March 13, 2006

Hey SWG fans!

It is crazy how time flies by but we are officially done with our regular season. Last weekend, we went down to the LA area to compete against Fullerton and UCLA. It was a busy weekend but also a lot of fun. Seeing Liz get her second and third perfect 10s was amazing and Purnell competed all-around for the first time since last year. There were many highlights but we missed having Tabb and Stacey with us (they both stayed back to get better).

On our day off on Saturday, we were fortunate enough to be able to go to Malibu to Lauren's grandparents' beach house for a day at the beach. We walked along the beach and watched as Kelly and Heather put on wetsuits and went canoeing in the ocean (it took them several attempts to actually get out there as they waves constantly turned them over). We then had dinner, went in the Jacuzzi, and watched a movie before going back to the hotel. The UCLA meet was exciting and although we made a few mistakes, everyone kept their focus and we finished the meet strong. It was the first time that Stanford has beat UCLA in a regular season dual meet so that was very exciting to hear.

This past weekend, we had our last regular season dual meet in Alabama. We left at 4:30 in the morning on Thursday and spent the day traveling and catching up on some much needed sleep on the airplane. Kristen brought her baby Zach which was fun for all of us since he is the cutest baby ever and we enjoyed some good times with each other all weekend long. The competition was exciting and fun as 10,000 people came to watch and support Alabama and our team. Some of their fans like to read up on visiting teams and cheer for them as well knowing that they are not likely to have many of their own fans there. I have got to admit that their fans were some of the nicest I had ever met and we appreciated all their support. The competition went well and although we were not perfect, we continue to make strides and get ready for our post season meets. You can feel the energy and the confidence that keeps on building with each weekend that we compete and this weekend was no exception. We showed ourselves we are right there with teams like Alabama and that with hard work and continued determination, we can do anything.

I think I speak for everyone by saying that we can't wait for what lies ahead. The next couple of weeks are going to be tough as we prepare for finals and get ready for Pac 10s but everyone is committed to giving it their all. That's all for now! Come back for more updates on SWG!

-Pinch-

Alex Pintchouk