Wednesday, April 14, 2010

“Youth Sports: Silvia’s Gymnastics” plus 3 more

“Youth Sports: Silvia’s Gymnastics” plus 3 more

Youth Sports: Silvia’s Gymnastics

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 01:51 AM PDT

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Silvia's Level 8 Gymnasts Compete at PA States—Level 8 gymnasts from Silvia's gymnastics competed at the PA State competition on March 26-28. Individual placements were as follows: Age 11 and under: Ally Molchan placed sixth on beam and Sam Watkins placed tenth on vault and beam.

All Herald Gymnastics

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 09:29 PM PDT

By Ryan Pipke
Assistant Sports Editor

Central Connecticut has become a hotbed of high school gymnastics talent, mostly centered on Southington. This season was no exception, as the Blue Knights went on to their fifth Class L state title in six years. But a training partner of the Knights turned out to be the top winner of the year.

Newington's Stephanie Kiback headlines our All-Herald team. Our selection for Female Athlete of the Season was not only the best in the area, but claimed the New England all-around title with a great day at Jonathan Law High School.

Kiback scored 37.925, .275 ahead of the nearest competitor, to win that event, just a week after a pair of costly mistakes left her in third place at the State Open. She won the vaulting event at each competition, with a 9.6 at the New England meet, and was also tied for the New England title on floor exercise (9.6). Kiback had a third-place finish in bars (9.475) and was tied for seventh on beam (9.25). At the State Open she placed second on bars (9.525) and fourth on floor (9.25), helping make up for a fall on the balance beam.

Kiback, a sophomore, placed fifth at the 2009 Level 9 Eastern Nationals and is the second elite gymnast in her family, following her sister Jessica, a member of the SCSU team.

Southington's title was fueled by a youth movement as freshmen Toni Penta and Olivia Morrell were the most consistent scorers all season long. Penta had the team's highest scoring average in the regular season and qualified for the Class L all-around competition. She was Southington's best scorer at the New England meet with a 34.175 all-around and placed 22nd. Her best event was a 17th-place finish in the vault (9.025). Penta, like all six all-Herald honorees, earned all-state honors and was named the hardest working gymnast by the Southington YMCA, also leading that team in points.

Morrell was the team's top performer at the Class L meet and State Open. She was 15th at the Open with a 34.525 all-around score and placed in the top 15 on bars and beam. Morrell's best event at the New England meet was beam, placing 17th with an 8.95. She might have been Southington's top athlete at that event as well, but did not compete on vault. Morrell has been a Level 9 state qualifier and Level 8 state and regional qualifier.

Katelynn Hyde has been a three-time all-Herald selection in gymnastics and was again a key to Southington's success. She placed 24th at the New England meet in the all-around (34.025), placing 16th on the beam (9.0). Hyde earned all-state honors in three events and is a captain and honor roll student.

Rebecca Mirando, who won the Class L all-around title as a freshman, developed into a vocal team leader by this, her senior season. She placed 33rd in the New England all-around standings (33.150) and was tied for 22nd on the floor exercise (8.6). Mirando battled injuries through much of her high school career, but was undeniably productive and talented when healthy.

Plainville's Millie Mills, like Kiback, competed as the lone member of her school's team. She qualified for two events at the State Open, tying for 14th on floor exercise (8.55) and 17th on vault (8.3). Mills is a two-time gymnastics all-Herald selection and has a remarkable six total selections in diving, gymnastics and outdoor track in under three full years.

HONORABLE MENTION: Cassidy Chamberland and Rachel Wrinn, both of Southington.

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2010 season recap: A roller coaster ride for gymnastics

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 07:14 PM PDT

THE RIDE IS OVER: The ASU gymnastics team had its share of ups and downs this season, entering the top 25 in February but losing its final three matches and finishing last at the Pac-10 Championships. The Sun Devils did make their 29th straight regional appearance. (Photo by Scott Stuk)

Roller coasters are far too often used to summarize a sports team's season.

Every group has its ups and downs.

Wins and losses always come. Failure is usually matched with success.

