Jan. 10, 2006
Let me just start by saying Friday was my father's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! Also the same day we competed in one of the biggest meets of our season, the Super Six Challenge, held in Baton Rouge, La. MU, along with Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Nebraska and Iowa State participated in this competition. Even though we came in sixth place, we really did a great job for our first meet of the season. Many of the other team's coaches were giving compliments to our coaches on how strong we look this year. I am extremely proud of our team for how we finished the meet. We came together and fought hard.
Bars was our first event, and the first four girls hit their routines solid. We only had one fall and then Jodie had a great set and finished with a stick. I was up third on bars and I was so nervous. It was my first event of my college career and I could feel the blood running through my veins and my heart start to race. Somehow I pulled myself together and made my routine. The energy we had on bars was amazing. We were cheering and yelling for each other at the top of our lungs, and the team spirit I felt from everyone is undescribable. It is a moment I will never forget.
Beam, on the other hand, is something I would not mind forgetting. I was up first on beam and made the two skills that I usually struggle on, so I thought I had it in the bag. But before I knew it I had fallen on my series which I hardly ever miss in practice. The rest of my routine went well but I was really frustrated with myself. I did not mope for too long because I had to be there for my teammates. The next four girls stepped up and hit great beam routines.
As for floor, one of our strongest events, ended up being our worst event of the night. Unfortunately, there were things our team was unaware of regarding the values of skills that girls were performing and we lost quite a few tenths in our start values. Girls, coaches, you know what I mean. Vault was our last event and we hit six for six. This was an ideal way to end the meet. Although we did not place where we wanted as a team, we know that with a few minor adjustments we will be on the right track to beating our competition in the future. We definitely made our opponents nervous, performed with great poise and confidence, and showed everybody that MIZZOU IS ON THE MOVE!
GO TIGERS!!!
"Setbacks pave the way for comebacks"