October is already upon us and practice is in full swing. We have begun putting our routines together and the girl's skill sets are becoming more developed and polished. Along with putting routines together, we have been doing partner assignments in the gym to prepare for the upcoming season. These assignments are not only fun, but also help us build personal accountability for the team's performance. Jake has also been calculating our sticking percentage of dismounts on bars at the end of each week. We are steadily increasing the percentage as we approach the Orange and Blue Exhibition!

We've been having a great time with team activities and doing plenty of bonding. This weekend we broke out into groups and made videos of the top ten places we like on campus - it was a lot of fun. We also had a bake-off where we made different desserts and appetizers. Chad and Jake determined the winner while sampling our creations at the kiddy table at Kim's house. Their stomachs may never be the same! Lastly, a bunch of us cheered on the football players as they took on Purdue at Memorial Stadium. Although we would have loved to see a "W", we still had an enjoyable time.

Mid-terms begin this week, so we will be spending A LOT of our time studying. We all work very hard and want to continue to be successful both in the gym as well as in the classroom. We also are excited for fall break - it will be nice to have a few days off after mid-terms.

We look forward to seeing the Illini faithful at the annual Orange and Blue exhibition, so mark your calendars - the meet is December 7th at 2 p.m. Thank you for your continued support of Illini Women's Gymnastics!

See you soon ... GO ILLINI!

Erin