April 17, 2006

Hi everyone,

I'd just like to thank Steph for writing the last In The Locker Room. I know that was not an easy one to write and one that nobody wanted to do it. Things were pretty sad in the gym last week. There is still an air of disappointment around a lot of us, but we are looking more towards the future instead of dwelling on the past. Right now everyone is very focused on Nat and Tab and supporting them as much as possible. It's tough trying to keep up routines and enthusiasm without your team there for support, so we are all continuing to come into the gym and train.

Since most of the team is finished with season, during practice a lot of us are working on new skills and trying to clean up and perfect old skills. We are also working a lot on our conditioning and trying to determine what we need to do over the summer to stay in shape and come back kicking next year.

Most of the team is planning on driving to Oregon this coming weekend to go and watch Nat and Tabby. We are going on Thursday night after classes and driving through the night to get there for the competition. It should be fun. I'm very excited about it, because it is another chance we get to bond and hang out with the girls and especially the seniors. They are all hanging around next year, which is fabulous, so they will still be part of the team.

Thank you all so much for supporting us and allowing us to share such an amazing season with you. It didn't end the way it was supposed to, but that just fires us up for next year. With five fantastic freshmen coming in next year, SWG is going to be unstoppable!

Heather

April 10, 2006

Hey y'all,

Well, I'm not really sure where to start or what to say. We're all pretty sad and disappointed right now here at SWG. This was not how this spectacular season was supposed to end. We have worked so hard this year and have made great strides since last season, and we're just stunned that this season has been cut short so abruptly. Regionals is a hitter's meet, and we simply did not hit when it counted last night. We had an off night, perhaps because we were nervous, perhaps because we were feeling the pressure, but for whatever reason, we did not hit. And now we have to stay home.

I will choose to focus on the positives of this season, though. It has been so much fun to work out this year because of the energy and happiness in the gym that I am sure is unmatched by any other team out there. Every single day, the gym was a place of laughter and joy. I feel that this is the strength of our team. From Cancun to Bama, we had an awesome regular season, and then the highlight really was Pac-10's. We had to earn every bit of that win, and we really stepped up to the occasion. That's what made that win so sweet.

I would like to thank all of our fans, friends, and family for supporting us this year. Y'all were awesome! And the coaches, y'all were great, too. To our awesome seniors, I have learned so much from y'all, and I'm so sorry that y'all's awesome four years here on the Farm had to end in such a way. Y'all deserve more, and we will all miss y'all so much in the gym next year. To Stacy, who is the hardest worker on this team, thank you for setting such a great example of perseverance for us. To Aimee, Alex, Lauren, Liz, and Tabby, I love all of y'all so much and I am so glad that we still have two years left together! And to the class of '09, who have added so much spunk and spirit to this already amazing team, I look forward to the next couple of years with y'all.

Believe me, starting immediately, SWG is going to be working our tails off to get ready for next season. This small obstacle is not going to stop us from doing something great, so y'all don't doubt us for even one second. We are going to do something that will go down in program history and establish Stanford University among the college greats of gymnastics. Y'all mark my words, I know it.

To close, I would like to say congratulations to Alabama, and especially to Oregon State. They are hosting NCAA's this year, and I am so happy for them that they qualified. Both of those teams are awesome. I would also like to say congrats to Natty Fo and Tabby, who qualified in the all around to compete at NCAA's. And you know what, a lot of us are probably gonna go up to the great state of Oregon to support them. ROAD TRIP!!!!! GO SWG!!!!!

Until next time,
Stephanie Gentry

April 4, 2006

I cannot believe that the season and my career are almost over. We have Regionals this weekend, and I am really excited. At this point in the year, everyone is a little sore from competing so many weekends in a row. As we talked about in our team meeting at the end of practice today, this is the point in the season where our hearts and minds take over. We have to decide how bad we want it and dig deep. I know that this team wants it bad. We have invested way too much in our gymnastics and in each other to just treat these last meets lightly. We are hungry and determined, and we believe in ourselves and in each other. We know we have worked our butts off and that we are a fighting team.

As a senior, I have a sense of urgency to make this year really special. And I feel so incredibly blessed to have a team where everyone has the same sense of urgency as I do, senior or not. I truly see that every single girl on the team has invested her heart into this journey and everyone cares so much. Another thing I am so thankful for is how much fun we all have together. When I reflect on the season, I actually don't think about the meets first. I think about the times we have shared together outside of the gym, traveling together, riding in the vans together, taking crazy pictures, and laughing so hard that we cry. I know that these memories will last me a lifetime. I know the destination is important, but the journey is even more important, and this season has been one of the most enjoyable journeys of my life.

