Tuesday, March 2, 2010

“Sports brief: Men's gymnastics grabs No. 1 spot (The Oklahoma Daily)” plus 2 more

“Sports brief: Men's gymnastics grabs No. 1 spot (The Oklahoma Daily)” plus 2 more

Sports brief: Men's gymnastics grabs No. 1 spot (The Oklahoma Daily)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:12 PM PST

The OU men's gymnastics team vaulted to the top of the national rankings Tuesday, marking the first time the Sooners have held the No. 1 ranking this year.

The Sooners (8-0, 3-0 MPSF) are coming off a dual meet win over No. 7 Minnesota and Texas at home Saturday.

Junior Steven Legendre led OU to its fifth tournament win of the season with three individual titles, including his first all-around title of the season.

Legendre, the defending NCAA champion in the all-around, also claimed titles on floor exercise and parallel bars.

With Tuesday's move, OU has now been ranked in the No. 1 spot in each of the last six seasons.

OU will return to conference action Sunday, when the Sooners travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on No. 2 Stanford and No. 9 Nebraska inside the Devaney Center at 2 p.m.

The matchup will be OU's third meeting with the Cornhuskers this year, with the Sooners prevailing over Nebraska Feb. 13 in Norman and also finishing ahead of the Cornhuskers Jan. 16 at the season-opening Rocky Mountain Open.

The meet will serve as the weekend capper for the OU gymnastics program, as the No. 2-ranked women's team will host No. 1 Alabama at 7p.m. Friday at Lloyd Noble Center.

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Gymnastics: Doerr and Krenz prep for state meet (Stillwater Gazette)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:24 AM PST

The Stillwater gymnastics team will be represented by sophomore Alicia Doerr and senior Kristina Krenz in Saturday's individual Class AA state gymnastics meet at the University of Minnesota Sports Pavilion.

Doerr is making her first trip to state and will compete in the beam and floor exercise while Krenz is competing at state for the fifth time in her six-year varsity career while competing in the bars.

"My hope is that they can have a good day, hit their routines and feel good about their performance," Ponies coach Traci Swenson said. "I'm not really sure what kind of potential there is for placing, but I think if either of them ended up in the top six it would be a nice surprise."

While Krenz is a familiar face at state, Doerr wasn't sure what to expect in her first season with the Ponies.

"It was a goal, but I wasn't really expecting it," Doerr said. "I didn't know how I would do. I just want to have fun and do the best I can. I'm a little nervous, but also excited. I just want to go in with a good attitude and have fun and not worry about it."

Krenz finished 21st in the bars and also competed in the all-around a year ago. She also advanced to state as a seventh-grader before placing third and second in the beam as a freshman and sophomore. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, she will end her career as one of the program's top gymnasts, but that is just part of the story.

"Her awards for gymnastics and the numbers of all-conference, all-section and all-state is amazing - and the years to get all-conference and all-state in the years she's been a part of this conference and section is doubly amazing," said Swenson, who spent 12 previous seasons as an assistant before taking over as head coach this winter. "She's probably one of the best leaders we've ever had and has really done an amazing job. We have a lot of younger girls on the team, two seniors and just one junior, and she's just really done an amazing job of showing those girls what it means to be a part of a team and support everybody and deal with disappointment in a really great way. We are going to miss her terribly."

It hasn't been easy, as Krenz has overcome numerous injuries during her prep career, including a minor concussion and torn ligaments in her foot this season. The torn ligaments diagnosis was actually positive news for someone who competes with a screw in her foot after breaking a bone in the same foot twice in the past. A year ago she was also severely limited by a stress fracture in her back, which prevented her from any offseason training.

"She's amazingly tough," Swenson said. "She's a really strong competitor and very determined."

Doerr appreciates having a familiar face on the floor for her inaugural state meet.

"I think it will be nice to have somebody there for support and to cheer you on," Doerr said. "I always feel better with somebody there."

"They're just really excited and we're excited for them," Swenson added. "I just hope they have a really good day."

The Ponies, who finished fourth with a season high score of 141.575 at the section meet, will also watch conference and section rival Roseville try to win its fifth straight state title in what is expected to be a competitive battle in Friday's team competition.

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Gymnastics: Krenz places fifth at state meet (Stillwater Gazette)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:24 AM PST

MINNEAPOLIS - Competing in her fifth Class AA state meet, Stillwater's Kristina Krenz delivered a stellar performance on Saturday to cap her gymnastics career with a high note at the University of Minnesota Sports Pavilion.

