more news:
"GYMNASTICS: Bakken represents Huskies at national championship" -
http://thedaily.washington.edu/article/2007/4/26/gymnasticsBakkenRepresentsHuskiesAtNationalChampionship
"Freshman gymnast leads Tide into nationals" -
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/sports/070426/lead.shtml
Ricki Lebegern:
[quote]"Everybody thought since I was a Level 10, it was more the Elites that were going to the better schools," Lebegern said. "I was just a 10.
"Toward the end of my junior year, I thought maybe I could be on a team like Alabama's. I talked to Sarah and she told me I could do it. I came here and I fit in."
More than fit in, actually. Lebegern won the balance beam title at the Southeastern Conference championships last month.
"I keep reminding her and pinching her a little bit on the side and saying 'You remember that conversation we had in your living room? You remember me telling you that you could be a great athlete?"' Patterson said.
Lebegern did have impressive credentials even if she was "just" a Level 10 gymnast. She was a member of the U.S. Junior Olympic national team, finishing fourth in the all-around as a high school junior and second as a senior.
Other top gymnastics programs were also recruiting her, including Utah, LSU and Michigan. [/quote]
"ONLINE EXTRA: NCAA Gymnastics Championship has SEC flavor" -
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/SPORTS/704260305
Alabama:
[quote]Alabama, which features 12 freshmen and sophomores among its 15 gymnasts, doesn't have the team it has fielded in years past. Former Canadian Olympian Melanie Banville gave up the sport last summer and heralded freshman Kayla Hoffman elected not to enroll until 2008, leaving the Crimson Tide struggling with depth problems all year.
Those problems were magnified when junior Terin Humphrey injured her shoulder in the SEC Championships and Kassi Price, a contender for SEC Freshman of the Year honors, suffered cartilage damage in her knee and sat out the regionals two weeks ago.
"Her knee is stable, Alabama coach Sarah Patterson said. "She's been given the go-ahead, whatever she can do safely. I don't know what that is. She's not like Terin where she can rest and not practice for a week. Kassi is a trained gymnast who gains confidence through practice. My hope is that she can do bars for us."[/quote]
"Determination defines UA's walk-on gymnast" -
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/sports/180198.php
Jamie Holton:
[quote]As a senior, Holton will compete on the balance beam at the meet in Salt Lake City. Coach Bill Ryden said she has a good chance of earning All-America honors.
"She wasn't good enough to warrant (a scholarship) out of high school," Ryden said. He said he could not recall another gymnast in his nine years at the UA who was a true walk-on and NCAA qualifier.
"I think Jamie is the first," he said. "Everyone looks at me saying, 'Are you kidding me?' "
Holton arrived at the UA not having a "10.0" vault for the highest difficulty, which she said is needed to compete in a college lineup. She learned new tumbling passes on floor each season. [/quote]