Natalie Foley

March 28, 2006

March Madness

The march began in So Cal with a long weekend of competitions in Fullerton and in Los Angeles. The team continued rolling the next weekend with a great competition against Alabama's Crimson Tide. SWG did not travel or compete the following weekend. Instead we got hit with a double whammie: "hard week cycle" for gym, conditioning and routine-wise, and our dead week, the week before finals! With finals approaching and Pac-10s just around the corner, emotions were flying. The last two weeks were definitely a struggle-a struggle that persisted all the way to the last event of the Pac-10 Championships. Still, everyone was able to pull through to get the work done both in and out of the gym.

The Pac-10 Championships, held by Oregon State University this past weekend, started off with a bang. Senior Natty Fo opened up the meet with a rock-solid yurchenko-full. The rest of the team followed up beautifully for an overall team vault score of 49.225. Next we swung on over to the uneven bars. I think we had a tad too much adrenaline, which threw off the rhythm a bit, but we still had a strong showing and got ready to step things up on balance beam. I would like to take this opportunity to make a huge shout out to sophomore Lauren Elmore. She is amazing! In only her second competition of the season, Elmo led the Card off with a flawless beam performance. Her strength and confidence spread to the rest of the girls and together SWG was able to get a season high 49.5. Yay! Going into our final event, floor exercise, we weren't sure about the scores, but we knew we needed to earn every tenth if we wanted to win the Championship. All the madness, the work, the hours from the previous weeks brought us closer together as a team and we knew we were ready for the challenge. We rallied all the way until the last beat of music played and tumbled our way to another season high, this time with a team score of 197.1. March madness came to an end with a hard-earned VICTORY! I'm proud to announce Stanford Women's Gymnastics as the 2006 Pac-10 Conference Champions AND Kristen Smyth as the 2006 Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year!

I would also like to take this time to thank all of the family, friends, and fans that made the trip to Oregon to support us. We could hear you cheering and could not have done it without you guys! We hope to see you all on April 8th at our Regional Meet, which is being held in our very own Maples Pavilion. Be sure to buy tickets early to get good seats. We love you all and hope that April showers you with happiness and success!

See you in a couple of weeks!

-Tabbs :)

March 21, 2006

So this week has been a little stressful because we have been training very hard for Pac-10s and we have been studying for our finals coming up. Practice has been getting ever more exciting, especially after this past Saturday's workout. We did a tenative run through of what Pac-10s will be like with all the byes between events and pressure routines.

This meet is the longest meet of our season because there are seven teams in the Pac-10, and with only four events there is a lot of waiting--although in the past we haven't had a problem filling the time (let's just say we bring speakers and good music to dance to). I figure this meet is more like a practice of mental and physical toughness for NCAAs and will be a walk in the park for us. From watching our run through on Saturday we are going to be quite a force to reckon with--we are cleaning up our form and our stick percentages are only going up.

Post season is the best part of the whole season because it's when our gymnastics becomes refined and perfect, and these competitions are the most fun to compete in. After our close meet with Alabama, we were not discouraged and are only more motivated to prove to everyone that we are the team to beat. It's going to be a dog fight from here on out

Go Card!

Jessica Louie

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

February 26, 2006

Hey y'all!

Wow, I can't believe how fast this season is going by. Friday night versus Washington was Senior Night, the last time the seniors competed in Burnham Pavilion. All I can say is that it was another awesome night! For Senior Night, the underclassmen always do something special for the seniors. We picked the theme of Three Musketeers since there are three of them, and then decorated the locker room and made them outfits accordingly. We all definitely had a great time preparing for it because our seniors are all such special and amazing people. The competition was great, too. It was my first night back from my knee injury, and although I didn't do my best on vault, it was exciting nevertheless. Our energy was outstanding, and everyone had a great fun time. At the end of the meet the seniors were honored with their parents, and Kristen made a speech about how great they are and Mike made a video about them that made some of us cry. We'll certainly miss them next year, but the season's not over yet, and I have a feeling that it will be a memorable year for the seniors and the rest of us. Next weekend we'll be competing in the LA area against Fullerton and UCLA. We're ready, and we can't wait! GO CARD!

~Steph

February 19, 2006

Hi SWG Fans!

