Cougar Gymnastics 2011

Smile for the Camera!

2011-11-28T17:35:00.009-07:00

Hey BYU fans! Just a little update on how great we are doing! We are working really hard in the gym and we just had our first intrasquad before Thanksgiving! We did really well, and had the opportunity to wear one of our famous pink leos from last year!

We also had the opportunity to be a part of a crazy awesome photo shoot! Mark Philbrick set us up in the Richards Building's swimming pool and took pictures of us! It was a splish-splash of a good time. The video and pictures speak for themselves. Check out the video here. There are many stellar photos that will be available later, but here is a little teaser!

After this shoot,we had our traditional team photos!Here are the freshmen!

Here are the sophomores!Here are the juniors!

Here are the seniors!

And here is a group shot!Be sure to be on the lookout for the rest of the cool things we are doing! We appreciate your support and can't wait to see you all this season as we make it to Nationals! GO COUGARS!

We're Back and Defying Gravity!

2011-10-28T01:03:00.007-06:00

Hello Cougar Fans! I apologize for being tardy with introducing our new team -- I know you all are dying to get to know this team that is on its way to Nationals! Before I do, let's catch you up on what we've been up to...

Over the summer, the team has been traveling in and out of Provo to go back home to Washington, Texas, Denver, Arizona, and The Great White North (yep, we mean Jenn), just to name a few. Being in Provo means intense workouts with Josh. And we mean intense, including a team triathlon up to Bridal Veil Falls and running all over Provo in the most heat Utah will get (Don't worry, we had a big BBQ after to celebrate our success). Two of our seniors got married! Natalie Eyre PICKARD got married June 18th in the Mount Timpanogos Temple and Holland Davis MATHESON got married August 20th in the Salt Lake Temple!

Now let's meet the team. Let's start with the itty bitty freshmen! Michelle Padilla is from Utah, Stephanie Sander is from Nebraska, and Jordan Schult is from Denver!

Next, is our sophomores! JoJo Hayden is from Denver, Courtney Wells is from Utah, Megan Bain is from Utah, Kaycee Gassaway is from Washington and Raquel Willman (below) is from Arizona!
Above them is the junior duo. Haylee Rollins is from Arizona and Sarah Yandow is from Utah!

And the ladies with the highest seniority are of course the seniors! Krysten Koval is from Texas, Natalie Eyre Pickard is from Utah, Mickell Merrell is from Utah, Jennifer Lezeu is from Canada, and Holland Davis Matheson is from Arizona!

Our theme this year is "Defying Gravity". Clearly the term shows how we have the capability to fly for a brief period of time and do the impossible, but to us it also means a lot more. We are defying our fears, our doubts, our pains, and our weaknesses to be the best team we are sure to be!

Be sure to keep popping into our blog every once in a while, as we will be showing you all of the fun we are having in and out of the gym as a loving and supportive team!

Also, if you haven't seen our 2012 Schedule yet, here is the link to go check it out! Make sure you come out and support your Cougars! http://byucougars.com/schedule/w-gymnastics

Season's Over-What Are We Up To Now?

2011-04-08T16:50:00.005-06:00

Season is over. Guess what the first thing we did? We did strength testing that included VO2 Max Run; Leg Press, Bench Press, Chin Up Max; Lactate Threshold Run; Bosco Jumps Test; and a time of the 30-yard dash. We are staying in shape and staying strong!

Finals are near and all of us are in study hall or the library to make sure we all get stellar grades. Until then, some stay for the spring semester and take classes. Others go home and work out there. Either way, we all are working hard and kicking some butts!

We have two upcoming seniors on the team who are engaged! Natalie Eyre, from Provo, Utah, is engaged to Daniel Pickard, from Valencia, California! They are getting married June 18th! Also, Holland Davis, from Mesa, Arizona, is engaged to Matthew Matheson, from Lindon, Utah! They are getting married either August 20th or September 14th!

Frequent posts will be updated throughout the spring and summer. Keep tuned in to see how awesome we all are doing! We are excited and ready for the 2012 season!

WE ARE..COUGARS!

2011 REGIONALS @ DENVER!

2011-04-08T16:37:00.001-06:00

We were chosen to travel to Denver for this year's Regionals. We were content with Denver because we know the equipment and we were already there in the beginning of the season. We were competing with Denver, Florida, Boise State, Arkansas, and University of Arizona.

We arrived on Thursday and stayed in the Hyatt with the other teams. It was beautiful. We had practice that Friday before the meet to get used to the equipment. Everyone looked good. We later went out to dinner at a very filling Italian restaurant!

Saturday came and we were ready to go. We were strong and confident, not to mention we were happy that we were randomly selected to start on vault!

Vault went well. Our team score was a 48.95 and was in 2nd place after the first rotation. Then, we had a bye, where we got to relax yet get pumped up for bar rotation!

Bars went pretty well. Our scores were in an average 9.7 range, until Madeleine Johnson fell on her dismount. We didn't have to count her fall, but we counted Jennifer Lezeu's 9.625. Our team score was a 48.7.

Then we moved right to the beam. Madeleine started the event with a few wobbles, but once we moved down the solid lineup, Jennifer fell on beam. Therefore, we had to count Madeleine's 9.475 into our team score. Our team score was a 48.150. Then, we had a bye, where we got to recharge ourselves and get ready for the last and final rotation.

Floor went well! We had high scores with big moves! Our highest score was our senior Jessica Villegas' 9.8! She is awesome!

Nevertheless, our final team score was 194.650. That set us into last place, while Arkansas took first and Florida took second.

Deseret Duel against Utah = Season High Team Score

2011-04-08T16:28:00.002-06:00

This was our last home meet of the season. In fact, it was our last meet of the regular season. Competing against Utah is always a good meet to go to, and the fans sure agreed. We had a huge turn out of attendance and we appreciate all who came to cheer us on!

We always do well against Utah, however, our score wasn't enough to win. The final scores were BYU: 195.8 and Utah: 196.7. Our top events of the night were bars and beam.

On bars, Madeleine Johnson and Haylee Rollins both scored 9.9! Natalie Eyre scored a 9.85 and freshman Raquel Willman scored a 9.875. Our team score was a 49.275, our top team score of the night.

On beam, we had consistent top scores, until our fifth gymnast, Jen Lezeu fell on the beam. However, the sixth and last gymnast, Krysten Koval, stepped up to the challenge and pressure and not only hit her set, but scored a 9.9!

It was also Senior Night, where we recognized our beloved and beautiful seniors, Jessica Villegas and Madeleine Johnson. They are our dear friends to whom we have grown immense love for them. They will certainly be missed.

Season High!

2011-03-13T12:18:00.003-06:00

We did it! We broke our losing streak with what? A season high team score? YES! We traveled to Tucson, Arizona to compete against Arizona, New Hampshire, and Texas Women's and got a team score of 195.3!

