Saturday, May 29, 2010

“Madison mini-camps beckon for summer in gymnastics, dance, sports” plus 2 more

“Madison mini-camps beckon for summer in gymnastics, dance, sports” plus 2 more


Madison mini-camps beckon for summer in gymnastics, dance, sports

Posted: 28 May 2010 05:31 AM PDT

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MADISON - The Madison Area YMCA's gymnastics, sports and dance departments are holding mini-camps for boys and girls to kick off the summer.

Williams going to Alabama

Posted: 29 May 2010 09:10 PM PDT

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HUNTINGTON — After more than a decade of flips, twists and Rudis, Kayla Williams has added a new roll to her arsenal of aerial gymnastics moves.

It is called a Roll Tide.

Williams, the world vault champ from Huntington, verbally agreed to compete in collegiate gymnastics with the University of Alabama on Friday.

"I've been smiling non-stop for the past two days," Williams said. "Its importance is up there even with the Olympics and the world championship. Getting a college scholarship out of the 11 or 12 years not only helps my family, but it also gives me a couple of extra years to compete before I have to retire."

Earlier this year, Williams narrowed her college choices to five schools — Alabama, Georgia, UCLA, Michigan and West Virginia.

In January, she visited the campus during the time of a meet between Alabama and Georgia — two of her final five schools.

Not only did the Crimson Tide win the meet, they won over Williams.

"The entire atmosphere of the competition was great. It is always going to be intense, but they made it fun," Williams said. "I loved the team, loved the coaches and I told my Mom 'If I could commit right now, I would.' We talked a little bit more about it and went over other schools, but in the end it was 'Bama."

When many people think of Alabama, they think of Paul "Bear" Bryant and the football program, which won the 2009 BCS National Championship over Texas.

However, the gymnastics program might be one of the most storied sports programs in the nation.
In gymnastics, Alabama has built a powerhouse that includes 25 NCAA Region Titles, 20 top-two finishes in the Southeastern Conference and 19 top-three finishes in the NCAA Championships.
In 2010, the Tide finished No. 3 in the NCAA Championships at the University of Florida. The Super

Six appearance came after Alabama had won the NCAA Lexington Regional and NCAA Semifinals following a regular-season that included a 9-2 mark with all 11 meets coming against top-25 competition.

It is all part of a tradition that drew Williams to the school.

"I'm just so happy and excited to say that I'm going to be an Alabama gymnast," Williams said. "They are always up there in (NCAA) rankings and the SEC is the best gymnastics conference."

Not only is Williams happy to be a future Alabama gymnast, she is also excited to have the decision out of the way so she can focus on other tasks currently at hand.

One of those other tasks is getting prepared for the U.S. Cover Girl Classics, which take place in July.

Such a scenario was not likely at this time last month after a fallout between her family and former coaches Bozhi Russev and Hrabrina Spencer left her without a gym to train in for three months.
Earlier this month, Williams hooked up with legendary coach Mary Lee Tracy, who runs Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy.

Now, Williams is trying to make up for lost time as quickly as possible.

"It's been pretty brutal. Three months off from gymnastics is an eternity," Williams said. "I've just really been trying to do a lot of cardio, vault, beam and floor. Now, I think I'm back in the shape I was before, so I'm going to keep up and not get back down."

In addition to preparing for the Cover Girl Classics, Williams is finishing up her junior year at Huntington High School through online classes.

After making her college decision this week, she said she can't wait to get started on her senior year — so she's not.

"Next Friday, I will officially be a senior, but I am taking two classes over the summer to graduate early," I still want to graduate a Highlander."

Last year, Williams took the gymnastics world by storm when she became the first female gymnast in U.S. history to win a world Vault title when she won Gold at the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships in London.

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Gymnastics: Senior Susan Jackson wins Honda Sports Award

Posted: 05 May 2010 08:39 PM PDT

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The awards keep coming for LSU senior gymnast Susan Jackson.

Jackson was awarded the Honda Sports Award for gymnastics as the nation's top female college gymnast Wednesday.

Jackson is the first LSU gymnast to win the award and the second to be a finalist for the award after Ashleigh Clare-Kearney was a finalist in 2009.

"I am extremely honored and humbled to win the Honda Sports Award," Jackson said in a news release. "To be recognized among such a talented group of gymnasts is very gratifying. The outstanding level of support from my teammates and coaches has been instrumental to my success both inside and outside of the gym."

Jackson was the first gymnast in LSU history to win the NCAA all-around national title. She won three national titles in her career — the all-around and beam titles in 2010 and the vault in 2008.

Jackson also won 2010 Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year.

While Jackson is still getting awards for the 2010 season, the returning members of the LSU gymnastics team are getting right back to work.

The Tigers are already participating in voluntary workouts attempting to reach the 2011 Super Six, a goal the 2010 squad just missed on April 22.

Sam Engle, the lone rising senior on the team, said the Tigers are focusing on their strength and conditioning.

"For now, we're pretty much working on getting in shape," Engle said. "We want to be in the best shape we can and be as healthy as we can, and hopefully that helps us a lot for next year."

But the 2011 gymnastics team will have a much different look.

LSU must fill the void of the four departing team members — Jackson, Sabrina Franceschelli, Summer Hubbard and Kayla Rogers.

But the Tigers will have two returning All-Americans in Engle and junior Ashley Lee.
"You can't replace people like that, but we just have to go out and try to fill their shoes," Lee said. "They did an awesome job last year keeping us together and making us want to work hard."

The two All-Americans know they must take the reins and lead the team.

"I'm excited," Engle said. "It's kind of nerve-racking because I'm the only senior, but I know I've got two juniors and all the sophomores to help me out. I'm excited, though, because it's going to be a new challenge for me."

Lee said Engle has already stepped up and filled the leadership role.

"Sam is quiet, but she's learning how to speak her mind," Lee said. "She's already stepping up. I think between us three upperclassmen, we're going to work together to keep everyone positive and upbeat. And if we can do that, I think we're going to have a good season."

The Tigers will also have a solid crop of new freshmen joining the team in the fall.

Headlining the class for the Tigers will be Sarah Zoldos and Maliah Mathis.

Zoldos, a Clearwater, Fla., native, is a level-10 gymnast from LaFleur's Tampa Gymnastics in Tampa, Fla.

She is also a two-time Junior Olympic National Qualifier.

Zoldos won the all-around title at the level-8 regional in 2006 and won the level-9 regional in 2007.

"We are looking forward to her coming to LSU, growing and getting better," LSU coach D-D Breaux said in a news release after LSU signed Zoldos. "She is one of those kids you recruit and project that they will make improvements. We have built our program around those kinds of kids, so I think she will do really well here."

Mathis is also a level-10 gymnast and hails from Aerial Athletics in San Antonio. She captured the vault title in the 2009 regionals and finished second in both the floor exercise and the all-around.

She has also scored a perfect 10.00 on the vault in 2009.

"Maliah has an outstanding foundation and will come in and get better and better," Breaux said. "Vaulting and tumbling are her real strong points. She has competed level-10 and has had a lot of success, and we feel like she will only get better when she steps on campus at LSU."


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Contact Rob Landry at rlandry@lsureveille.com

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