But for the 2010 ASU women's gymnastics team, its' drastic climb to elite performance, followed by a sudden of drop-off, can only be described as a Tower of Terror-like ride.

The ride up

The Sun Devils opened their season at the Lady Luck Invitational in Las Vegas, receiving three lop-sided losses against ranked opponents in then-No. 13 Missouri, No. 12 Kentucky, and No. 16 Louisiana State.

Four gymnasts made their Sun Devil debuts that night. Only one scored higher than a 9.700 on any routine.

Just two days later, ASU salvaged the weekend with its first win of the season over the hapless California Golden Bears, 192.825-191.800. Cal remained winless up until its last meet of the season.

After showing signs of improvement in two losses against two top-20 teams in UA and UCLA, the Sun Devils began a stretch of gymnastics that was just about as perfect as they could do.

Longtime rival Utah brought the first match of ASU's stellar run.

For the first time in two years, the Sun Devils were not forced to count a fall in their score.

Despite the 195.700-196.475 loss, the team's competitive performance bumped ASU into the national rankings at No. 25.

The following week in Seattle, ASU used its momentum to capture a 195.650-195.425 victory over then-No. 24 Washington.

Finally, against then-No. 8 Stanford, the young Sun Devil gymnasts put together all they had into one flawless night.

On each of the team's first three rotations, one gymnast fell, leaving the ensuing gymnast with added pressure not to follow suit.

And so one by one, without fail, each gymnast put down clutch routine after clutch routine. The night, and perhaps even the season, climaxed with a perfect six-for-six showing on floor, tallying the team's highest total on any event this season with a 49.275.

Unfortunately, the score just wasn't quite good enough, as the Cardinal pulled away with a 196.675-195.900 win.

However, if one didn't know any better, one would think ASU had won. The team was enthralled with its performance, and wasn't afraid to show it.

Crashing down

Riding so high, nobody foresaw what would happen next.

The Sun Devils put together three consecutive 150.000-plus scores, but were about to start a rough streak.

From this point on, ASU would count a fall in all of its remaining meets.

Against then-No. 7 Oregon State, ASU was never close in a 194.650-196.925 loss.

Next up was unranked Central Michigan. The Sun Devils gave away the lead after two rotations when three gymnasts fell off the balance beam, relegating ASU to a meet-losing score of 47.625 on the event.

The loss dropped the Sun Devils out of the top 25, a distinction ASU would never regain.

After finishing third in a tri-meet behind then-No. 22 Boise State and Brigham Young, ASU finished the regular season in historic fashion at the Pac-10 Championships in Tucson.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, it was historically bad fashion.

The team scored a 190.657 and finished dead last at the event — giving Cal its aforementioned first win of the season.

It was the poorest showing by an ASU squad in over a decade.

ASU coach John Spini said after the meet that he had never put a team on the mat that did so badly.

Fortunately, the Sun Devils received a bid to the NCAA West Regional in Los Angeles as one of the top 36 teams in the nation, extending the school's NCAA appearance streak to 29.

Once there, the squad finished in fifth place with a score of 193.900, well behind the two schools that qualified for nationals, UCLA and Arkansas.

Miss Mary

The bright spot all year for the Sun Devils was the outstanding individual effort of junior Mary Atkinson.

The Second Team All-Pac-10 gymnast won four all-around titles during this year.

Atkinson consistently tallied wins over highly-ranked opponents, including then-No. 4 Mandi Rodriguez of Oregon State.

Her best outing, however, came in a loss.

Against Stanford, Atkinson put up a career-high 39.500 all-around total encompassing three 9.900's and a career-best 9.800 on the balance beam.

Last week, the junior capped off her stellar season by qualifying for the NCAA National Championships on April 22-24.

Outlook for 2011

"I think next year is our big turnaround year," Spini said. "Getting back to nationals next year will very much depend on our health again. If you add [injured junior] Beate Jones, who was an outstanding athlete last year, and Mary on the same floor doing the same job they're used to doing, that will be huge."

Another year of experience for this season's young squad will likely soothe some of the nerves that consistently plagued ASU so much in 2010.

The team's only graduating senior is Kaitlynn Bormann.