Arizona got their season high of a 195.625, New Hampshire got a 194.625 and Texas Women's got a 191.475.

Our top gymnast this weekend was Natalie Eyre! Nat got a career high on the vault with a 9.925! It was so awesome!!! She also posted a 9.8 on the beam and 9.85 on the bars.

Our vault team once again had the highest team score with a 49.1!

Not only did we come out successfully, we also had way too much fun! The weather was beyond beautiful! Some layed out by the pool, some went shopping, some went to the museum, and one went golfing (BRAD)! It was definitely a meet to remember.

We are now pumped as ever as we round the corner into our last and final meet of the regular season. And what a better way to end it with a home meet against Utah! Be sure to attend this Friday, March 18th, at 7pm in the MARRIOTT CENTER!

Tough Losing Streak About To Be Broken!

2011-03-08T16:51:00.003-07:00

After our huge win against Arkansas (who beat #1 ranked Florida the weekend after), we had two very fun home meets to look forward to. We love competing at home for our family, friends, and most of all, our awesome fans!

Our first home meet was against University of Arizona. Painfully, we lost by .2. The final scores were BYU with 195.150 and Arizona with 195.350. Our vault team was stellar with Haylee and Natalie (9.875). Our beam team also rocked it with a 48.850. Jen led the beam team with a 9.825, which was much deserved.

Our second home meet was against Auburn University. However, we didn't do as well as we hoped. We lost with a 194.675 to Auburn's 195.000. We were consistent all across the board, posting up big solid scores. Vault, bars, and floor were high 48 team scores. We lost it on beam, however, when we had to count a fall.

Then we traveled to Southern Utah to compete against them and Auburn again. We took the lead going into the third rotation, where we unfortunately, had to count another fall. We were a little shaky on beam but we stayed on and pulled it together. We lost with a 194.25, while SUU won with a 195.475. Just a fraction ahead of Auburn with a 195.425. Once again, our vault team was victorious as they popped out huge, tight vaults that deserved high scores.

Leaving SUU, however, was the toughest challenge yet. The blizzard and road conditions were risky and dangerous. It literally was impossible to return home late that night. Therefore, we got to stay an extra night and drive back early in the morning. This was a success.

We only have one Wednesday workout before we travel to Tucson, Arizona to come before the Wildcats with vengeance. We are looking forward to their nice weather as we take on Arizona, Texas Women's and New Hampshire.

Be sure to keep an eye out for our breakthrough of our losing streak! Because Regionals is approaching and that means Nationals is approaching shortly after!

GO COUGARS!!!!!!!!!!

Triumph over the #12 GymBacks!

2011-02-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Pig Sooies sure did not see the Cougars coming to defeat them in a .075 win! Yes! We, formerly ranked 28th, beat the #12 Arkansas Razorbacks!
Our warmup did not start off so hot, but that did not shake us. We came out there and just did our thing. For the first two rotations, we were behind by .2. On the third event, two GymBacks fell on beam, causing us to take the lead by .4. Our last beam rotation was a little wobbly, but we had some amazing beam routines with amplitude, confidence, and grace.
The final results were: BYU 195.100 Arkansas 195.025.
This meet and travel was a fun one. We had the pleasure of having Morgan Jones, our SID, accompany us. We also got to be in awesome 60 degree weather!! We didn’t want to leave!
All of this was fun, but we are ready and pumped to get into the gym and fix the little things as we look forward to two home meets!
This Saturday, February 26th, we’ll take on the University of Arizona Wildcats in the Smithfieldhouse at 7pm! Make sure you are there!

GO COUGARS!!!!!!

Home-Cookin' Season High!

2011-02-17T12:41:00.002-07:00

Friday, February 11th marked the day of the gymnastics' team season high! 195.2! We took on Texas Women's University, the best Division II gymnastics team. However, they didn't have their best meet, and scoring a 188.525.

We started the meet off well on vault with a team score of 48.8. Everyone looked solid and confident.

Then we went to bars and racked up a 48.825. We had some little tweaky mistakes that hardly ever happen in practice, but you wouldn't know because the look and feel of enjoyment and positivity in our team shined bright.

Our event scores kept soaring as we went to beam and scored a 48.85. This is one of our best meets on the balance beam. Those beam queens were in the zone.

We ended on floor by having tons of fun. With a 48.725, one of our lower event scores, we excited our crowd by showing our interesting dance moves and powerful tumbling passes.

After that big win, we are on a roll and ready to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks with full force. Check back in to see the results of that meet.

GO COUGARS!!!

LSU--tough luck in the south

2011-02-05T09:52:00.003-07:00

Hey all, we had lots of fun being in Louisiana, most of us have never been here before! The culture and food was definitely a new experience and we had tons of fun!

We met Mike, the LSU live tiger! He prowled around for us and even took a dip in his own pool! We also went to eat at an authentic Louisiana restaurant, called The Chimes, and Brad and Dawn made us all tried fried alligator! Eeeeek!

We also had some complications...there was never-before-seen snow in Houston so we almost didn't get to arrive or depart from Baton Rouge.

We also had more complications in the meet. On our 15 minute timed warmups, the bar team noticed the bars felt "weird". They all were struggling and was worried about the situation until Brad realized that the LSU management team put the bars in wrong! The high bar was installed upside down!!!! Crazy, huh? But once that was fixed our team pulled it all together and ended up doing fine.

We would also say that we were a little underscored. Granted, it definitely wasn't our best meet, but unfortunately we scored a 193.75. LSU scored a 195.80, their highest score of the season that included a 9.9 and a 9.925.

We are flying back now to SLC to get back in the gym and work hard. Come to our next meet, which is at home!!!! 7pm February 11th in the Smith Fieldhouse against Texas Women's!!

GO COUGARS!!!

FIRST HOME MEET THIS SATURDAY!

2011-01-28T11:11:00.002-07:00

Wooooooo! This is something our whole team has been looking forward to all year! Our first home meet! We appreciate all of the community's, family's, friend's, and student's support! Now come and see what we are all about! Come and see how awesome we are!!!

We will be taking on Iowa State (ranked 15th), SUU (ranked 16th), and Utah State (ranked 39th). We will start on vault, which will be a first for us, hence we are getting used to starting on beam!

The meet is this Saturday, January 29th, 2011 at 12:00pm! Come and support us! Wear your pink and you get a free popcorn!

TIE FOR FIRST! 194.775!

2011-01-28T11:03:00.005-07:00

Hey all! After a long and tiring venture to the north east, we came out successful! We tied for first with Kent State (currently ranked 11th) with 194.775! Once again, we started on beam and with only one girl falling the whole meet! We are looking up and excited for the future! The only team we haven't beaten is Georgia, currently ranked 3rd!
Here is a picture of the juniors with their super awesome tank tops from Krysten's mom! Thank you Carmen! There is also a little traditional "support" in this picture.