“Home Sweet Home”

After a long run of away meets, we returned to the cozy atmosphere of Stanford’s Burnham Pavilion to take on the University of Arizona Wildcats. For the freshmen, this was our first meet at Burnham and it was an unforgettable experience. We had an explosive vault rotation to start us off and the energy was high. The first five bar competitors set the stage for Liz Tricase to anchor the team with two, count them, TWO reverse hechts in a row and a stuck dismount for a PERFECT 1O!!! Congrats Liz! On beam we posted our highest team score this year after having seven hit routines. By the time floor came, the team’s energy had taken hold of the crowd and we put on a show. I went down on my last pass but Alex stepped up and nailed a floor set amidst the pressure situation; the mark of a true leader. Natalie mounted her routine with a newly added full-in, which most 22 year olds cannot do, and finished her routine beautifully. Liz pleased the crowd with her entrancing routine and then left the floor for Nicole, a.k.a. “the rock”, who did a seemingly perfect floor routine. Tabby took to the floor with a performance that the crowd and judges loved, despite the fact that she had been under the weather that week. Even after being sick, Tabby scored an all-around personal best and never stopped smiling! Way to go Tabby!!! Heather Purnell made her floor exercise debut in the exhibition spot. She really made Canada proud with her awesome dancing and even with a mistake on her last pass, she left the crowd satisfied. As a team, we got this season’s highest score of 196.875 and we still have room for improvement! Friday night had some amazing highlights but most importantly, our team really moved as one powerful force and proved true the phrase “divided we fall, united we stand.”

Next week we take on Washington at home and I hope to have as much fun as I did last weekend! Thanks for reading!

-Kelly Fee :)

February 13, 2006

Hey SWG Fans!

We've had another exciting weekend! Amidst the stress of midterms which we are all preparing for we got to have a little bit of fun in the competition arena. This weekend we were in Tempe, Arizona competing against the Arizona Sun Devils. We started with an awesome showing on bars! Nikki started us off with one of her best routines so far this season. The energy and excitement was amazing. We then moved to vault where we did some big vaults, but didn't quite get the landings we were looking for. However, we still put up some great scores, a highlight being Liz's enormous yurchenko full. Floor was next, and it is so much fun to watch these girls perform. They are really starting to show off their routines more and more every time. After floor we pulled together and calmed down for beam. Heather started us off with a very solid routine. That was definitely one of the highlights of the entire meet. Another highlight for me was Steph. She did an exhibition and it was awesome. We can't wait to get her back in the line up. And now, the most exciting part... We won and we broke a 196 for the first time this season! We are so excited to have competed so well, but we also know that we gave a lot away and can do even better! This is truly an amazing team. You can just feel the energy, joy, and confidence that we share when we're out on the competition floor.

Another exciting thing this weekend is that we got to see Carly Janiga. She's going to be a freshman next year and we were so happy she could come watch us! We can't wait for her and the other four to come next year. We also have two recruits in this weekend. It is so much fun to get to meet these girls and have a part in the future of this amazing program.

Thanks for checking in with us! We hope you'll join us in Burnham Pavilion on Friday as we take on the Arizona Wildcats!!!

Lauren Elmore

February 6, 2006

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for checking in and keeping up with SWG! This past weekend was an exciting one for our team as we put in a good performance at CAL. We started off a bit shaky on bars but the team picked it up on vault and had an incredible line up. One of our performance goals for this week was to stick 5 out of 6 landings on every event and the girls on vault did a great job, we totaled four stuck landings. As we moved from vault to floor we could feel the momentum building and everyone was ready to hit. The highlight on floor this weekend was Liz's comeback. This was her first floor performance of the 2006 season and what a way to start. Way to go Liz! Beam was our final event and the past week in training we had really been focusing on improving our mental approach on this event. The preparation worked beautifully and the beam girls did a spectacular job. Purnell started us off with a solid routine and even more exciting was the fact that it was her first college routine ever! Beam continued going well and Aimee finished us on a high note with a stuck routine and a stuck landing…great job Precourt!

Another exciting thing this week was that it was Mike's birthday on Sunday. I won't say exactly how old he is but let's just say that he has already finished his ascent of the "hill." (Sorry Mike, I just couldn't resist!) We threw him a surprise birthday party on Sunday. We usually have practice at 1pm but Kristen and Chris changed practice to 10:30am without telling Mike. So when he arrived around 1pm we were finished with workout and ready and waiting in the office with party decorations and a great chocolate cake.

Well, that about sums up last week, except for one thing…midterms are in full swing now so it should be a pretty busy around here these next few weeks.

Thanks a lot for reading and have a great week.

Stacy

January 30, 2006

Hey SWG Fans!

First off I would just like to say how excited I am to be back in the competition arena and am so excited for what this season will bring. With three meets under our belts, we are learning how we work together in competition and I have no doubt we will continue to get better and better every weekend.

With last weekend off, we were able to get some extra training in and prepare ourselves for the season ahead. We have continued our morning conditioning program as well I’m especially enjoying the “free spar” rounds of the kickboxing. J The academic quarter is getting underway as well and midterms start next week!