Look for the Sun Devils to be back with a vengeance.

Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu

Categories: Featured Gymnastics Sports

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M. Gymnastics. No. 6 California Heads to NCAA Championships

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 01:49 PM PDT

April 14, 2010

Complete Postseason Guide in PDF Format Get Acrobat Reader

BERKELEY - The No. 6 California men's gymnastics team is ready for its biggest weekend of competition of the season at the NCAA Championships in West Point, N.Y. On Thursday, the Golden Bears (7-7) will compete against No. 10 Nebraska, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Michigan and No. 11 Iowa in the team qualifier. To advance to Friday's team championships, Cal must finish as one of the top three in its qualifying session. The individual event finals are scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 17.

About the NCAA Championships
Competition begins Thursday, April 15, with two pre-qualifying sessions starting at 10 a.m. and at 4 p.m., PST, in the later of which Cal will be competing. The top three teams from each session along with the top three individuals in each of the six team events not part of a qualifying team, or as an all-arounder, advance to the team and all-around finals Friday evening, April 16, to vie for the national title. The team finals will be televised by ESPN2 on tape-delay April 23 at 1:30 p.m. The top 10 gymnasts in each of the six team events Friday evening advance to Saturday's (April 17) NCAA Championship individual event finals at 4 p.m. PST, where the top six finishers on each of the six events will be awarded All-America status.

Cal Tradition at NCAAs
The Bears have a rich history in the NCAA Championships with 195 individual top-10 finishers since 1948, including 29 individual national champions. Cal has finished in the top five at NCAAs 18 times since 1959, including six times this decade with last season's fourth-place finish. The Bears boast four team national championships - 1968, '75, '97 and '98. Cal has 29 individual national championship titles, 14 with Barry Weiner as the head coach. His most recent national champion was crowned last year when Evan Roth won rings. In 2008, Tim McNeill added two more to that list when he took top honors on pommel horse and parallel bars, bring his career total to five. Since their back-to-back NCAA titles in `97 and `98, the Bears' best finish in the NCAA Championships was third, which they accomplished in 2001 and 2002. The best team score Cal has earned in the Weiner era is 233.825, a total the Bears earned in the `97 championship year. Since 1996, Cal has qualified for the NCAA Championships every year except one (1999). The lowest the Bears have placed in the national championships under Weiner was a seventh-place finish in 2003.

Flashback: 2009 NCAA Championships
Cal's fourth-place finish at the 2009 NCAAs marked the 10th time in the past 12 years that the team has closed the year as one of the top-five teams in the country at the NCAA Championships. It was also the highest the Bears have finished since 2002, when they were third. The 13 top-10 individual finishes was the first time since 1959 that a Cal team has achieved this feat and only the second time in program history. In the two days of competition at the national championships, Cal set five team season highs and four program bests. Evan Roth took home the NCAA individual title on still rings for his first championship and the 29th individual title in program history. Seven Bears competed in the individual championships, combining for nine All-America honors - Glen Ishino and Bryan del Castillo on high bar; Ishino on pommel horse; Roth and Kyle Brady on rings; Roth on vault; and Brady, Ishino and Jim Kerry on parallel bars.

Recently in the Gym
The Bears took second at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on April 3, edged by .100 of a point, 354.550-354.450, by Oklahoma. At the MPSF meet, Ishino won the all-around championships by almost three full points. Ishino also took home the pommel-horse crown, while junior Kyle Bunthuwong won parallel bars and high bar. Cal's second-place finish was the highest since 2005, when the Bears also took second at the MPSFs.

MPSF Lauds Weiner as Coach of the Year
Barry Weiner has been selected as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year, marking the sixth time in his career that Weiner has been lauded as the best coach in the competitive conference. In his 19th season at the helm of the Golden Bears, Weiner continues his track record of producing top-ranked men's gymnastics teams and student-athletes. This season, Weiner has led the Bears to a 7-7 overall record. Most recently, the Bears took second at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on April 3. Thus far in 2010, Weiner's coaching has helped Cal land three MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors with Ishino earning the award twice and Bunthuwong once. Both Ishino and Bunthuwong are U.S. senior national team members.