After the meet and before we left to return home, we stopped for a beautiful experience in Kirtland, Ohio. The historical center with the N.K. Whitney store was so amazing and such an interesting experience. Below is the team in the LDS Historical Center and in front of the N.K. Whitney store.

GO COUGARS!!!!!!!!

FIRST PLACE

2011-01-16T10:22:00.003-07:00

Yes, Cougar fans, we beat Utah State and University of Arizona! We had a team score of 193.075, the Wildcats had a score of 192.725, and the Aggies had a score of 192.000.

We started on beam again, and we were a little shaky, given the fact we had two falls. Krysten had the top beam score with a 9.725. But we pulled it together and had fun on floor. Jennifer had the top floor score with a 9.775. We then proceeded to our next two strong events. Vault was SOLID. Haylee had the top vault score with a 9.75. Lastly, bars seemed calm and confident as this was the event where we got the win. Haylee also got the top bar score with a 9.75.

Our team score wasn't as high as last week, but we had some really good gymnastics that's building our confidence!

We are traveling to Kent State, in Ohio this week! We're ready to dominate! Be sure to check out the results but if not, come back as I post the results!

GO COUGARS!!!!!

Second Place-193.225!

2011-01-12T20:57:00.004-07:00

Hey Fans! We hope you got to watch us online at Denver! It was a pretty fun meet! Alicia Sacramone was the guest of honor as we competed against Air Force, Georgia, and of course Denver!

We got a 193.225 and we beat Air Force (186.6) and Denver (192.925)! We trailed behind Georgia, who got a 195.575.

In fact, Georgia beat us on bars by only .075! So close but so awesome! We were solid on vault, we had one fall on bars, one fall on beam, and looked beautiful on floor!

Look for us in Logan as we take on the host team, Utah State and the University of Arizona! We compete Friday at 7pm in the Spectrum! Be on the watch for results here!

GO COUGARS!

Denver, here we come!

2011-01-05T15:14:00.002-07:00

Wooooooo! Season has finally come!!!! We are ready to go travel to our first meet!

We will be competing against Denver University, University of Georgia, and Air Force! Denver finished 15th with their final RQS score. Georgia finished 13th with their final RQS score.

The pre-season coaches poll say that Georgia is ranked 7th nationally and Denver is 16th nationally.

Naturally, we will be starting on beam. Good thing we have a solid group of beam queens to do their job and start us off right!

Tune in online to see our scores, or wait for a new post about our results!!

GO COUGARS!!!!

What's Up Provo!

2010-12-17T16:55:00.013-07:00

Boy have we been busy! Training all pre-season has taken a lot out of us but we are looking goooood! I must say, we have awesome returners who are doing their thaaaang and freshmen who are coming in with a baaaaaaaang! Let me fill you in on some of the crazy things we've been up to.
It rained really hard one day and the roof came crashing down! Water everywhere! Natalie, JoJo, Ashley, Holland, Sarah, Kaycee, and Courtney show here that vaulting was a particularly interesting experience!

Here are some shots of our Halloween costumes that we wore to practice! We've got Spice Girls, a ninja, a basketball star, and even Coach Brad and Coach Dawn look-a-likes.

We dubbed this Friday workout: Unleash the Beast Day. All of us put on animal print leos and unleashed our crazy animalistic talents. Madeleine was particularly interesting..she was a naked mole rat haha.

This is the "Yeah" Floor Group. They motivate and pump each other up by words of encouragement, such as "Yeah, Kell!" Attached is Kaycee, Leslie, Krysten, Megan, Holland, Mickell, JoJo, and Courtney.

During Finals Week, we had practice. But this was unlike any other practice. We decorated ourselves in the spirit of Christmas! Above are pictures of each class in their red and green. And then, Brad let us go caroling around to the staff who knows us best. It was a jolly good time!

That was just some of the great team bonding stuff we've done. There's tons more of undocumented gymnastics fun! We are ready and excited for season! WE ARE....COUGARS!

We're Back!

2010-09-29T22:19:00.013-06:00

We, the BYU gymnastics team of the 2010-2011 season, are in full swing (no pun intended)! School and gymnastics have taken up all our time, but we are having fun and loving every minute of it! Let me introduce you to the team:

Freshmen: There are six fun freshmen! Raquel Willman, from Phoenix, Arizona; Leslie Bell, from Orlando, Florida; KayCee Gassaway, from Vancouver, Washington; Megan Bain, from Sandy, Utah; JoJo Hayden, from Broomfield, Colorado; and Courtney Wells, from Sandy, Utah. These girls have amazing talent and such fresh personality! They will definitely "stick" well to the team!

Sophomores: There are two sizzlin' sophomores! Haylee Rollins, from Phoenix, Arizona and Sarah Yandow, from Orem, Utah. They certainly made their mark last season and have kept their momentum coming into this year! They are girls to look out for!

Juniors: There are six jazzy juniors! Mickell Merrill, from Pleasant Grove, Utah; Natalie Eyre, from Provo, Utah; Krysten Koval, from Gun Barrel City, Texas; Holland Davis, from Mesa, Arizona; Jennifer Lezeu, from Waterloo, Ontario; and Ashley Snyder, from Elkridge, Utah. These girls are a force to be reckoned with, as they are hard workers with positive attitudes!

Seniors: There are two stunning seniors! Madeleine Johnson, from Park City, Utah and Jessica Villegas, from Gilbert, Arizona. These girls have much experience and are the girls to look up to! They execute great form while showing off their vivacious side!

The team captains this year are Natalie Eyre and Jessica Villegas! Our team motto is: DOIN' WORK!

We've been training hard all summer and have jumped and flipped into the fall semester! We love our coaches, our trainers, and each other. But most importantly, we love gymnastics!

Spot your eye out for us as we post all the fun and exciting things we do!

New Posts??

2010-06-23T01:00:00.004-06:00

Hey Fans! A couple of people have asked about when we are going to post updates on the team.

Truth is we just haven't had alot of time to sit down and write a decent update on the team- we are crazy busy with practice and school! Just know as we get ready for the 2010-2011 season we are making some big changes- new girls, new year, new exciting attitude!!!

Even though we won't really be updating until school starts again in the fall (you know, because we are so busy working hard and killing it in the gym!) we still want to say thanks for all the support we had this year year and hope we are so blessed in the years to come!

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING SUPER FANS- SEE YOU IN THE FALL :)

REGIONALS!!

2010-04-05T10:37:00.003-06:00

The team will be going to NCAA regionals at UCLA on Saturday, April 10. (The meet starts at 6 p.m.)

The team finished the regular season ranked 26th with a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.155

AWESOME JOB TEAM!!

