“Southeastern Pa. sports notes” plus 2 more |
- Southeastern Pa. sports notes
- Sources: Baseball, men's gymnastics might not survive the cut at Cal
- W. Gymnastics. Gymnastics 101: Beam
| Posted: 10 Feb 2011 05:45 PM PST Michaela Lapent held off on the decision as long as she could. The Plymouth Whitemarsh senior's dilemma: choose from among numerous scholarship offers to compete in gymnastics or diving. She recently accepted one for gymnastics at Bridgeport. "I love both sports, and I didn't want to give one up," said Lapent, who added that the social aspects of gymnastics won out over diving. "Diving is separate [from the swim team] in college, whereas you're family with the 20 or so girls on the gymnastics team." She dives for Plymouth Whitemarsh. By choosing gymnastics, Lapent also will have the opportunity to train under Byron Knox, who has coached Bridgeport to two straight USA Gymnastics collegiate national titles. Lapent, who began gymnastics at age 3, became a top, Level 10 gymnast two years ago. Lapent initially expected to join her sister Chelsea, who is a member of the Temple gymnastics team, but then received the scholarship offer from Knox. At 5-foot-7, Lapent acknowledges that she's taller than most gymnasts. She has a busy week ahead in both of her favorite sports. She will dive Wednesday for the Colonials at the Suburban One League American Division championships, then leave the next day for a gymnastics meet in Ohio. She competes for Spirit Gymnastics in North Wales. Speedy Ghosts. How fast can they go? That's the question being asked around Abington, where three boys' indoor track relay teams are leaving the opposition behind in record fashion. The boys' 4x400- and 4x800-meter and distance medley relay teams have set some of the fastest times in the state and nation so far this indoor season. Last weekend at the Armory in New York City, the 4x400 foursome of Josh Swift, Macey Watson, Tevin Smith, and Will Taylor ran a Pennsylvania state-record 3 minutes, 16.6 seconds, bettering the old mark of 3:18.7 set by Glen Mills in 2002. The Ghosts beat DeMatha for first. It's the best time so far this season in the country. Standout miler Kyle Moran anchored the Ghosts' winning 4x800 quartet to a Pennsylvania record of 7:45.93, also at the Armory. North Penn had set the old mark of 7:47.45 at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in 2008 at the Armory. He was joined by Smith, Watson, and Taylor. The same foursome ran the country's fourth-fastest time in the distance medley relay. Abington's 4x200 girls' team of Rachel Strother, Nicole Grasty, Jordan Matthews, and Leah Nugent ran the fastest time this season by a Pennsylvania school. The four covered the distance in 1:42.82. Scramble on the ice. With the regular season winding down, a number of teams could skate off with top honors in the National Division of the Ches-Mont Hockey League. Unionville (9-4-2) and West Chester Rustin (10-3-0) are tied for the division lead with 20 points each, and West Chester Henderson (9-3-1) is right behind with 19. The Indians have just one regular-season game left, a date with Methacton (second in the American Division) on Feb. 25. Rustin has three left, including one against Kennett on Friday. Henderson also has three remaining, including one vs. Perkiomen Valley on Friday. "It's been an awesome year for the league," said Rustin coach Nick Russo, whose Golden Knights are the defending Flyers Cup A champions. "We split with Henderson and Unionville, so it's going to be interesting coming down the stretch. "I also expect the league to do well when it comes to seeding for the Flyers Cup." Downingtown East's Ryan Urban leads the league in points with 33, on 20 goals and 13 assists, followed by Ryan McNamara of Methacton with 28 (12-16). Rustin has three players in the top 10: Ben Kinch (11-11-22), Matt Gosik (9-13-22), and Jeff Nelson (8-12-20). Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 267-815-0733 or dbeideman@phillynews.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php | ||
| Sources: Baseball, men's gymnastics might not survive the cut at Cal Posted: 10 Feb 2011 09:18 PM PST A decision could come Friday on the fate of five Cal sports awaiting possible reinstatement, and the Golden Bears' century-old baseball program might be a casualty. Two sources within the university said the most likely scenario involves baseball and men's gymnastics being cut while men's rugby and women's gymnastics and lacrosse survive. An announcement was planned for Thursday, but that was scratched because officials still were confirming financial pledges made by donors to determine how much money has been raised toward Cal chancellor Robert Birgeneau's target of $25 million to rescue the teams. The chancellor told supporters they needed that much money to fund the programs for the short term, then would be required to create permanently self-sufficient teams through endowment programs. The university announced the cuts Sept. 28 in order to save the athletic department about $4 million annually. Supporters reportedly received pledges for about $12 million. Half of it was generated by Save Cal Sports, a group working for all five programs, and the rest came from a low-profile coalition of campus donors