The end of the week found us traveling North to Oregon to battle the Beavers. Though the end result of the meet was not as we would have liked, we learned a lot from the experience and are moving forward with a new determination and mindset. The meet did have several highlights. The vault lineup was amazing and we made some new adds on floor as well. Fee put a triple full in her first past, and I think the highlight of my night was Nicole opening with a HUGE full-in! Way to go!

I feel so blessed to be a part of such an amazing team…one with so many strong, amazing individuals that come together to make something great. I can’t wait to see what we will accomplish this season. Be sure to check in again next week, especially to hear about the victory we plan claim at Cal!

Aimee Precourt

January 23, 2006

Hey SWG Fans...

After two strong weeks of competition I am so excited and ready to take on the rest of the season! Having the chance to compete for a team with such amazing energy and team unity is alot of fun. I feel like we have already been able to show off our hard work that was completed during the preseason.

As a Freshman I was nervous going into the first meet, but with an entire team behind you everything felt so much easier. Last weekend it was great to compete in front of a home crowd. Having almost all the fans in the arena yelling and cheering for us was such an exhilarating feeling. Thanks again for supporting the team!

This week was our last free weekend before season gets into full swing. For that reason, our practices were dedicated to increasing the number of routines on each event as well as working on new skills that should be added in the upcoming weeks of competition. Although, keeping our bodies healthy was the main focus! Just wanted to give shout outs to Elmo and Steph. It has been exciting to see them do a little more gymnastics each day. Also to Lou who impressed us by stepping up to the challenge of adding more depth to our floor team. It was very hard to tell that she had not tumbled for about two years. Good work girls! On Friday we will be taking on Oregon State, so make sure to check the website for the results. Thanks again for checking up with SWG!

GO CARD!

Nicole Ourada:)

January 17, 2006

"There's no place like home!"

I just want to start off by thanking everyone for their continued encouragement and support. We had our first home meet this weekend and it was so comforting and exciting to hear and see all our friends, family, and fans cheering up in the stands! You guys are awesome :

It's hard to believe that just a couple of days ago we were soaking up the tropical warmth of Cancun, napping on the hammock, frolicking on the beach, and racing our wave runners into the sunset. All kidding aside, we had an incredible time both on and off the competition floor. But just as our tans were beginning to show it was back to the rainy skies of San Francisco. We were back in our dorms by 1 AM Tuesday morning and then some of us had 9 AM class that very same day. I remember waking up and letting out a sigh as I listened to the pitter-patter of the raindrops on the roof. I looked over at my roommate and told her sadly, "We aren't in Cancun anymore!" Luckily, we had the day off to settle and adjust back into the real world.

However, just as we were beginning to catch our breath we were back out on the competition floor, pink ribbons in our hair (for Breast Cancer Awareness) and pink rhinestones on our cheeks (to match :). I have to say that the team this year is truly unique. The chemistry and passion between all of the girls and the coaches is evident and shines through each performance. I personally want to take this time to make a shout out to the freshmen. They continue to amaze me with their confidence and grace. It was their first home meet, which can be pretty nerve-wracking, yet they were all so calm, cool, and collected. Great job girlies! Another major highlight, in my opinion, came from Lizzle on bars. I believe she is the first gymnast in NCAA history to successfully complete two release moves (Tkatchev-Tkatchev) in a row in a competitive setting AND to top it off she stuck her landing! WOW! What a way to wrap up the week. The home meet this weekend was like the fondue fountain in Cancun… divine! Just kidding. It was good fun and I'm glad that we were able to share it with all of you : Thanks again for coming. We love you guys!

Tabitha Yim

January 12, 2006

Wow….what a trip! The past 5 days in Cancun have been amazing. We left at 4am on Wednesday for sunny Cancun and spent the first few days at the Moon Palace where the competition was held. It was fun being in an all-inclusive resort right on the beach (I am such a beach person!). On Thursday, we had a light practice to feel the equipment and then spent an hour outside before relaxing in our rooms for the next night. In the evening, we learned some salsa dancing in the club at the hotel, which was so much fun those participating and watching. So if I ever need to salsa, I know exactly what to do now. The rest of the night we spent together playing games and learning some juicy secrets about each other which was hilarious.