Although the majority of this team has never competed at ncaa regionals before due to the unfortunate events of last season, it is going to be a fun night and a great experience! We know this team is capable of great things and I don't think even the pressure of a big meet like this will rattle this team the slightest. This is such a composed, elegant, and powerful team that as long as we stay focused and want it with all our hearts, success is possible. I believe wholeheartedly in these girls and I want to be able to show everything we are capable of in this meet. Practices have been going awesome...we're better than ever-peaking at just the right time...what more could we ask for??

GOOD LUCK TEAM! I KNOW WE CAN DO THIS!!

(^Team at Sweet Tomatoes after the Utah meet with trainer, Phillip Hartog)

2010-02-21T10:43:00.001-07:00

As we are flipping into the middle of the season with full-force, I’d like to take the time to convey to our fans the blueprints and foundation of this team.

This team is well-rounded for many reasons. We are a diverse team that gets along very well and is always supportive of each other. Every year brings something unique to the table. The seniors give us amazing leadership, and they are the girls we all look up to. Without them, we would all be running like chickens with our heads cut off, if you will. The juniors give us stability. They keep us all in check, calm us down, and are perfect examples of the combo- grace and power. The sophomores bring character and originality to the team. They are all unique, and have all sorts of skills under their sleeves. As they are learning year after year, their hard work is a force to be reckoned with. Lastly, the freshmen bring the youth and good ol’ fashioned fun to the team. Without them, we would take this sport a little too seriously. They make us feel young again.

Our vault team is a tornado of power and confidence. With five out of six girls in the lineup with 10.0 vaults, they make heads turn. They conjure up a lot of variety as well, including a front handspring front pike-half, yurchenko layout half and yurchenko layout full. They have proved they are consistent, and having fun in the process.

Our bars team is large and in charge. With a full and steady six girl lineup, they also have 6 possible alternates! The bar team is precise and clean. They also provide much variety, including huge release moves like tkatchevs, geingers, and jaegers. With big amplitude and stuck dismounts, they make defying gravity look like playing on the jungle gym.

Our floor team is just a bunch of girls workin’ it and having fun. All of them have interesting and catchy routines that you can’t help but to stare and watch. They catch big air on their tumbling and sell their dance moves with smiles on their faces while capturing a 49.2 overall team score, and it’s only going up from there. They captivate the audience and show what gymnastics is all about.

Last, but certainly not least, is our beam team. Let me tell you, these girls are machines. Beam machines. Hit, after hit, after hit. They look like sticking robots with pure grace and ease on that four-inch balance beam. They attack their routines and hold nothing back. Big scores are well-deserved here.

In addition, these “Cougals” would be nothing without the help and support of their coaches and trainers. Our four coaches have prestigious experience and come in by our side with nothing but positive feedback and selfless-time and energy. Our weight lifting coach is also very helpful with getting us stronger, and gives us a laugh or two every now and then. We would be helpless without our trainers. Ready to help and aid us in whatever our injury is for that day, they are there with smiling faces and tender care to get us back on our feet.

With fewer injuries than last year, these gymnasts are improving with every step they take on that vault runway, every time they chalk up on the bars, every time their music plays on the floor, and every time they balance on the beam. They should be proud of their resilience, assertiveness, and confidence. They are a different team than last year. They know how to come ready for business but also have tons of fun while at it. They work hard every day at practice, day in and day out, without a breath of hesitation. They deserve nothing but the best.

Most importantly, we’d like to give a big thanks to our fans. We are literally nothing without your support. Without you, it would just be a boring practice in fancy leotards and glitter for no one to see. We appreciate your attendance every meet, and your positive affirmations. We appreciate you.

Be sure to attend our next home meet in the Marriott Center on February 26^th, 2010 at 7:00pm against the University of Utah. It is a Y-game so you don’t want to miss it!

We are hot-and-ready. We are…COUGARS!

WOWWZA!!

2010-02-10T11:16:00.004-07:00

After starting the season off right...at home with lots of fans on our side...we then got to travel to denver and iowa...only to return back home to our fieldhouse to score our season high!! (thus far might i emphasize). Friday, feb. 5, the cougars took on utah state and the university of denver. only to fall short of denver (ranked 19th nationally) by less than one tenth. There were so many great performances and new highs for several girls. however, our biggest accomplishment was pulling together as a team to reach our goals! we were all very happy with the outcome at the meet and realized the more fun we have competing and enjoying performing as well as watching our teammates perform, the better we do!

Even with this accomplishment, there are still things to improve upon. We have yet to show how extremely talented we are and how hard we work for what we want to accomplish as a team!!

JOIN US AT OUR NEXT HOME MEET...FEB. 26 against the U!! (7 p.m. in the Marriott Center)

Pictures!...

Some of the team in Denver.^^

Kaylee, Holland, Maddie...ready for warm ups in Iowa.^^

Megan and Jess getting ready to go in Denver.^^

First Home Meet!!

2010-01-12T08:08:00.001-07:00

The first home meet AND the first meet of the season is THIS thursday (1/14) in the smith field house (blue seats) at 7p.m.

EVERYONE COME!! we'd love to see you there! :)

INTRASQUAD!!

2009-12-08T23:01:00.002-07:00

There will be an intrasquad meet in the gymnastics gym (147 SFH) on Thursday, December 10 starting at about 1:30. Anyone is welcome to come watch!!

Update on how it went to come soon after!...

A Great Start To A New Year!!

2009-10-26T21:17:00.006-06:00

The 2010 Cougars

This year's theme: "Expect Great"

"High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation."

Because we believe this to be true, this year we are expecting GREAT things of ourselves and our teammates and in doing so believe we will have success in all we do.

But don't worry...with all our own high expectations, we still have a little fun in the process!!

Meet the team:

This year's team consits of 4 Super Duper Seniors (Megan, Danielle, McKell, and Kaylee),

2 Just Perfect Juniors (Jessica and Madeleine),

7 Silly Sophmores (Mickell, Natalie, Holland, Jennifer, Krysten, Tara, and Kara)

and 3 BRAND NEW Fantastic Freshmen!

(From Left to Right: Haylee Rollins from Phoenix, Arizona, Kendra Carver from Beaverton, Oregon, and Sarah Yandow from Orem, Utah)

And incase you were wondering, the freshmen look the way they do thanks to freshmen initiation! Which was completely awesome this year!! :)

This team is off to a great start, working hard in the gym AND the classroom! :)

We're EXPECTING to be ready to look better than ever come this meet season so....

Be excited because WE SURE ARE!!!

We're Back!

2009-10-01T10:29:00.003-06:00

We are back and ready for action!

We've only been here back together for a bit but we're already having tons of fun together!

Started off fall by listening to President Samuelson at the Athlete Fireside

Supporting Football at the Y-game

Tried our hand at 80's skating... it is WAY harder than it looks!

