Politics, Culture, and Other Wastes of Time

Sunday, March 9, 2008
8:27:00 AM EDT
Feeling Loopy
Hearing Thompson Twins
The Boise State Broncos women's gymnastics team, which features Greensboro, NC, gymnast Courtney Archer, pulled off a stunning win over Penn State and Arizona State in Tucson, Ariz. But, the big news of the weekend in this overlooked sport was #4 Michigan's win over #1 Georgia in Ann Arbor on Friday night.
Michigan won the meet by a 197.600-196.950 score. The meet was unique in that it was seen via free streaming from the team's web site. And, there were no annoying announcers who asked questions like: "Why do gymnasts perform barefoot?" (as if wearing Reeboks would help on the balance beam) while also mentioning which football player a gymnast was dating. All of this made the meet that much more enjoyable.
The star of the night for the Lady Wolverines was redshirt freshman Sarah Curtis of Reno, Nev., who scored a 39.600 while fifth year senior Lindsey Bruck of Marietta, NY, came in second with a 39.475.
The most moving moment of the night came when Wolverine gymnast Trish Wilson who won the uneven bars competition earlier came to the floor with ice on her ankles after twisting her leg on the floor exercise to a loud applause from her teammates and also the visiting Georgia Bulldogs.
The defending-champions from Athens had several highlights during the evening including a robotic floor exercise from Abby Stack which could have been performed to the old '80s Styx song "Mr. Roboto." It garnered a 9.825. Standout Georgia gymnast Katie Heenan also delivered an impressive vault which scored a 9.9.
Georgia coach Suzzane Yoculan told the school's sports relations department that the meet was a positive one considering that the team is trying to come to terms with a devastating injury to their top gymnast Courtney Kupets, who is a former Olympian.
In another meet between two highly-ranked schools, The University of Utah beat Oregon State 196.30-195.15 in Salt Lake City. The Utes overcame a fall from their top gymnast Ashley Postell on the bars.
Utes coach Greg Marsden told Linda Hamilton of "The Deseret News" that it was good to see other gymnasts, like Kristina Baskett, cover for Postell since she has helped the Utes edge out victories in many close meets.
For the visiting Beavers, Yuki Lamb, a gymnast from Knoxville, Tenn., that I had a chance to meet at the NCAAs in Salt Lake City last year, scored an impressive 9.85 on vault and a 9.70 on the balance beam.
In Palo Alto, Calif., the home team Stanford Cardinal (#9) scoreda  196. 775  to  defeat both  Alabama (#6) and Nebraska (#16) on their home floor. It was senior night for the Cardinal gymnasts, including fan favorite Liz Tricase.
And, the visiting University of North Carolina Tarheels won over Minnesota in the wake of a campus tragedy in Chapel Hill this week. The Tarheels gymnastics team has also faced its share of injuries this year, but they are 12-3 and they will face LSU and North Carolina State in Raleigh on Friday.
The NCAA Championships will be held in Athens, Ga., this year, and right now Georgia, Utah, UCLA, Michigan and Florida appear to be contenders for the championship.

Useful Links:

http://www.umgym.com

http://www.collegegymnastics.yuku.com

http://www.deseretnews.com



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