Most of Friday was spent relaxing and getting ready for the competition. When 7pm came, the energy was great with everyone excited to go and show all the hard work that we have put in during pre-season. It was amazing to watch how every girl rose up when it was their turn to compete for the team and when the pressure was on, especially Natty Fo and Fee…you go girls!! The competition was so much fun and everyone on the whole team did a great job as we started our season. We met the goals that we had set out to achieve together and everyone is excited already for next weekend at home. After the meet, we had a team dinner and hung out. Saturday was spent by the pool, packing, relaxing and getting a tan (one of my goals for the trip : )

In the afternoon, we left the Moon Palace and went to a condo hotel for the remainder of the trip. On Sunday, most of the girls went to Xcarat, a fun all-inclusive park near Cancun with snorkeling, swimming with the dolphins, beautiful Mexican wildlife, and so much more. Some of the girls went swimming with the dolphins and loved it, while others enjoyed snorkeling by the beach and seeing different animals and Mayan ruins found throughout. Everyone left with more color after a whole day in the sun and great stories to tell. On Monday, we spent our last morning in Cancun as we did a little beach conditioning and shopping at the market. By 1, it was time to leave for the airport and fly back home. Overall, the trip was so much fun and full of great stories. Not only was it great to start our season in Cancun but also to start off on the right foot. The energy was unbelievable and I could not imagine a better time with the girls that I love. A big thank you goes to Kristen, Chris, and Mike for organizing an amazing trip that we will never forget. I am so excited for the next 3 months because if this past week was any indication, they will be awesome! GO CARD!

- 3 Pinch -

Alex Pintchouk

January 2, 2006

Hi Everyone!

Without a doubt, this has been the best winter break we've ever had as a team in my opinion. I got to go all the way home for the first time since this summer, and it was wonderful to spend christmas with my family. And though our break was cut short I had missed my teammates so much that it was great to come back and finish fine tuning for season. Everyone came into the gym and showed that they had worked really hard over the break, and were ready to go...the energy during practice was amazing, even while we piled on the conditioning to make sure everyone was as fit as possible going into season. Our impromptu intrasquads undoubtedly contributed to the morale, as everyone was looking strong and confident, hitting routine after routine.

Since the dorms are still closed for winter break, we are all staying in a hotel together, which just means getting even closer and having so much fun ;) With no homework to do, we get to work hard in the gym and spend quality time with all these girls I love so much :) After bringing in the new year there was a Christmas party at Kristen's house, involving amazing jambalaya, gift exchanging, gingerbread house-making (well, it was supposed to be christmas trees made out of gingerbread stars, but me and Fee just happen to be extra creative), charades, and more...overall, just good times.

Its hard to believe that we leave for Cancun in less than three days, but even more than that, its just extremely exciting that our season is finally upon us. There is definitely something special in the gym and I believe we are all so ready to get started. Its a new year...its 2006--time for a new quarter, new classes (which, strangely, I'm really excited about), and an amazing season. Going into my last season I'm making sure I appreciate every moment, and I can't wait to see everyone's hard work pay off. Go Card! :)

Glyn Sweets

December 12, 2005

Hi Everyone!

The pre-season is wrapping up as we approach finals and Christmas break. Everyone is looking really good in the gym and ready to start competition. Mentally and emotionally, we are so excited and motivated for season to actually begin…and for finals to be over!! What a way to start our season with our first meet in Cancun. We almost didn't get to go for various reasons, so now that we are planning on going, we are all the more thrilled.

As the senior captain on the team, I can genuinely say that I am enjoying gymnastics and being in the gym around my coaches and teammates more than I ever have in my career. This team is truly something special. I feel like we are family. I can't remember laughing so much at practice while still working harder than ever beside my teammates, knowing that they are working their hardest too. Everyone is so self motivated and eager, which makes the gym a special place to be. A metaphor that comes to mind is that we are flying in V formation together. We are all on the same page, moving eagerly towards our goals for the season. We have one heart and passion, and it truly is powerful, magical, and exciting. To have a team where every girl is passionate, committed, determined, and close to one another is very rare. So to feel like we are already flying in V before the season has even started makes me excited about what is to come. We can do anything we put our minds to. I am so appreciative for every day I get to spend with my team doing gymnastics. I don't take a single day for granted, because it will be over in the blink of an eye.

Natalie Foley

December 2, 2005

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe this quarter is almost over! We are coming up on finals and final assignments right now, so things are about to get a little crazy with school. Gymnastics on the other hand is going very well. We have been working very hard in the gym and it is sure paying off. We have been training lots of routines and everyone looks really good. It's been a lot of fun for me getting back to real gymnastics after my knee injury and it's so nice to have everyone back in the gym. We had a nice little break for Thanksgiving (mine involved pizza in the dorm, which was kind of fun), but everyone is refreshed from the break and raring to go. We just found out today that we are going to Cancun for sure, so everyone is very excited about that. I think that will give us that extra little bit, when it comes to pushing through the hard days. I'm super excited about it and about the fundraiser we are having for the competition. We are having a little coaching clinic, where the team will be coaching kids. I'm so excited about that too.

As always the team is working so well together. Everyone is FEEding ( ahaha) off the positive energy that is in the gym. With all the craziness of school right now, the gym is such a good place to go to be with friends and get away from homework for a couple hours. The gym feels like home now, it is providing a sense of family here where we are all so far away from own families. I can't wait to get the season going. I'm positive it's going to be great. Thanks for checking in!