without ties to a particular sport. The two women's programs are regarded as likely to return because Cal would be in violation of Title IX federal gender-equity laws if they are eliminated. "With regards to Title IX, I'm not sure why we would have been cut in the first place," lacrosse coach Theresa Sherry said. "I continue to be baffled about the decision that was made in September."Rugby, a nonscholarship varsity sport, is primarily self-funded and has produced 25 national championships since 1980. Sources said the rugby community has come forward with substantial pledges. Baseball, a sport at Cal since 1892, requires a greater financial commitment from the athletic department, and one source said the university has its eye on the valuable property where Evans Diamond is situated, directly behind the Haas Pavilion basketball arena. Cal won baseball national championships in 1947 and '57 and has sent two future MVPs -- Jackie Jensen and Jeff Kent -- to the major leagues. Baseball coach David Esquer said he had no inkling what decision the university might make but acknowledged that the waiting game can take a toll. "I was anxious for today, and I was anxious for (Jan.) 31st. I've been anxious," he said. "I think I'm going to stop being anxious and let them tell us whether we're going to have a program or not." Cal, ranked 17th nationally in Baseball America's preseason poll, opens its season Feb. 18 at home against Utah. Sophomore pitcher Justin Jones said he and his teammates are focusing on the game. "I think we're all optimistic," Jones said. "I think I speak for the whole team when I say we're not worrying about it right now. It's out of our hands." Esquer said tis team has practiced better than most he has coached. "The field is kind of a sanctuary where they can forget about what school they might be going to next year if the program shuts down," he said. "I'm almost not going to believe (the reinstatement effort) could fail until it does. We're not going to mope and walk around with our heads down." Cal won four men's gymnastics national championships from 1968 through 1998 but is one of just one of two Pac-10 schools to field a team, along with Stanford. For everyone involved, the waiting continues. The Cal lacrosse team plays its home opener Friday against 10th-ranked Notre Dame, and senior co-captain Emily Abood said even her youngest teammates are staying on task. "They've never cried on my shoulder," she said. "They've kind of pushed right through. I've been really impressed by them." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php | ||
| W. Gymnastics. Gymnastics 101: Beam Posted: 10 Feb 2011 10:20 AM PST Feb. 10, 2011 SEATTLE - Each week, gymnastics coach Joanne Bowers will break down a part of her sport that many sports fans outside of gymnastics might not be familiar with. This is the chance for Husky Nation to learn more about the great sport of gymnastics. This week, we will take a look Paige Bixler and Samantha Walior's beam routines at Seattle Pacific. Watch the video and follow along with the descriptions of the beam routines below and why they were deducted. Routine 1: Paige begins her routine with an easy mount to get on, not worth anything but a good way to start because she has a lot of difficulty in her dance and tumbling skills. She starts with her gymnastics series (dance series) of switch leap + Split full jump (C+E .4), but was a little off on the take-off into the split jump so only did a ¾ which is worth a D (about a .1 deduction). Then she did her flight series of flip-flop + back layout (B+D .1), then showed different levels on the beam by doing some creative movements down on the beam. She then did a side aerial (D .1), some creative dance filler, full turn (which is a requirement), then front aerial (D .1). She has to show front-back-side elements to show she can do it all and she has done this well. She adds a simple beat jump to show the required second shape (her dance series is technically showing a split position in both jumps). Paige does a pike gainer dismount off the end of the beam and took a step back for a .1 deduction. Beautiful routine....nice rhythm throughout, just two minor deductions on the split jump and step on dismount. Her score was a 9.8 and she had a 10.0 start value because she had all of her bonus and requirements.
Routine 2: Sam also begins her routine down on the beam, showing some creative flexibility, then does her required full turn. She now does a front handspring-beat jump to fulfill two other requirements (a front element and a second shape during a jump/leap). Then she does a triple flight series: flip-flop, flip-flop, back layout (B+B+D .2), probably got .05 taken off for slight knee bend on layout, followed by her gym series of switch leap-2/1 stag ring jump (C+D .3), then ends with additional bonus of split jump 1/1 (E .2). Her dismount is unique....don't see many of them.....gainer 2/1 full off the side (D .1), with the chest slightly forward and a small step on landing- probably .1 deduction. Sam scored a 9.85 on this routine with a 10.0 start value. She works the beam with a great deal of confidence and aggressiveness. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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