October 4, 2009

Hey SWG fans! This week wasn't quite as eventful as the last, which was nice because the team finally got to settle into our regular routines of balancing class, gym, and fun. For the past few weeks, we have been mainly focusing on basics and conditioning in the gym. This week, however, we finally got to throw big tricks, piece skills together, and even perform some full routines! It was apparent that everyone worked really hard over the summer because many girls showcased new skills while making their old routines and skills look effortless. Some of the highlights were Allyse's huge Tkatchev release on bars, Nicole Pechanec's (Peach) graceful tour jete half on beam, and Shelley Jo's back layout 1 ½ twist to punch front lay-out full on floor. On top of that, Blair and Tenaya proved that you can teach an old dog new tricks! After three years of never stepping on the beam, Blair showed a full beam routine. And Tenaya caught a Jaeger on her second try without doing one for three years!! Yea, my senior class is pretty freaking amazing : After blocking some time this week to set team goals for the year, we now have a clearer picture of the necessary steps that we need to take in order to reach our goals. We have very high expectations of ourselves this year and we are committed to doing what it takes inside and outside the gym in order to set us up for success. We definitely have lots of work to do, but we know that we want it bad enough, so anything is possible. On Saturday, SWG cheered on the Stanford Football team as we defended our first-place Pac-10 ranking after beating UCLA!!!! Peach and Shelley got to the game early enough to save us seats about two rows from the field. Other than that, we are all trying to stay healthy and avoid the swine flu, a feat that is getting harder and harder as more people in dorms are getting sick. Check back next week to hear about the exciting news of the coming week! -Carly (CJ)