YAY CARD!

Heather Purnell

November 26, 2005

Hey y’all!

I hope y’all had a very happy Thanksgiving! Mine was awesome. I got to go home to Dallas for a couple of days and visited with friends and family, ate lots of great food, and had lots of fun just lying around relaxing. We had kind of an untraditional Thanksgiving at our house because we all decided that we don’t really like turkey much so we had steak instead haha.

My sister and I also saw Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley, and I really liked it. I haven’t actually read the book, but my sister has and she said that the movie corresponded pretty well with the book, which is a rare delight when it comes to movies based on books. (I also saw the fourth Harry Potter movie and was disappointed that they changed so much and left so much out, but I guess that is to be expected since the book was so big, and overall it was probably my favorite Harry Potter movie so far. I guess that goes to show that books are always better than movies haha).

OK, now I’m just rambling. We got back to campus today and had a practice this afternoon. The froshies aren’t back yet though--they’re staying at home until Sunday. I think Thanksgiving break has really refreshed us all, and was just what we needed leading up to the end of this quarter with finals and papers and stuff just around the corner.

Today’s workout was great, and I think that all of us upperclassmen are very happy to be back in the gym and can’t wait until Sunday when the whole team will be working out together again. OK that’s all for now. Y’all have a fun and safe holiday season!

Love,
Steph
Stephanie Gentry

November 21, 2005

Hello everyone!

It's hard to believe that almost ten weeks have flown by since we came back to school! Thanksgiving is only a few days away!! These past few months have just been awesome for us here at Stanford. The level of difficulty we're performing in the gym is so exciting and all of us have been working very hard to prepare for this year. I'd especially like to point out the extra hard work that Louie and Heather have been putting in as they've been coming back from their surgeries. Louie has been working so hard through some problems with her ankle, and Purnell has been progressing on all four events to get ready for season. Through all of it they've maintained such positive attitudes and have been relentlessly supportive of the rest of us. Hopefully when it's safe we'll be able to have them in our line-ups-we need them!

There is one exception to the good stuff, however. We unfortunately lost Lauren to a foot surgery a few days ago, but everything went well with the procedure and she's in good spirits. The rest of us are probably sadder than she is-we miss her!! (Love you Lauren) ;-)

Now that the bad news is out of the way, onto the good news. Yesterday was our first intrasquad of the year, and everyone did a great job! It's awesome to see everyone have their routines almost solidified at this point in the year. To give a quick recap, we had six vaulters throw 10.0 vaults, a very deep bar line-up, solid beam routines, and exciting floor routines (most of us did tumbling into the resi to avoid some pounding, but a few people did passes on the floor). Also, Pinch and Tabby debuted their new floor routines, and I only have one thing to say about them…AWESOME! Their floor routines are so cool and they do a great job of performing them. There are a few other girls who are finishing up some choreography with Kristen right now, too.

This intrasquad was a really great experience for us to have at the present time. It gave us a chance to see our progress since the beginning of the year and showed how our hard work is starting to pay off. It also gave us a chance to start coming together as a group mentally, and it helped us figure out how we work in a meet-like setting. As we continue to prepare for competition season, our team chemistry seems to be growing and it's just making us more anxious to get out there and perform for everyone! We were even lucky enough to have had some people come out and watch us-thanks to those of you who came to the intrasquad!!

That's about it for now! Thanks for checking in on us! We really appreciate all of your support because we wouldn't be the program we are if it weren't for all of you who support us! SEE YOU OUT ON THE COMPETITION FLOOR!!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!….HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!!!!

GO CARD!!!

Liz Tricase =)

November 14, 2005

"Another week has passed and we are looking better than ever! This week we did a lot of great gymnastics. We had a few intrasquads on beam and bars. They were awesome! Seven for seven in the beam intrasquad- pretty amazing. Everyone is doing really well. It's so fun to be in the gym and see everyone putting routines together.

On an individual basis we had some outstanding performances as well. Tabby and Alex have been putting the finishing touches on beautiful new floor routines and have even added their tumbling to them now. Heather is adding more and more each day, and I've seen some awesome beam sets from her. Also on Friday, there was a little bit of playing into the pit on vault where we saw a few Yurchenko double fulls! There have also been some exciting new bar skills from Aimee and Steph!

This week we spent some time setting goals and talking about what makes a good team successful. As season approaches it was good to bring the big picture into focus and look at what we want to accomplish. Believe me, we're looking forward to a spectacular year!

Thanks for checking in with us! GO STANFORD!"

