April 14, 2008

Hey SWG fans,

We returned to campus last night after competing at our Regional at LSU. It was a great weekend, full of the energy and excitement that SWG brings wherever we go. From coming up with our crazy musicals to letting our studious sides come out watching "The Top 10 Most Extreme Rains" in the locker room before the meet, we enjoyed spending time together and reflecting on everything we have put into this season so far. The coaches decorated our locker room with quotes that we have brought in throughout the year, as well as an amazing poster of pictures from our fall retreat up to Pac-10s. Some of our favorites were the pictures of us collapsed all over the beach after completing the running circuit in Tahoe. Our seniors also performed their Regional cheer from freshman year and the frosh debuted theirs, which had us on the verge of tears (half from laughing so hard, and half from all the sentiment entwined in the memories they recalled). Jokes from our activities spilled over into the meet, creating everything from a new style of march-out to a theme of "Iron Rain."

Underneath all the fun and excitement, we had a sense of purpose and confidence as we walked out onto the floor. We started off a bit shaky on bars, but got all our nerves out there and rocked the rest of the meet. Our last three on bars stepped up and hit some huge routines, which helped put us into a good mindset going into beam. After our amazing beam rotation at Pac 10s, it was difficult to imagine beam getting any more exciting. But it definitely was, and it was hard for the team to stay put in the corral after each hit routine and stuck dismount. Both Nikki and Tabbs received a 10 from one of the judges, and everyone else did an amazing job as well. We had a bye before floor, where we got to rest, refuel, and laugh at some of Swiz's jokes (both intentional and accidental) before it was time to compete. Floor went well, and we were pretty jazzed up by the time vault rolled around. This resulted in some "moby" vaults, and our landings are getting better each weekend. It is exciting to know that even though we scored a season high of 197.525, we still have many areas where we are improving, and are doing so quickly enough that we will peak at just the right time. While LSU edged us out by one tenth, we see this weekend as a great stepping stone to NCAAs. We are all very motivated to get back in the gym and fix the small details that will make the difference when we compete in Athens in less than two weeks.

Thanks for checking in, and GO CARD!!

Tenaya

PS- Come support the men's gym team as they compete for the NCAA title this Friday at Maples!