Dec. 6, 2007
Get behind the scenes of Illinois Gymnastics with Illini Ink - the weekly women's gymnastics journal. In this week's edition, senior Michelle McGrady talks about Illinois football in the Rose Bowl, preparing for Mixed Pairs, the upcoming week of final exams and Christmas break.
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Dear Illini Fans,
This past week has been very exciting for the whole Illinois family. On Sunday, it was announced that our football team was selected to play in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. This has brought a lot of excitement to the rest of Illinois athletics and has particularly given the gymnastics team a lot motivation for the upcoming season. Our annual season kick-off Mixed Pairs competition is two days away and the team cannot wait to step into Huff Hall. We have been practicing really hard and now it is time to show it off!
On Monday, we had an intra-squad on bars and floor. Both events went well, but we still need to make sure handstands are made and landings are stuck. Vault and beam are progressively improving as well. The girls are adjusting to the "no move" and "in a row" rules; therefore, we are more efficient at completing the beam assignments. Vault is also looking impressive as we will now have a line-up of six 10.0 vaults. Although practice is going great, Friday will give us a different opportunity to perform with a little added pressure and allow the newcomers to experience college gymnastics.
Not only have we been working hard in the gym, but we have also been busy recruiting future Illini. Last weekend, we all enjoyed decorating Christmas stockings, baking cookies, bowling, and painting a poster for Kenney Gym. Laura made a fun Christmas CD that really put everyone in the holiday spirit.
Although we are all in the Christmas mood, we still have some work to do before we can open presents! Finals are starting next week and we will be continuing to practice until Sunday December 16th. Finals week will give the team some quality study time and the gym will be open for the girls to come in and create their own assignments. This is great because each gymnast can come in on her free time and make a personalized workout plan.
After finals, we will have a ten day break to celebrate the holidays and then we will return to Champaign to get ready for our first meet. So with that I'd like to say "Good-bye" pre-season and "Hello" season! Get excited fans because this should be a fun one.
GO ILLINI!
Michelle
P.S. Don't forget to come watch Mixed Pairs on Friday December 7 @ Huff Hall 7pm!