Showed off our newly developed soccer skills (thanks to Josh's cone drills...) at the Soccer Y-game

And we fixed the floor! Couldn't be happier about no more dead spots!

We are working hard in the gym and can't wait to come back looking strong. The coaches are pushing us to be the best we can and we are making improvements every day!

Four Earn Scholastic All-America Honors

2009-08-11T21:46:00.002-06:00

Four Brigham Young University gymnasts were among those recently named to the 2009 Scholastic All-America Awards Program by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W). Recipients are Sophomores Jessica Villegas, Whitney Olsen, and Madeleine Johnson, and Freshman Emiko Ono.

To earn selection to the individual Scholar-Athlete Roll, gymnasts must appear on the official NCAA squad list on January 1 and post a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better during that academic year.

We congratulate our teammates on such a great accomplishment!

Quick Dee Update...

2009-07-20T14:51:00.004-06:00

Dee did AWESOME and we are so proud of her! She was the top performer for Canada and took 3rd place on beam!

WAY TO GO DEE WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

Dee Goes to Israel!

2009-07-07T16:45:00.001-06:00

GOOD LUCK DEE!!!

Dee and her sister are representing Canada at the Maccabi Games in Israel this month. This is a huge accomplishment and we are so excited for them!

We love you Dee and know you're going to do great! Good Luck!

http://www.maccabicanada.com

Summer Time Fun Time

2009-07-07T15:36:00.007-06:00

What have we been up to this summer???

LOTS of rehab!
-With all the injuries that happened this year Gaye has been pretty busy getting us back and ready for next season. Luckily everyone is working hard and the progress has been AMAZING! Almost everyone is ahead of the average come back time and we are already starting to get excited about competing in the fall!

Nat rocking the under-water treadmill

Cold pooling after working hard

School
-Most of the team decided to do either a spring or a summer term this year. It is hard taking April-August off from school because you come back and forget how hard it is to balance school, practice, and the rest of your life! One term seems to be the perfect break!

Camps
-BYU offers two weeks of gymnastics camps during the summer and we get to coach them. They are so much fun and we love working with the girls. It was alot of fun this year and we hope the campers enjoyed it as much as we did.

Working out
-Josh's workouts have officially started so we are all running and lifting weights. He's really been trying to help us with our vertical jumping- we've come from credit card verticals to being able to jump over phone books :)

-We've also been working out in the gym trying to get tricks ready for next year. It's been alot of fun seeing people try new things and improve for next year.

Just having fun!
-Our team is so fun and it is great being able to just hang out with each other. This really is a great group of girls and we are excited for the new freshman to come join us

Just Because Its Fun

2009-04-12T23:10:00.001-06:00

REGIONALS!

2009-04-06T10:11:00.005-06:00

Shauna, Kaylee, and Gaye

Kaylee here...just wanted to report about regionals and I figured I was best qualified to do so...

Well, it was a long weekend away, but it was quite a neat experience. We flew in to Iowa on Thursday and after delay upon delay we were finally there...only to be stuck in the middle of Iowa corn fields with no luggage! We were afraid we would have to go purchase a new leotard just so I could compete but luckily our luggage was delivered later that night. We went to a FABULOUS dinner that night at Iowa Power River Restaurant or something to that affect. Practice was short on Friday because I started on beam. Therefore I was finished after just one rotation!! My mom came in that night so me, Shauna, Gaye, and my mom got to go eat and hang out.

The meet was long....after warming up, I had to sit around for the other five rotations to warm up, then we marched in and got going. Except minor problems with the sun glaring into the stadium windows right on to the BEAM. of course. So after they got that squared away, the competition was off! I was rotating with the University of Iowa. They were super nice to me, talked to me, included me, and even cheered a lot for me both in warm ups and competition! And Caleb, who used to coach at SUU is one of their coaches so he remembered me and was super nice! I appreciated them so much!! After competing as part of a team for three years, it was hard to be alone. It gave me that much more motivation to get the team going for next year so that we can be together at regionals! My beam routine was descent. Minor wobble on my series (which I had sooooo much trouble warming up) and a little hop on the dismount. My scores: Judge 1-9.8 Judge 2-9.6 Judge 3-9.6 Judge 4-9.4 so after dropping the high and the low I received an official score of 9.6. Not quite the score I was looking for, but Shauna said to me to take from this, the knowledge that I can hit even under the pressure of a big meet. Which will really help my confidence in future situations!!

As for the team, thanks for all the good luck and other encouraging texts I got from you guys! I hope everyone is recovering nicely...especially Jess, Kylie, and Tara who were our most recent surgeries. With my season now over, I go into surgery on my wrist on Tuesday (April 7) which I believe is the last planned surgery for the team right now. After being the first to find out I needed surgery, I'm the last of many to go in! I'm excited to get it done and start recovering in order to come back better than before!

WISH US LUCK IN FINALS AND RECOVERY!!

Go Cougs!

UPDATES

2009-04-02T01:22:00.012-06:00

Y Awards: COMEBACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - our very own JESSICA was honored with the award. She only had to crutch one up to the podium to accept it.

3 cheers, Hip Hip Hooray!

"We will be the comeback team for 2010, just you watch!"

SURGERIES after Season:

Jessica -Ankle, doing good - up and around

Kylie - Knee ACL - a little pain but hanging in there

Tara - Shoulder tomorrow - your'e in our prayers

Kaylee - Wrist Soon - but not until after Regionals

REGIONALS: You Betcha! KAYLEE is off to Regionals tomorrow. You go Girl! We'll be watching this weekend.

RECOVERY from Surgeries/Health Issues before & during Season: Kara, McKell, Natalie, and Holland are all recovering in good stride - not nearly as fast as they all would like, but healing nicely. Huey's ankle is getting better everyday (no black and blue marks at least anymore) and Krysten gave us quite a scare, but seems to be finally turning the corner to healthiness.

FINALS: That's right, 2 weeks and we're in FINALS. Yikes, pray for us.

GOOD NEWS: School will be OUT!

Some of us will be staying on for the spring quarter to train and attend classes while some will return home onlly to flip flop for the Summer Quarter. There are those die hards planning to stay the whole time.

I'll give you a hint, its not the freshman. Hahaha. Our babies want to go home for a while. Word on the street is that we will be welcoming 3 newcomers into our ranks this fall.

Whew, a lot to take in, but that's the gyst of it. We're good and loving life.

We got Leis from Hawaii

2009-03-27T04:44:00.005-06:00

And all of us got great blue & white ribbon leis with a yellow flower on them. Thank you Mama Ono!

What we have learned from this season?