Lauren Elmore

November 7, 2005

This week was an exciting one for our team - we had three birthdays! Lauren and Tabby turned 20, on the 1st and the 2nd of November and Heather turned 19 on the 5th. For Tabby and Lauren's birthdays, Liz and some other girls on the team planned a surprise party for Tuesday night. For Heather's birthday a bunch of us went over to her dorm room while she was at brunch with her sister and decorated it with balloons, signs and streamers. Plus, Chris brought a cake and candles for all three of the girls to practice on Friday! Needless to say we had a lot of celebrating last week.

Unfortunately, the week wasn't all fun and games. We are in the midst of midterms and last week seemed to be pretty packed full of exams for everyone on the team, which of course means not much sleep. Despite the fact that we were all pretty bogged down with work we had a great week in the gym. Here are a few of the highlights: Heather's knee seems to be healing really fast and she started tumbling on the real floor! Also, Liz is working tkachev to an immediate tkachev and it is looking incredible. Plus, Aimee did triple fulls on the floor today. Kristen has been really busy choreographing floor routines. So far, Tabby, Alex and Nicole have gotten new routines and they look awesome. I can't wait to see them out on the floor performing in competitions.

At practice today (Sunday) Larissa (our old assistant coach) came in to visit. It was so great to see her! She is busy these days working for Google but she still finds time to drop in the gym and say "hi." Scott, Kristen's husband, also came to workout today and he brought their baby son, Zachary, with him. He is absolutely adorable and it has been pretty incredible to watch him grow over the past few months. It is truly amazing how many skills he has developed in just a few months. He now responds to his name, gives you smiles, makes little laughing noises and Scott told us today that he crawled about two inches for the first time!

Well, that about sums it up for the past week of Stanford Gymnastics. Thank you all for your support and interest in SWG! Go Cardinal!

Stacey Sprando

November 1, 2005

Well, it has been another great week on the Farm. Despite being in the midst of midterms, there were several highlights from the week. Last weekend was Homecoming which is such an exciting time on campus as there are people everywhere and different events going on constantly. We had an event at the gym for the Alumni on Saturday morning which proved to be a great time for everyone. We showed them a little bit of our gymnastics plus visited and got to know them a bit. That afternoon, we also got to go out on the football field during halftime, with all the other athletes, for the presentation of Stanford's eleventh straight Sears' Directors' Cup-GO CARD!

This week in the gym was a little different because it was our annual "cross training" week. Every year we take a hard conditioning week as an opportunity to spice things up a little. On Monday the crew coach came and did a spinning class with us followed by dodgeball and baseball, which were all a lot of fun. We finished up the day with some conditioning rotations in the gym and an hour of open workout. Tuesday and Friday were both spent in they gym, but Thursday was by far the highlight of the week. We went to Half Moon Bay to workout on the beach!! Now, I must preface this with the fact that the weather at the beach there is overcast and chilly about 99% of the time. However, we seemed to catch a stream of good luck and Thursday turned out to be absolutely beautiful!!! The sun was shining and the temperature, though a little chilly, was much better than expected. We warmed up with a walk/light jog down the beach and then split up into different stations that included sprinting, yoga, and core/abs. We finished the day off with some relay races, tug of war, and yes…limbo! Hats off to Steph and Liz for getting so low!

We finished the week off Sunday morning with a 5K Community Walk in San Jose as part of the GoGirlGo program that helps to promote exercise in elementary aged girls. It was a beautiful morning and proved to be a great time of chatting both with each other and fellow participants!

Well that's about all for now from the Farm. Be sure to check back next week-you have to hear about our Halloween costumes for Monday! :)

Aimee Precourt

October 25, 2005

A poem by Kelly Fee

On Sunday we dressed in our finest attire (of leos),
And posed around campus for all to admire,

Monday served as team preparation,
For on Thursday we had our first presentation,

Our spirits were high as Thursday came,
Dressed in red, we made hitting our aim,

We felt transfixed as we watch the great tumbling,
And our voices howled and the walls started rumbling,

To bars we soon went and hit without thought,
Our toes were all pointed and releases all caught,

We drilled it on vault with 6 layout fulls,
And took on the beam, where we all fought like bulls,

First the first time our team finally saw,
That we have the potential to win it all,

There's a lesson to be learned in all this delight,
And that is that Stanford is ready to fight!

October 20, 2005

"Third time's a charm!"

The third week of school has definitely been a charm! This week SWG covered everything from kickboxing and high flying flips to war paint and glamour shots. It took a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things, but everyone finally seems to be at ease and comfortable with the new schedule and classes.

This year we switched up our conditioning schedule. We do our conditioning, core strength, and kickboxing in the morning and leave our flipping, balancing, and swinging for the afternoon. I'm not a morning person, but a couple of punches and kicks to the face definitely wake me up! J/k (just kidding) We don't punch each other in the face and we have pads and know how to block so nobody gets hurt :) But jokes aside, I am so grateful for the girls on the team because I would not be able to get through morning practice without them. There is so much enthusiasm and personality this year;) it's truly refreshing!