The senior finished fifth in the uneven bars with a personal best score of 9.6 in what will remain the final performance. Krenz has endured numerous injuries during her prep career, including a stress fracture in her back and broken bones and ligaments in her foot.

"I was very excited to end on such a positive," said Krenz, who plans to continue her education at the University of Minnesota in the fall. "It was my highest score ever so that was pretty exciting. It was nice to be able to finish strong. I don't really think it's hit me that I'm done with gymnastics."

Krenz, who placed second at state in the balance beam as a sophomore and third as a freshman, never considered the bars one of her strongest events but dedicated more time to it this season while recovering from those torn ligaments in her foot - which already has a screw in it from the previous broken bones.

"It definitely didn't used to be one of my better events," Krenz said. "Due to the foot injury, I've been able to work bars a little more."

Ponies coach Traci Swenson was unsure what to expect from Krenz on Saturday, but the result should have been more predictable based on her history.

"There was a tiny moment before she started her routine when the look on her face was different," Swenson said. "For a second, I worried that she might be overcome with the idea of this being her last routine. As soon as she started her routine, though, I knew that she was going to do great.

"She was clean throughout the routine with an outstanding release move, the best front giants she has ever done and a solid landing on her dismount. She has a very difficult routine on bars, but she made that routine look easy because she performed it so well."

In addition to her state runner-up and third-place showings in the beam, Krenz competed at state as a seventh grader in the bars - the only seventh-grade state qualifier that year - also advanced in the bars and all-around a year ago.

Her score in the bars on Saturday tied her with Kellie Osborn (1982) for fith place on Stillwater's all-time list in the event and she also holds the school record in the beam at 9.725.

"It was so exciting to see her on the podium in her last state meet," Swenson said. "With five state meet experiences, she is without a doubt one of our most successful gymnasts in school history. I could not have been more proud of Kristina. It was an outstanding way for her to finish an exceptional career as a Stillwater gymnast."

The litany of injuries has done little to sour Krenz on a memorable prep career.

"I've had a lot of injuries, but it's nice to have a team that's always there and coaches that are really supportive," Krenz said.

Krenz was joined at state by teammate Alicia Doerr, who placed 27th in the balance beam (8.875) and 32nd in the floor exercise (8.7) while making her first-ever trip to state.

"She had a couple of small errors connecting skills in her floor routine, however, other than that her tumbling and dance was outstanding," Swenson said. "She was in the process of completing an exceptional beam routine - nailing her back tuck-wolf jump combination - but she had a directional error on the penultimate skill of her routine, which caused a fall.

"Despite the errors, the state meet was a great experience for Alicia. She had the opportunity to see what the best high school gymnasts in the state are doing and she is excited to strive to match them."

n Northfield posted a winning score of 148.325 to unseat four-time reigning state champion Roseville in Friday's Class AA team competition. Roseville placed second with a score of 146.225. Cambridge-Isanti (145.45) and Lakeville North (145.225) followed in third and fourth.

Individual results

Vault - 1. Natalie Merrifield (Bloomington Jefferson) 9.75; 2. Kaylee Jondal (Elk River/Zimmerman) 9.7; 3. Brooke Bistodeau (Rogers) 9.675.

Uneven bars - 1. Jena Jondahl (Elk River/Zimmerman) 9.7; 2. Kellie Dougherty (White Bear Lake) 9.7; 3. Sabrina Hoover (Rogers) 9.675; 5. Kristina Krenz (Stillwater) 9.6.

Beam - 1. Sabrina Hoover (Rogers) 9.7; 2. Sveta Mason (Northfield) 9.575; 3. Mariah Miller (St. Cloud Tech) 9.575; 27. Alicia Doerr (Stillwater) 8.875.

Floor - 1. Jena Jondahl (Elk River/Zimmerman) 9.7; 2. Kaylee Jondahl (Elk River/Zimmerman) 9.675; 3. Kayla Widmar (Lakeville South) 9.625; 32. Alicia Doerr (Stillwater) 8.7.

All-around - 1. Sabrina Hoover (Rogers) 38.575; 2. Natalie Merrifield (Bloomington Jefferson) 38.3; 3. Kayla Widmar (Lakeville South) 38.025.

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