2009-03-27T03:27:00.014-06:00

We are hard working, intelligent, talented, fun-loving, beautiful, young ladies with a determination of true grit. We are fierce! Most importantly, we are good people with generous hearts and souls and will never let our teammates down. Season may be over for us, but training never stops. Coach Brad has requested that we take the next few weeks and really focus on our academics. So that’s what we are doing. However, like true gymnasts we can’t stay out of the gym too long. Many of us, even our injured, are in the weight rooms, running and conditioning – doing what we need to do to stay in shape while we cram for our upcoming finals. None of us want to be off the equipment too long.

Our last home meet and the last meet of the season brought us up against Utah. It was a good meet. We were all together with our entire team under one roof, we had an amazing home crowd cheering us on and we got to see Huey come back to the bar line-up. We got to see 5 career highs scored in this meet: Dee (9.85/floor), Whitney (9.8/floor), Emiko (9.85/vault), Mickell (9.65/vault), and Maddie (9.6/vault); and we posted our highest team floor score of the season 48.875. We also posted second-highest scores on vault and beam at this meet, 48.5 each, and team score of 192.725. Yes we had to count a few falls, but we’ll get those ironed out over spring, summer and fall and be raring to go come 2010 season. Take a gander at the latest video of us posted on Cougar TV at http://www.byucougars.com/gymnastics_w/ . (Hint: It’s to the right of the site, just click on it.)

Looking back over the 2009 season, we realize that when we are able to put all our routines together not counting any falls, we are capable of achieving huge numbers. See for yourself:

Vault 9.875 9.875 9.850 9.850 9.800 49.250

Bars 9.850 9.775 .9.750 9.725 9.650 48.750

Beam 9.925 9.875 9.850 9.825 9.825 49.300

Floor 9.850 9.825 9.800 9.775 9.750 49.000

Team Total: 196.300

*these are the best scores of the 2009 season

Over the next several months, we will continue to recover from our injuries – rehabbing after surgery coming back to our full strength, reaching for those handstands and legs together, and adding more difficult skills to our repertoire. Our freshmen have gained tons of experience beyond their years and we’ll have plenty of seniors to look up to next season. We continue to pray that the plague of injuries witnessed this year will leave us alone in the next.

Stay tune as we keep you updated over the summer on our rehabbing, summer adventures, and workouts, as well as who will be joining us for the 2010 season. Don’t change that dial!

A Few Cougars Headed to Regionals

2009-03-24T17:12:00.004-06:00

That's right, although the team didn't get the nod to Regionals this year, we have a few of us as individuals headed to Regionals. Kaylee Gallup qualified to compete as an individual on Balance Beam. Maddie Johnson (Uneven Bars), Whitney Olsen (Floor), and Danielle Goldman (All-Around) all came in as alternates on their events. Regionals for the North Central Region (our region) will be held in Iowa City, Iowa on April 4, 2009 and will be hosted by the University of Iowa. Congrats to all! We are so proud of you!

The Short and Tall of It

2009-03-18T01:30:00.021-06:00

Okay, we have Juniors

and Sophomores

and maybe a few freshman

But the short and tall of it is

we are warmining up

working out hard

throwing in a little confidence

having some fun!

We are Cougar Gymnasts!

Friday the 13th meet at Utah State contained a happy ending...

2009-03-14T23:33:00.006-06:00

Well, the Cougars not only took on the Utah State Aggies on Friday, March 13th, but took on Friday the 13th itself. If we didn’t know better, one would think we are cursed this season. In a long run of injuries and sickness this season, poor Emiko was our latest victim. She was quite ill and turning herself upside down made her dizzy and lost in the air while spinning. Needless to say her vault was downgraded to a layout. We sure are proud of her determination to not let the team down and compete anyway. It was not the ideal meet we were hoping to build upon from Denver, but it certainly consisted of some ideal performances. Solid performances were turned in by our vault and bar teams. The bit of struggle we saw from our beam team in Denver vanished, but turned its vengeance onto our floor team. We ended on a huge high with beam Friday night. Whitney, Jen and Kaylee were major super stars turning in their best scores of this season yet. We were so stoked!

This Friday we're against the U. We’re at home, friends and family will be there to cheer us on and we know going into this meet that we all have hit this season one time or another, maybe not all in the same meet, but we can do it. So ... we know we can do this. This meet is the meet that we put it all together. Go Cougars!

Junior Beam specialist and friends!!

2009-03-14T19:10:00.002-06:00

I'm sure someone else will write about the rest of the USU meet but I just want to give a shout out to Jen, Whit, and Kaylee- the beam dominator's! These girls all scored sick high scores and freaking rocked beam.

Just exactly how good did they do you ask? Well, Whit scored an awesome 9.825 and Jen scored a 9.875.

Whit

Miss Lucky Bun

Career high scorers! Way to go girls!

We didn't think it could get much better than that, but then Kaylee got up and showed everyone what she is made of- scoring a freaking 9.925!!!!

All that beam work is paying off!

Huge 180 split leap! Bring on a 10.0 next meet

That's our Kay-bert!

Because Kaylee needs wrist surgery following the season, she isn't allow to work any of the other events besides beam (which is a bummer because she has great tumbling and an awesome vault). Alot of times we feel bad for her because when the rest of us are done with an event we get to move on and train something different, but she just has to beam over and over. However, all of the hard work she put in all season has seriously paid off the last few meets and we are so proud of her. Way to go on all your great scores Kay- can't wait to see how you do at the home meet!

We are so proud of everyone on the team for the hard work they put in and the effort they put into all the meets!

GO COUGARS!

Denver - March 9, 2009

2009-03-11T23:39:00.005-06:00

Denver was a great host Monday night. Its fans were crazy loud and super excited for their seniors adding a lot of energy to the gym floor. Never fear, we didn’t go without fans. There was a small contingencyof BYU fans from Denver and afar that came out to cheer us on. It was pretty neat to see Denver’s seniors honored. We can’t wait until next year when we can celebrate our seniors as they deserve. We don’t have any seniors this year, but it’s a comfort to know that we don’t have to say goodbye to anyone this year.

9 of us competed in Denver Monday: 3 juniors (Dee, Hough & Kaylee), 3 sophomores (Jess, Maddie & Whitney) and 3 freshman (Emiko, Jen & Mickell); 5 competed vault; 5 competed bars; and 6 competed beam and floor.

Emiko opened up the meet for us on bars solidly hitting her routine. She was followed by Dee, Hough, Maddie and Whitney all building from her score to give us our highest team bar score of the season yet. We moved on to vault with our dynamo five of Maddie, Mickell, Jen, Dee, and Emiko. Vault was good to us and for the fifth time this year we scored above a 48 with Maddie and Jen contributing career highs. A strong Floor followed with Mickell, Jen, Maddie, Whitney, Jess, and Dee. They succeeded without any falls or getting any out-of-bound deductions and Dee entered the record books with a career high of 9.825. Beam was our last event for the evening and proved to be a bit of a struggle. Jess, Dee, Maddie, Whitney, Jen, & Kaylee worked through the beam and, at the end, there was that silver lining peeking through. Jess bolstered a career high while Kaylee knocked her routine out of the ball park, closing the meet with a career high of 9.875. Not a weeble wobble out of that girl. Holy Cow! Wow!