A couple of interesting things SWG did this week have to do with war paint and glamour shots. Every Friday the team does something called SPIRIT DAY. However, this year we decided to have various themes to liven things up. The theme for this Friday was WAR ZONE. One of the girls brought in face paint so we all put war paint under our eyes and our game faces on. I hope pictures get posted because some of the outfits were pretty stellar! Another fun activity SWG did this week was team pictures for the media guide. Mike is quite the photographer and was kind enough to let us preview some of his work. All I can say is "wow" because he has done an incredible job so far. He has taken everything from headshots or our "glamour shots" to team shots of us in a tree! Which reminds me of a funny story that happened during picture day. So we were all decked out in our competition attire posing on the stairs between the Oval and Memorial Church. Mike was getting his camera set up and a group of tourists happened to walk by. They must have been super surprised to see us all standing there in our leotards because they stopped and started taking pictures of us! One lady even stood to the side of us and had her friend take a picture of her with us in the background. We all got a good laugh out of it hahaha

Anyway, this week has definitely been a blast and I'm sad to see it go *tear* but there is no doubt in my mind that week FOUR has even MORE in STORE for us (Yeah, I think I'll stick to gymnastics… poetry is definitely not my thing).

Thank you all sooooo much for reading about our week and for your continued support and encouragement. We *heart* you guys!

<3 TABBs :)
-- Tabitha Yim

October 10, 2005

Hey SWG fans and friends...

To start things off I would like to say that I am so excited to be writing my first "Inside the Locker Room".

Wow, it is hard to believe that we have finished our second week of classes already! Everything is starting to feel alot more comfortable now that the initial freshman anxiety has passed. I would like to thank the upperclassmen for their help in answering all of our crazy freshman questions and giving us some important tips. All of you helped make the transition go alot smoother.

Practices this week went awesome! Everyone was feeling a little bit tired and sore, but were we able to push through it! I was most impressed by the energy that was in the gym everyday. Our goals this week were to show off our finishes on every skill, as well as saying something specifically to each girl during practice(encouragement, correction, high five) and I think we successfully achieved those goals. We also have a new team cheer(Thanks to Fee)! I would also like to give recognition to the girls who are doing injury rehabilitation (Lauren, Heather and Lou). They never stop moving during practice, always finding something to keep themselves busy.

On Monday the Freshman girls and guys on the gymnastics team had to perform a lip sync for the rest of the team. It is a tradition at the beginning of every year. We shocked everyone by our unique selection of music, "I Want to go Back to College". We definately gave everyone a good laugh.

Yesterday, all the Freshman had a scavenger hunt in San Fransisco with our dorms! We walked around the city all day, going to places like Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square and Macy's. It was alot of fun and a great experience!

That is all for this week, thanks for checking in with SWG! GO CARD

-- Nicole Ourada

September 25, 2005

Its funny how fast the time flies…just like that summer is over and its time to start classes again. The team is back and so excited to start training, and its makes it that much sweeter to gain our fabulous new freshmen without losing any seniors. Within the first day we already knew that Heather, Fee, and Nicole were a great fit on the team. To start off the pre-season we mixed it up a little this year and decided to head to Santa Cruz to do a ropes course instead of a regular retreat. It was definitely a hit to say the least. Many of us had never had the chance to do one before, and it was a great opportunity to really start thinking and working together as a team, tackling problems and challenging ourselves physically as well. The course really brought out the competitive nature in all of us, and the team chemistry was palpable…it was really nice to feel that so early in the game. The woods were beautiful and we had a great time, but the highlight would have to be Tabby and Liz attempting handstands on the ropes…just hilarious! After the exhausting but awesome 6 hour session, we all walked around downtown Santa Cruz to window shop and eat dinner, and I think we all agreed that this retreat really ranked way up there on the extensive list of great beginning of the year outings.

This week has been filled with lots of hard-core conditioning and cross-training to make sure we're fit and ready to do gymnastics…you can tell everyone is just itching to throw some skills. Through team meetings we've already started outlining our high aspirations for the year. I still can't believe that Nat, Lou and I are seniors! I love them to death and I know we'll savor every moment of our last year here. The team is also so excited to have Mike on board as our new assistant coach. Throughout the week we've gotten many great opportunities to get to know the freshmen and catch up with everyone else, from team dinners to football games to movies. Now everyone is preoccupied with getting settled in the dorms, while the freshmen live it up during Orientation week and we all get ready to show our recruits a good time this weekend. Go Card!

-- Glyn Sweets