Isino Tabbed as MPSF Gymnast of the Year
Glen Ishino was named the MPSF Gymnast of the Year, the conference office announced recently. At the MPSF meet, Ishino won the all-around championships by almost three full points. Ishino also took home the pommel-horse crown, while junior Kyle Bunthuwong won parallel bars and high bar. Cal's second-place finish was the highest since 2005, when the Bears also took second at the MPSFs. Though he is just a sophomore, Ishino demonstrates his superior gymnastics week in and week out for the Bears. At the recent MPSF Championships, Ishino took home the all-around title with a 90.100, well ahead of second-place finisher Steven Legendre of Oklahoma, who scored 87.300. Ishino also took home the gold medal on pommel horse with his 15.150. Despite suffering an injury during warm-ups just minutes before the first meet of the season, Ishino has returned in high fashion - notching six event titles and four all-around victories.

Scouting Cal's Qualifier Opponents
Competing in the evening session are Nebraska, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Michigan, California and Iowa along with individual all-arounders Andrew Faulk of Navy, Nash Mills of Air Force and Army's Ty Smith. Against the teams in their field, the Bears have only met with Nebraska, Oklahoma and Iowa this season. Cal posted a 349.450-331.050 victory over Iowa at the Pacific Coast Collegiate Classic on Feb. 20. The Bears recently saw action against the Huskers and Sooners at the MPSF Championships on April 3. At that conference championship, Cal defeated Nebraska, 354.540-341.650 but Oklahoma edged the Bears out of the title, 354.550-354.450.

Daring Donathon
Freshman Donathon Bailey has been a key contributor for the Bears on each of the events over the course of his freshman campaign. His primary events are horse and rings, on which his personal highs are 14.750 and 14.200, respectively, and both of which he set in the first meet of the season. The Gold Country Classic was the first time that he competed in the all-around, scoring an 82.650. At that meet, he set career highs on vault (14.800), parallel bars (14.500) as well as high bar (13.550).

The del Castillo Factor
Despite returning from injury, junior Bryan del Castillo has been a high point for the Bears all season. A key member of the all-around team and someone Cal relies on for high schools in the all-round, del Castillo has competed in every meet except for one this season. He achieved new personal all-time bests on floor (15.200), horse (14.750) and vault (15.500) this season.

Lucky Lacombe
Freshman Steven Lacombe has competed in each of Cal's five team meets as a true freshman this year, earning placement on Cal's floor, rings and vault team. He set his personal high on floor with a 14.00 at the Stanford Open on Jan. 30. At the Gold Country Classic (Feb. 13), the Mission Viejo, Calif., native had his first outing on vault, notching a 14.500. He also set a new career/season high on rings at the last meet with a 14.000 at the Pacific Coast Classic.

The Monteclaro Mark
Like Steven Lacombe, the Monteclaro brothers - Jean and Christian - have earned their way into the starting line-up for each of Cal's five team meets. The pair are key members of the Bears' vault team, and they further proved their worth at the Pacific Coast Classic with Jean taking sixth with a season/career-high 15.800 while Christian had a 15.550. Christian set his personal best in his very first meet - Stanford on Jan. 15 - with a 15.650.

The Representative from Switzerland...Dennis Mannhart
Freshman Swiss national team star Dennis Mannhart performed in his first meet as a Golden Bear at the Gold Country Classic. On floor, he was Cal's second highest finisher, grabbing a 14.350. The 5-5 freshman helped the Bears to a team victory on rings with his 13.800. Further contributing to the team cause, Mannhart won his first event title in a Bear uniform with his 14.800 on p-bars to lead the Bears to their 58.250-56.450 event victory. He concluded his career-opening performance with a grand total score of 85.400 for second place in the all-around.

