Dec. 17, 2008

Get behind the scenes of Illinois Gymnastics with Illini Ink - the weekly women's gymnastics journal. In this week's edition, freshman Kelsey Joannides talks about finals week, Champaign weather, Christmas at Coach Bob's and moving in with the upperclassmen.

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Hey Illini Fans!

Tis' the season! Competition time is right around the corner, and we have all been pounding out routines in the gym! All the girls are working very hard in spite of this stressful time in the school year. Finals week is always a bit crazy. It seems like every minute outside of the gym is spent studying, but it will all be worth it as the holidays approach, and we have a break from school. I cannot believe how quickly my very first semester of college has gone by!

The past few days have brought some icy temperatures along with some winter weather too! Although campus has begun to look like a winter wonderland, I sure hope there are no delays as we set off on our travels this weekend! After some relaxing time at home with our families, we'll be back in Champaign before we know it.

When we return to Champaign, Bob will be having the whole team over to celebrate the holidays together. It will be a nice way to enjoy the holiday season. We'll all gather for a delicious meal and trade Secret Santa gifts! I can't wait to find out who everybody has!

In the meantime before school picks up again, we "dormers" (freshmen and sophomores) will get to stay with the juniors and seniors at their apartments! It will be a lot of fun to have some down time, hang out, and watch a lot of movies in between practices! We are all already counting down the days until January 9th when we kick things off at Michigan State!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Thanks for reading!

Go Illini!

Kelsey