Check back often for diary entries written by members of the Penn State women's gymnastics team!

From Aslynn Satterfield
March 22, 2007

Hey!! Wow only one more meet til Big Tens! We just started school again after spring break and we have gotten back from the University of Arizona, where we had our highest score since 2001! We also went to LSU at the beginning of spring break and claimed a 196.275 which is also a very good score! The trips to and from these places are always very fun. Coming back from LSU we had a four hour layover in the Philadelphia airport where we played one of our favorite games ¡°George¡± for like an hour! It was fun because the whole team was involved and we were all having fun outside of doing gymnastics. Then on the way back from Arizona we had to get up at 3am to leave for the airport and when we got there Steve randomly asked Katie if he wanted him to braid her hair, which he did and it actually wasn¡¯t bad! Then on our last flight we were all in the back of a little plane and Alex decided to go to the bathroom. So Steve had a brilliant idea of locking her in there, which was very funny. (Don¡¯t worry, we didn¡¯t leave her in there long and there were no hard feelings! Haha)

Overall we are feeling very excited for senior meet that is this weekend and ready to go!! We are all looking to get a better score not just for ourselves but also for our seniors! Everyone has great confidence about the rest of the season ahead and we all know that we can do so well this year and make our goals of going to nationals and making it to the super six!!!

We have been working really hard in practice this week and are ready for the weekend to come so we can compete!

With Penn State Pride,
Aslynn

From Jaime Murray, Student Volunteer Coach
February 20, 2007

Hey Everyone!! This season is going by so fast! We are already on our eighth meet. We finally have found what it is we need to do in and out of the gym to make our team where we know we can be. We have learned a lot during the beginning of the season and have been very determined to fix our mistakes and to keep getting better as we go down the road. Like Coach Shephard said, ¡°We have not reached our peak yet¡±. Everyone has been working very hard and it has really shown in the past few meets. The girls' attitudes are really starting to show how much they want this.

During practice we have been doing routines in line-up order on beam and bars to help put the girls in a pressure and meet situation. On Vault, the girls have been trying to perfect their vaults and work on those stuck landings! Floor has been improving each week and the girls are really working to perfect their passes.

We are all very happy to see Aslynn and Corissa back and healthy again. They have both competed at the last two meets and have been doing great.

The West Virginia meet went very well and really boosted everyone¡¯s confidence. We made a lot of improvements and the girls looked much more consistent. Next we had a successful home meet again Pitt. We just got back from defeating Michigan and getting our season high team score!!!!! Everyone looked great and you can see it in everyone¡¯s attitude that they were ready to compete.

We are half way through the season and still have a long road ahead. This week everyone is extremely motivated and ready to get to work. Each week everyone is improving and there is so much depth in line-up spots on every event. We are looking forward to the meet this weekend which is a double-dual against Ohio State University. We hope you can come and show us your support. Thanks for all your support this year and we look forward to seeing everyone this weekend. GO STATE BREAKOUT!!!

With Penn State Pride,
Jaime

From Corissa Pirkl
January 29, 2007

Hi everyone! Well, the season goes on... and we had a meet this past weekend against North Carolina State. We came out on top again for the second meet in a row, which was a great accomplishment. The team worked very hard in practice the week before, focusing on our trouble spots and really reinforcing the fact that we need to "practice like we compete" so that we may "compete like we practice". Steve constantly reminds us of this during practice and I think it really helps keep us focused on what we need to do to be on top.

The girls were definitely making many improvements and you could see it in their attitudes as they performed several flawless routines in practice. We even did these routines called "distraction routines" on beam where one person does a routine on the beam and everyone else tries to distract them by doing things like throwing balls across the beam, saying silly things or making crazy faces to make them laugh, tapping their hands on the beam, or even laying underneath. These type of routines help us realize that if we can focus through all those distractions and hit a great routine, then there is no reason we woudn't be able to that at a meet where it is just you and the beam. It is a great confidence booster and I think the girls did an awesome job and it definitely paid off at the meet!

Although we defeated NC State, there is still so much room for improvement in our score and I know we can do awesome. So this week, we're really going to focus on fixing all the little things because that is what can make the biggest difference in both individual and team scores. The girls are extremely motivated to be the best we can be, so that is exactly what we're striving for and hope to prove as we take on West Virginia this weekend! Thank you for keeping in touch with the team and wish us luck!!! GO STATE!