The unfortunate events of this season have provided us with opportunities to grow as individuals and teammates. These adversities have enabled us to work together as a team, to get to know one another more intimately then we might have, to get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, to know how hard we can push each other and know when to stop, and to make our team ONE. We continue to gain much needed confidence andhave learned working together will allow us to succeed.

We will be competing at Utah State this Friday evening. Come out and see how fierce we can be!

Our Very Own "Junior Beam Specialist" - Hooray!

2009-03-11T01:34:00.007-06:00

Here's Kaylee...............Check her out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY9RWfQBwQ8&feature=channel_page

We absolutely love her!

Now You See Us, Now You Don't

2009-03-08T01:54:00.004-07:00

Okay - We’re home from Boise for what seems to be the briefest of seconds - wash our clothes, catch up on what we missed in classes on Friday, pass our work off to a friend to turn in at Monday class which we won't make, repack, say hello and then goodbye. Our flight attendant to Boise was hilarious and made us laugh through the 57 minute flight. Before we were up in the air we were down again and headed in our vans to the vast unknown, only stopping to eat at Old Chicago. One can only hope that the flight to Denver tomorrow will be the same.

Being in the middle of mid-terms, many of us hit the books once we got to the hotel. A little more cramming was in store for us before we went to sleep . The meet was good, not exactly what we hoped for, but good things happened. Dee and Maddie took second and third all-around respectively, with personal bests for Jessica on floor and Emiko on bars.

Tomorrow we head to Denver and really feel that this meet is going to be awesome for every one of us. We're adjusting to the new line-up changes and becoming more confident. We’re shooting for the stars on Monday and know that we are capable of reaching them.

Sideline Cheer for our Traveling Cougar Gymansts

2009-03-06T12:45:00.004-07:00

Let’s Go Let’s Go!

L E T S G O!

Let’s Go C O U G A R S!

All of us sidelined Cougars send a mighty cheer out to our Gymnasts on the road this weekend. Our team is in Idaho for a meet tonight against Boise and back on the road Sunday to Colorado for a meet against Denver on Monday.

We Cougars may be young, newer to the college scene than most, a little shook over unfortunate events, and a little naïve, BUT we are hard working, determined, and ready to get out there and do our best. Don’t underestimate us – we are going to put it all together. We believe in magic and, more importantly, we believe in us, the Cougars!

Cougar Gymnasts on the Road - May you achieve great success this weekend! Go Cougars!

- B E L I E V E -

Shout Out to Our Gimp Squad!

2009-03-04T01:24:00.003-07:00

Here's a shout out to our brave and courageous gimp squad. Recent gimps - Mama McKell, Huey, Krysten, and Natlie are all recovering amazingly well. Holland just had surgery today and from all reports she is doing well. Unfortunately, we had to add Kylie to that list this past Friday when she took a spill during open beam warm-ups. However, we are happy to report that Kara is definitely on the mend and back in the gym training. Hooray!

2009-02-24T02:13:00.010-07:00

All it takes . . . is all you've got!

We absolutely know what "ALL YOU'VE GOT" means. We, as a team, have had to dig deep into our souls, believe in ourselves and trust our teammates and coaches. In the midst of our excitement of a very welcome home meet and knowing that many of our very own athletes from other BYU athletic teams would be attending, we yet again had another series of unfortunate events.

Dee was competing even though she was extremely sick from the night before and during warm-ups, our beloved Huey went down during timed warm-ups on vault. Our hearts sunk, what were we going to do. But, never fear, the underdogs were here to save the day! Each and everyone of us, pulled up our boot straps, or I guess you could say our wrist guards and tape, pulled ourselves together and went out swinging. It was great, everyone of our competitors dug deep within themselves and found a little extra to give.

Dee was amazing. You would never know she was so sick. Kylie vaulted for the first time in Megan's place, Maddie handled beam with ease and Emiko swung bars like she had been doing it all season. And, our extra incentive was the amazing crowd cheering us on 100%. Cosmo was on hand to hi 5 us at the start of our meet. What a high to know the crowd was cheering for us. The meet was a great experience and we were able to secure a team score of 192.575, not to mention we were able to get our highest team bar score yet, 48.350.

After the meet, we got to share refreshments with family and friends which is always a great way to end the day.

So, this coming Friday we get to stay home in our very own Smith Field House and host Southern Utah. We are training very hard and will be ready to rock and roll. Sooooo, make sure you come out to cheer us on at 7:00 p.m. If you can't get to come, check us out live on BYU television!

SUU Meet-February 13th

2009-02-17T00:52:00.009-07:00

Emiko, Kylie, and Jen showing off our Valentines Day leotards

Mickell, Maddie, Krysten, Jen, Emiko and Kylie enjoying a moment of togetherness at Southern Utah.

So this past week we had a meet down at Southern Utah University. It was kind of a rough meet for us, but it was also an emotional roller coaster the week leading up to it. In a matter of 3 days we lost two of our top scorers, and most consistent performers. Holland and Natalie both injured their knee pretty seriously and unfortunately will have to retire from their freshman season early. Because of this, many line-ups were forced to have sudden changes and we could only put 5 routines up on bars. Needless to say, part our minds and hearts were back in Provo with our injured teammates and not in the meet.

For those of you who don't know, teams usually put six people up on each event but only have to count five scores. This way if someone messes up or doesn't hit their routine quite right, there is a chance that score can be dropped. However, only putting of five people puts an incredible amount of pressure on everyone because no matter how the routines go every score is being counted.

Although the meet may not have gone as we had hoped, there were definitely some high marks. Huey posted her highest beam score yet, 9.85 and Whitney had an amazing floor routine. Our spirits weren't totally beat when we figured our team score to be around a 192. We realized that if we could score a 192 dealing with what we had this past week, then there's nothing that can stop us!

Now we are back in the gym working hard. We are also very grateful that our Baby Jen is back on the hard set and will be joining the bar lineup soon! :)

We finally have another home meet (which we are thankful for) this Friday, February 20th, in the Marriott Center--7:00 pm We are so excited to be performing for our home crowd and can't wait to see everyone there!

University of Utah

2009-02-09T10:21:00.011-07:00

I FOUND MORE PICTURES!! :) (and i want to know why our photographers have such a hard time taking good beam pictures...look how easy it is!! oh, plus there were some of megan and krysten but they were making faces because they were vaulting so I thought they might not appreciate me posting them on here...)

