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UF sophomore Marissa King earned a spot on England's Commonwealth Games team and she will compete in India in October.
Elise Gray signed with Illinois State and is on the 2010-2011 roster, according to a site submission. Gray is a L10 who trained at IGI. She placed 26th AA at the 2009 Region V L10 Regionals, after placing 8th AA in 2008.
You can see her site profile here.
AU assistant Kurt Hettinger will remain with the Tiger program, according to a school release. AU recently hired Jeff Graba as their new head coach.
Link: AU Release