Baily Gardner, L10 at Geddert's in Michigan, has committed to Minnesota.  Bailey placed 2nd AA and 1st on floor at her 2012 state meet.  She won her regional meet and placed 1st on vault and floor, and she placed 12th AA at JOs.

Bio Page

Nicole Artz, L10 at Champion Gymnastics USA in Michigan, has committed to Michigan, per her club's announcement.  This season Nicole won the Circle of Stars, the Wisconsin Dells and the LGA Lucky Invite meets and picked up various event titles along the way.  A perennial JO competitor, she placed 7th AA and 1st on FX at this year's meet.

Website

Kira Frederick, L10 at North Florida Gymnastics, has committed to Michigan State. In 2012, Kira placed 1st AA at the Charleston Challenge, the March Madness Invite and Region 8 regionals, qualifying to JOs.

Video Channel

Jennie Laeng is committed to Nebraska, according to an interview earlier this year by the Region 5 Insider.  A L10 at Olympic Dreams, she placed 8th AA, 5th on UB and 7th on BB at the 2012 L10 Junior Olympic Nationals.  She also won the Jr C division NIT AA last season, after finished 12th AA and 1st on VT at the 2011 Region V L10 Regionals. 

Link:  Video at YouTube.com

Ashley Lambert has committed to Nebraska per Gym-style.com, her webmaster.  Ashley came back from a significant injury for her 2012 season, starting with a couple of events and working towards competing all events by March.  She won the vault and beam at the World Class meet in January and turned in very strong vault and beam performances throughout the season.  Her 5th place AA showing at regionals qualified her to JOs, where she finished 22nd AA.

Personal Website

Nicole Gendusa, a L10 from IGI, has accepted an offer from Illinois.  She'll join the team for the 2014-2015 season.  She is a two-time state AA champ, the 2011 state beam champ and the 2012 state bars champ.  This season she placed 7th AA at regionals and qualified to JOs, where she placed 3rd on bars, 8th on beam.

Link:  YouTube.com Channel

10 Misconceptions To Avoid In The Recruiting Process

Here are ten common misconceptions to avoid during the recruiting process:

1. “I only want to compete for a Top 10 gymnastics team in college”: Your focus should be on finding the right fit both academically and athletically even if it is not one of the Top 10 gymnastics teams.
2. “My club coach is going to get me a scholarship”: Many club coaches are very helpful in making connections, but do not rely on this.
3. “If I am a walk-on I will be treated differently”: This is a great question to ask the college coach. Typically the walk-on athlete is expected to do the same as any other athlete on the team and treated the same as well.
4. “Small colleges have weak gymnastics teams”: Check out the online videos (like on YouTube.com or Gymnastike), it might surprise you how strong the smaller schools are and how the skill level has grown in the past 5 years.
5. “I am only applying to my first choice schools”: It is best to have several “back up” options just in case you do not get accepted to your first choices.
6. “Coaches will only notice me if I compete at Level 10 Nationals”: Coaches realize injuries, illness and other things happen for gymnast. Receiving a phone call and your webpage with an email can be just as “eye catching” to the college coaches.
7. “The gymnastics college coach must want me since I keep receiving academic information”: Sometimes the college coach may not even know the school is sending academic information to you. Academic information is typically prompted by your test scores from high school.
8. “I don’t need to tell the college coaches about ‘all’ my injuries”: Starting the relationship with honesty and integrity is very important.
9. “I have to be strong on all four events to receive an athletic scholarship”: Many coaches are looking for the All-Around gymnast, but you never know when they might need an athlete on three or two events that you may excel at.
10. “I am only considering colleges where I can receive a full athletic scholarship”: Don’t limit your options in the beginning. If you find a school that has your academic interest you may be eligible for academic and athletic combined scholarship.

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.

Ohio State announced the signing of Andrea Vasquez to a letter of intent.  Vasquez' commit was covered in a previous news item at the site.

Link:  Ohio State Release

Jordan Hardison, L10 at Salto Gymnastics in Wisconsin, has committed to KSU according to Gym-style.com, her webmaster.  In 2012, Jordan won floor titles at most of her meets, including her state meet, where she also finished 1st on vault.  The finished 7th AA at regionals and 30th AA at JOs.

Personal Website

Destiny Ezell, L10 at Tampa Bay Turners in Florida, will join the Utah State team this fall according to her club's facebook page.  She finished in the top 10 at her meets this season, including an 8th place finish at states and a 7th place finish at regionals.  She placed 41st AA at JOs.

Personal Website