I believe that's natalie (above) in her layout

Kaylee's pike jump

Natalie and Whitney high fiving during team introductions!

Jess's layout on beam :)

Well, it was definitely a hard, but exciting night at the U on Friday (Feb. 6)! Although getting boo-ed by half the crowd is not a great experience, competing in front of more than 15,000 people definitely is!!

Vault was definitely the highlight of the night, with Emiko and Natalie competing their vaults for the first time in college and posting career highs obviously, along with Krysten's nearly perfect front pike, and Holland and Megan's best vaults yet!! The cougars pulled in an amazing 49.1, just a tenth and a half lower than the Ute's vault score!!! It was a great way to finish off the night...it really proved our persistence as a team!

Other highlights: Mickell Merrel's career high floor routine, Jess competing beam!!, Megan and Krysten's flawless and beautiful beam routines (so proud! :) ), and Megan's super bar routine, along with Melissa's strong fight on bars!

We continue to imporve both in the gym and out on the floor and are excited for what we will accomplish in the near future!!

Car ride up to Salt Lake (Jen, Kara, Krysten, and Tara)

Entertaining ourselves, waiting to leave. (Ashely, Kaylee, Holland, Natalie)

Girls being silly in the car! (Holland, Jen, Ashley, Krysten, Mickell)

Kaylee and Mickell ready for warm-ups!

Eating dinner at Sweet Tomatoes after the meet. (Kara, Whitney, Taisha, Maddie, Danielle)

Next meet: at Southern Utah- February 13, 7:00 p.m.

Written by: Kaylee Gallup

San Jose

2009-01-17T03:47:00.009-07:00

What could we want more then to have a good time in California with a former teammate? Not a whole lot!

During warm ups Huey took a nasty fall on bars- the upright slid out while she was going which made her peel off through the bottom. She ended up missed a bit of warm ups trying to get her breath back, but in the end competed an awesome bar routine! We are all so grateful for the hard work she puts in during practice so that warming up in half the time is no big deal to her

.
Another fun thing about this meet was it was Mickell Merrell's 19th birthday! As a birthday present to herself she did a great floor routine and earned a season high! Following the meet Chad led the entire restaurant in a round of Happy Birthday for her.

Huey and Mickell weren't the only ones that did a great job- a few other girls had season highs and even placed in the top three at the meet

Even though the equipment wasn't what we are use to (the hand mat for vault was only about 2/3 the length of the one we normally use), the girls did an awesome job making the needed adjustments during warm ups so the competition could go as smoothly as possible.

In addition to gymnastics fun, it was SO nice to see Meghan "Muscles" Donahue and the parents that were able to make it out to the meet.

Getting ready to leave for the meet

Beam team warming up

Strength Coach McKell (lol) trying to figure out how to do the workout Josh left us in the baby weight room at the hotel

One last picture in the sun before heading back to cold Utah

First Home Meet

2009-01-09T23:34:00.009-07:00

Whitney and Kaylee signing autographs after the meet.

Well, the first home meet of the season is now behind us and although the scores did not reflect it, we as a team made some good improvements from the last meet in Cancun. Holland got hurt on her last warm-up vault and therefore was not able to compete in any of her three events. We just hope she gets better fast because we could really use her! And also just because we love her! :)

One of my personal favorite things about this meet was having the entire team there and getting to see emiko, whitney, and jess get to do their stuff! All coming back from injuries, they really proved their hard work ethic by coming back quick and being ready to step up. The whole team loved seeing jess out on the floor doing her floor routine after a long recovery from her elbow injury. She is a very talented gymnast that deserves to shine!

We had a goal this meet to have as much fun as possible and we really did have a good time! Home meets are always fun thanks to the home crowd! We appreciate family, friends, and fan's support and thank everyone for coming!!

Although this team has not gotten off to the greatest start of a season in cougar history, this is a very hard working team that wants to make improvements each and every day and that never gives up on themselves OR their team. And I know that as long as we keep this up, we can be as great as ever!

(To see the TrueBlue meet review go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP311t3Kav4)

Cancun 2009

2009-01-05T08:02:00.004-07:00

We had a ton of fun in Cancun this year and learned plenty of lessons we plan to take back to practice! It was such great experience and an awesome place to start off the season.

Natalie posing with her hero

After injuring her foot during practice, freshman Natalie Eyre was forced to take off a week to recover. Fortunately for our team Natalie is a very hard worker and was ready to come back for the meet! She did an amazing beam routine that scored 9.825- the second highest score of the meet!

Besides doing gymnastics we were able to make time to have fun doing other stuff :)

Kaylee, Mel, Krys, and Mickell enjoying the fountains at the mall

Dinner after the meet- Amy Pond's aunt and uncle were kind enough to make us dinner
Jenn, Mickell, Natalie

Snorkeling Fun!
Melissa Hough

Danielle and Kaylee at Senior Frogs

Team dinner at, what, Chocolate City?! Delicious!
Megan Donehue

Foam House Fun

2008-12-27T23:45:00.006-07:00

When we came back from Christmas break what did we see? The coolest foam house ever! Rumor has it our coach's children did it, but we can definitely see Brad in there working on it! ;)

Look at the size of that! It has all sorts of rooms and hallways!
How many foam pits have you seen that can fit an entire gymnastics team in it?

We can never hide from practice! Brad will always track us down! :)

Intrasquad

2008-12-08T00:36:00.004-07:00

Everyone is invited to come support the gymnastics team at our intrasquad on
Thursday, Dec 11
We are starting warm-ups at 1:30 so the performances will start sometime
between 2:30 and 3:00.
We are super excited to be in one of the final steps of getting ready for our competition season to begin and can't wait to see how we do!

Hope to see everyone there! Thank you so much for your support!

Meet our Freshman!

2008-11-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Freshman Initiation

Our team has the greatest freshman ever! They are:

-Emiko Ono from Hawaiian Island Twisters in Hawaii

-Natalie Eyre from All American Gymnastics in Lindon

-Mickell Merrell from All American Gymnastics in Lindon

-Taisha Bailey from Nebo Gymnastics in Spanish Fork

-Kara Mun from Hawaiian Island Twisters in Hawaii

-Kylie Gallacher from All American Gymnastics in Lindon

-Jen Lezue from Cambridge Kips in Canada

-Holland Davis from Desert Lights Gymnastics in Arizona

-Krysten Koval from The Colony Gymnastics in Texas

-Ashley Snyder from All American Gymnastics in Lindon

We're excited to have you girls on the team!

Welcome to our Blog!

2008-11-16T12:11:00.007-07:00

The Junior Class- Kaylee Gallup, Megan Donehue, Danielle Goldman, Melissa Hough, McKell Poulson-Merkley

We just started this blog to let people get to know our team better and to keep everyone updated!
Check back later to see what we're up to!