Ishino Named March 15 MPSF, National Gymnast of the Week
Sophomore Glen Ishino, the reigning national and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation gymnast of the week, repeated as the MPSF and national gymnast for the week of March 15. Against Penn State on March 13, Ishino notched 90.900 all-around win, tying for first on parallel bars and took home the titles on vault and pommel horse. On floor, Ishino was Cal's top finisher with a 15.250, a new season high, for second place. Ishino's event-winning 15.450 on pommel horse was not only yards above the other competitors - second place was a 14.800 by PSU's Felix Aronovich - but also good enough for a new season and career high. Ishino's previous best on horse in 2010 was a 15.200 and his career high was 15.400. Thanks to Ishino's score, Cal hit a 2010 high on horse with a 58.200, above its previous season best of 56.950 and just short of its all-time best of 58.250. Ishino soared to a first-place finish on vault with his 15.850 to push the Bears to a 62.450-61.850 win on the event. On high bar, Ishino tied for first, scoring a 14.950, helping Cal set a new 2010 best with its 59.400 on h-bar, above its previous high of 58.100.

Ishino Recognized as March 8 National, MPSF Gymnast of the Week
Glen Ishino won the all-around for the California men's gymnastics team in the March 6 close loss to Ohio State, earning him stature as the MPSF and national gymnast of the week. Ishino earned an 89.050 to best teammate and Swiss national team star Dennis Mannhart, who notched an 88.200. Ishino's team-high 14.750 helped the Bears set a new team season high on floor at 57.500, which narrowly edged the Buckeyes' 57.050 on floor. Ishino was Cal's top finisher on pommel horse, where he took second with a 15.000, and rings, on which he was third with his 15.150. He took second place on parallel bars with a 15.050, just .200 behind event winner Mannhart. The Santa Ana's 15.150 set a new personal and all-time career best on still rings. He also tied his 2010 season high on floor at 14.750 and set new year bests on parallel bars (15.050) and in the all-around (89.050).

Bunthuwong Named Feb. 22 MPSF, National Gymnast of the Week
Once again, Kyle Bunthuwong played a large role in California's success, this time at the Pacific Coast Classic on Feb. 20, and he was rewarded as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation gymnast of the week. Bunthuwong took first in the all-around with a 90.500 ahead of Stanford's Tim Gentry (second, 88.500) and Bear teammate Glen Ishino (third, 86.850). Bunthuwong won parallel bars with his 15.500 and took second on pommel horse with a season best 14.800. Not only were his scores on vault (15.900), p-bars (15.500) and in the all-around (90.500) new season highs, but they also bested his previous career highs since the implementation of FIG scoring. His first-place victory on parallel bars proved to be huge for the Bears, who set a new season high on the event en route to their first-place finish. With his fourth-place vault finish (15.900), Bunthuwong was also instrumental in Cal's tying of the all-time program best of 63.050 on vault. In all, the Bears set new season highs on five events and in the overall team squad, which no doubt could have been achieved without Bunthuwong's successful outing.

Bears Earn No. 2 Preseason Ranking
Cal was ranked second in the nation according to the Troester preseason coaches' poll. The Bears had four first-place votes for second place in the country. Despite losing four letterwinners, including NCAA individual champion Evan Roth, the Golden Bears welcome six newcomers and a solid core of 12 experienced returners. Tops on the list of lettermen are senior national team members Kyle Bunthuwong, who traveled with the U.S. delegation to the Japan Cup this summer, and Glen Ishino. Cal also brings back 2009 All-Americans Jim Kerry and Bryan del Castillo. Of the freshman, Swiss national team member Dennis Mannhart and U.S. junior team member Donathon Bailey could make an impact right away.

Cal Coaching Staff
The Bears are coached by Barry Weiner, who is in his 19th year at the helm of Cal and boasts a 255-97-1 record. He has had a total of 10 top-five national finishes, adding another spectacular season with a fourth-place finish in 2009. He has also coached 14 NCAA individual championships in his 18 seasons at Cal. The most recent individual championship was last season, when Evan Roth won the title on still rings. Weiner coached Tim McNeill to five individual national championships - three NCAA titles on pommel horse and two on parallel bars. Weiner is assisted by Aaron Floyd. During four seasons in his current role as assistant coach, Floyd has helped Weiner lead the Bears to four winning seasons - three top-five and one top-10 national finishes - as well as six individual NCAA championship titles.


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