With Penn State Pride,
Corissa Pirkl :)

From Ashley Mehrer
January 25, 2007

And we¡¯re off! Our season is well under way. We have had three meets so far to start our season.

We opened our season in Arkansas at the Super Six Challenge. We ended up finishing third overall, which is our highest ever team finish at that competition. It was a great opportunity for the freshmen to get some competitive experience in a very big meet. For a full recap, check out Steve¡¯s blog.

Still practicing without classes, we started to get back into a more normal schedule during the week following Super Six. Emphasis was placed on consistency and pressure sets. We did a lot of plans with different line-ups. Saturday the 13th we had our home opener against Arkansas. It was a double dual meet, with the men taking on Army. It was nice to be back in Rec Hall.

This past Saturday, we had another home meet against one of our Big Ten foes, Minnesota. Although we did end up victorious, we know that we have the potential to improve our performances, which is the main focus of practices this week.

This Saturday we have another home meet against N.C. State. Come out and show us your support. We are developing a student section this meet, so come early and be loud!

With Penn State Pride,
Ashley

From Steph Sullivan
December 11, 2006

Hello everybody! Well, preseason training is coming to an end soon and the season is almost in sight. We have been working really hard these past couple weeks and it is definitely paying off. We are having another inter-squad today to help us prepare for season. As the preseason winds down we are working harder and harder in the gym to get ready for January. The fall semester is also winding down; we have one week of school left before final exams. Our practice schedule will be altered so that we can focus on our exams as well as training. We are picking our ¡®Secret Santa¡¯ names tomorrow and we will have our holiday party during winter break.

Training is moving along great; we are doing full routines on all events and working on form and difficulty. The team is working on moving vaults over to the hard surface and sticking. Beam is also looking solid; we have been doing plans that work on quality and consistency. On bars, the team is hitting solid routines daily. The team is working on moving their floor passes from the tumbling strip to the floor.

Our first meet is right around the corner so keep checking back!

With Penn State Pride,
Steph

From Amie Olaes
November 11, 2006

Currently our team is working on getting our routines ready for Turk-o-weenie, our inter-squad meet. We are all focused on our goals as a team and are working to our full potential in the gym and out of the gym.

On Vault we have stepped up our game and are now performing our vaults on the hard surface. Brandi does a beautiful 1 _ yurchenko and many of the girls are consistent with their fulls.

Alex does an amazing 1 _ blind to a hect on bars following up with a huge pak salto. She will be exciting to watch at Turk-o-weenie because she is so clean and consistent. KP is back solid with her Perret release and looks more ready than ever and Lindsey Montross, Casey, Rosie, Allie, and I are all starting to get consistent with our releases.

On beam our consistency is getting much better. We have continued to do routines and do team beam plans. Steph, Corissa, and Ashley look just as strong, if not better, than last year on the event. Allie is performing a back-handspring, layout, layout and Brandi does a one-handed back-handspring, back-handspring, layout. Both of them are really going to help our beam line-up this year with their difficulty.

On floor everyone has been building up to routines for the inter-squad. Everyone is doing the passes that they can out on the real floor and working on their major passes into the pit with stacked mats. Aslynn is already doing her double-layout and her full-in out on the real floor. We have a ton of difficulty that is going to surprise a lot of teams this year. Almost everyone is doing an E tumbling pass whether it is an arabian double front, a double front, a double layout, a full-in, or a triple-full. Turk-o-weenie should be fun.

As for everything else, lifting is going great. We are all increasing our weights and building up our strength so that we are the best team possible. We are also spinning every Thursday and doing all of the things necessary to have optimal body composition. Now we are just excited to have Turk-o-weenie and see how we do in a competitive environment with a little bit of pressure.

For the Glory,
Amie

From Corissa Pirkl
September 27, 2006

Hi everyone! Well, it's about that time of the year again! The team has been back for almost a month now and it's nearing our first official practice! Everyone is very excited about this year and we've already been conditioning and training hard as a team since we've been back. We've had a ton of exciting practices so far. Some memorable moments include Aslynn's crazy run on tumbling pass, Ris's birthday plan, and our freshmen pulling out impressive skills left and right! We're looking great! We have six new, very talented freshmen this year that are a great addition to the team and will definitely help us reach our goals of Big Ten and National Championships! This is our year! Keep an eye out, WE ARE...on fire!

For the Glory,
Ris and Steph
2006-07 Captains

? Click here to read the 2005-2006 Penn State Women's Gymnastics Team Diary!!