At NCAAs with Women's Gymnastics: Wednesday
4/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Day two began the way most road trip mornings do -- with a hotel buffet breakfast. Take it from Jimmy, the hotel omelet maker, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." He is also the only person in the hotel who knows what basted eggs are (they are on the menu and no one but Jimmy has any clue how to prepare them).
Freshmen are still new to the experience of hotel buffets and haven't adapted a game plan or buffet strategy. "I just eat a little bit of everything," explained freshman Jaclyn Kramer at the crack of 9:30 a.m. "The challenge is just to get everything on my plate so I don't have to get up too many times." Sophomores have begun to understand the nuances of a hotel buffet and usually select a few safe staples, while identifying the danger items on every hotel buffet menu. Juniors start to get it. "I just go through and see what looks good," advised junior Megan Moore. "I usually have hot chocolate and fruit," said junior Katie Lieberman.
Upperclassmen learn to stay away from the sausage and beware of gravies. Seniors are usually the smartest. They eat coffee and cereal. No seniors were spotted in the restaurant between 8:30-10 a.m.
Marketing envoy Ryan Duey created the most attractive plate of the morning, using a thick link of sausage as a barrier between his sweet and savory dishes. It worked far better than can be explained without the use of a whiteboard and a long stick for pointing at things.
After stuffing their gullets, the team was left to its own devices until 3:45 p.m. when the caravan was set to depart for practice at the Huntsman Center. Some watched TV in their rooms in the interim, others slept in, some went shopping and hoped that their parents would be understanding when they get the bill (nice dress Katie Lieberman!) and others took a stroll and checked out the mountains that bracket Salt Lake City. Your humble writer and Mr. Duey decided to take a proper walking tour of the city.
The duo headed to the old train depot and climbed the highest parking garage in the city (three stories) to get a good vantage point from which to snap some photos of the mountains. They checked out some art, saw the Utah tram system and ended up at the Energy Solutions Arena (formerly the Delta Center) -- home of the NBA's Utah Jazz. With the Jazz embroiled in the playoffs and game three of their opening round taking place in Salt Lake on Wednesday, they decided to see if they could gain admittance.
In the interest of not getting anyone fired, the duo soon found themselves on the home court of YOUR UTAH JAZZ! The scoreboard had been lowered to the hardwood for maintenance and the house lights were low but it was still an experience. They wandered about, visiting the executive offices, working past the locker rooms and then ascending to the Club Level of the facility. The Club Level is on the top floor of the arena and overlooks much of Salt Lake City with a great view of the city and the surrounding mountains. The twosome snapped some pictures then headed to the main concourse where they viewed the framed retirement jerseys of Karl Malone, John Stockton and "Pistol" Pete Maravich. Then it was back to the hotel for some rest.
At 2:50 p.m. sharp(ish) the all-star cast of head coach Bev Plocki, sophomore Tatjana Thuener-Rego, Mr. Duey and this scribe drove to the Huntsman Center in the silver Nissan Quest (the flagship of the Quest armada) for the pre-meet press conference. The Huntsman Center was abuzz with activity when they arrived with hardcore CBS Sports people lugging cables and lights around, smartly dressed Utah staff in blazing red polos looking official and team members of the previous practice session packing up their things to leave.
The media room was about a four minute walk from the competition floor, up a long and claustrophobic hallway and into what looked like an old basketball practice facility. The room was divided into three sections by blue drapes -- one section with a raised dais and long tables for the press conferences, another with tables with long power bars for working press and the biggest section for eating. The media's three main food groups -- pizza, salty snacks and soda --were served up in the biggest room, into which coaches would be found sneaking into over the next three days. A handful of writers and photographers punched away on laptops in the work room, which was dominated by a number extra long tables that held the weight of every team's media guides and postseason notes. Michigan's was judged among the top three (slight bias intended).
Bev and Tatjana took to the stage and sat at the press conference table, joining the head coaches and top athletes from LSU, UCLA and Stanford. With a video feed of the press conference streaming live over the internet, Bev and Tatjana answered questions about Michigan's injuries and last year's trip to NCAAs before the 20 minutes were up and coach and athlete took the long walk back to the competition floor.
The rest of the team arrived at the arena for the 4:20 p.m. practice session and commenced warming up. With a few diehard Michigan fans in the stands and a few admirers in the crowd (one fan remarked "Look at her shoulders!" when buff sophomore Becky Bernard walked by), U-M got used to the equipment and worked out the kinks for Friday night. This scribe decided to visit the CBS interview room where a select few pre-meet interviews are shot each year for the broadcast. The crew were in the process of breaking down the set, but were kind enough to turn on the lights and allow some photos. There among the tinfoil looking material, fog machine and glitter was the Holy Grail itself -- the 2007 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships national champion trophy. All attempts to touch the trophy or scratch the word "Michigan" onto its face were thwarted by a particularly lithe CBS employee nicknamed "Bruiser".
One hour and forty minutes later, the final notes of the floor exercise music faded and the teams iced up and walked to the Quests. "Practice was fabulous, it was great, wait ... is this for real" said senior Clare Flannery. "I am having lots of fun. Wait, are you being serious or are you joking" Freshman Jordan Sexton was a little more helpful. "Practice was great and everyone looked wonderful," said Jordan. "We are getting used to equipment. All of the events are close together but I think it will bring the energy up during the competition."
The team arrived back at the hotel in the Quest caravan and Bev rushed off to the coaches meeting while the rest of the team walked to dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant, Biaggi's. While the team's food was prepared, a few gymnasts and then pretty much everyone else killed time by coloring with crayons provided by the fine wait staff. Some colored in outlines of Spongebob Squarepants, others filled in green Scooby Doos, others Batman or Spiderman or characters from a number of Disney films. Parents -- your daughters' Michigan educations came in handy this night (or son's in the case of the sure to be proud Umphreys when they see young Eddie's Batman coloring). Senior Lindsey Bruck made a compelling argument for the upperclassmen to be awarded "Best Colorers" and the seniors and juniors were rewarded with free bread and unlimited refills on their waters. The main courses arrived, conversation ceased and everyone dug in.
With bellies bursting, the team walked back to the hotel in high spirits, a few carrying doggy bags full of delicious leftovers. With the sun setting beautifully and the team walking down another of the beautiful streets in Salt Lake City, assistant coach Louis Robinson and freshman Maureen Moody, both with doggy bags, spotted a pair of homeless men sitting on some nearby steps. The two approached the men and handed over their leftover meals in an act of kindness that made this scribe feel extremely proud to be working with such a compassionate bunch of coaches and athletes. Any skilled attempts at writing something meaningful in this space will come off as trite next to the actual gesture, but what Louis and Maureen did was very cool act and capped an already excellent evening. The team walked (some, like Kelsey Knutson, danced) back to the hotel and the team retired for the evening with competition less than 24 hours away.
Players Mentioned
