At NCAAs with Women's Gymnastics: Saturday
4/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
The final day of nationals began with the NCAA Brunch, held at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Utah football complex. The brunch brings all of the teams and individual competitors together to feed and celebrate all those who are involved in college gymnastics. Freshman Jaclyn Kramer reports:
"Brunch was delicious. There were omelets and potatoes and bagels, a fruit bar, granola, yoga, coffee, iced tea and water. There were a lot of guest speakers and they played a highlight video that Becky Bernard appeared in. The MC was very emotional and cried a few times. Florida's head coach was named coach of the year and Nebraska's assistant won assistant coach of the year."
After brunch, the team got a chance to do something they had wanted to do all week --- zip line! The team changed out of their Saturday best and into sensible clothes (mandatory sneakers) and piled into the vans for the drive. Once they arrived at the zip line place, they paired off and took a chair lift to the top of a mountain -- about a five minute trip -- which was highlighted by a man who sat on a chair halfway up playing a guitar. Junior Megan Moore takes it from here:
"I'm not sure what the guitar man's job was but it was pretty sweet. They strapped us into these harnesses two at a time, buckling us up and having us put our knees against a wall. Then all of a sudden they opened this door and off you zip. It wasn't scary at all. We went kind of fast but not scary fast. Don't get me wrong -- it was fun. When we got to the bottom, bounced around a bit and unhooked ourselves, a few of us found some snow on the side of the mountain. We tried to throw it around but the snowballs didn't make it too far. I tried to bring snow down the hill but it dissolved in my hand. Eddie almost hit an old lady with ice debris while trying to throw snow at some of our teammates. There was a little competition between zip line twosomes. Becky claims that she beat Huneth down the line, but only because she was so far ahead to begin with. But Huneth caught up. Kelsey was pretty fast too."
Lunch was a free for all with some gymnasts returning to Toasters and others hunting small game in the hills. At 3:45 p.m. three of the four Quests pulled out of the hotel loaded with every gymnast but Katie Lieberman (resting up for the individual event finals) heading to the NCAA autograph session. The autograph session was held in a large ancillary gymnasium attached to the Huntsman Center with tables lining three of the four walls. All 12 teams sat around these long tables and signed posters, t-shirts, programs and all manner or memorabilia for over an hour, making hundreds of little and big kids very happy. Carol McNamara was a sweetheart with all the little kids, asking them their names and charming them thoroughly, while even incessant blabbermouth Becky Bernard was overheard saying hello to a fan or two while leaning back in her chair and trying to look tough.
While her team fought off hand cramps, Katie arrived at the gym and started stretching on the floor an hour before the competition was set to begin. Being the only Wolverine in uniform, poor Katie was all alone out there, but her teammates soon filled in the stands near the march-in tunnel and unveiled their secret weapon -- seven huge signs that spelled out "Go Liebs" with an eighth sign that read "I (Heart) Liebs" for good measure. Katie palled around with West Virginia competitor Janae Cox and the two of them kept each other company for the duration of the meet.
The athletes marched in with their events and for the first hour and a half vault and bars was contested, while Katie sat in the stands and stayed loose with her coaches and trainer Lisa Hass. Finally, it was her time to shine and Katie warmed up again, getting ready to go eighth in Flight I in a total field of 18. Katie watched seven athletes compete ahead of her, with the early score to beat a formidable 9.9250 from hometown Ute Ashley Postell.
Katie prepared to compete as her team raised their signs and cheered her on. Her familiar music started and Katie began, gaining momentum throughout the routine, sticking her first two tumbling passes. Eddie Umphrey and the U-M fans began clapping their hands to the beat, getting the whole crowd into the routine. The great fans at Utah joined in and clapped along with Katie's music as she danced to the corner and prepared for her final pass, which would include a new element -- a punch front. She streaked to the corner towards the vault corral and veered slightly to the right, coming out of her final move a little too late and landing short. Katie popped up and completed her final few dance moves before jogging off the floor to appreciative applause. Despite the final score, Katie seemed happy to have had the chance to compete on such a special stage. Alabama's Morgan Dennis was the star on floor, performing a sparkling routine that had Michigan's gymnasts agog and taking the national title.
After the meet, the team piled back into the Quests and headed for the final dinner of the season at Tucci's. Pastas and salads were devoured and the team headed back to the hotel for one final hot tub, a few more bad movies and some much needed rest. With an 8 a.m. departure scheduled, this scribe put his pajamas on as soon as he entered the room (the ones with the footies sewn on) and settled in for a much deserved slumber.
A few final notes from Salt Lake City that never really fit into any of the travel logs:
In the Hilton restrooms, a "For Your Safety" notice on the back of each door is 388 words long. Hilton hotels are apparently very dangerous places.
The EnergySolutions Arena, home of the Utah Jazz and Utah Blaze, is named for EnergySolutions, a company headquartered in Salt Lake City that transports, handles and disposes of radioactive waste. Next to the Spam Center (Wichita, Kansas), the Flomax Go-Dome (Santa Fe, New Mexico) and Old Wienerschnitzel Field (Abilene, Texas), the EnergySolutions Arena has the most interesting sponsor in North America.
Instead of asking "For here or to go" at the local McDonald's, the associates ask "To stay or to go" We haven't been to McDonald's in a while so we are unsure if this is store specific, regional or some new national philosophy. The McDonald's also has free wireless.
Finally, thanks to Nick Brandon for editing and putting up all of these logs on MGoBlue every night/early morning. Thanks to Kate Karpinski for taking tons of great pictures. Thanks to Clare Flannery for being a major contributor to Friday night's report. Thanks to all the gymnasts who offered insights, ideas and comments on the trip and thanks to Ryan Duey for being a good roommate on this trip and not complaining about all the typing at 4 a.m. Get ready for nationals in 2008, coming to you LIVE from Athens, Georgia.
Players Mentioned
