It's Party Time (4/15/09)

“It's Party Time” is a phrase used by Courtney Kupets before meets to get us pumped up. I’m really not sure where it originated from, but it has been used for the last three years. We usually do our best in competition when we are relaxed (yet focused) and are having a good time. In our meeting before practice today we talked about how we wanted to have calm confidence, determination, team unity and lastly, fun. I think that we accomplished all of those goals today and hopefully we will be able to carry them on to tomorrow.

As I said above, the practice day went very well for us out here in Nebraska. Tiffany did really well on floor and Koop made her gymnastics look easy as she usually does. Kat did beautiful vaults and Mic stuck almost every single one of her dismounts and those were just a few of the highlights. We are as ready as we can be and want to get this show on the road.

We have an early meet on Thursday so we are going to dinner and then will just relax at the hotel. I’m sure people will walk to Starbucks in the morning and then we will head to the meet around 10:30 a.m.

The anticipation is building. NCAA Championships are about to be underway. We are getting ready to compete and to carry on the Georgia legacy. I am so excited...I hope I will be able to sleep tonight.

The only thing worse than a wounded dog is a dog that loses

I stole that quote from an interview done by Suzanne after we scored a 197.7 at regionals. I thought the quote was quite fitting and if you are familiar with our team you would know that we are on a mission. We are not happy about what happened at SECs and we started making up for it at the regional. We described regionals as the first day of nationals. It was the first step in our comeback and our quest to defend our title.

I feel like the quote is also fitting because of an incident this week with Suzanne and her dog Hardy. While walking Hardy he spotted a rodent and took off pulling Suzanne with the leash. Her dog probably weighs about twice as much as she does but he is a sweetheart. All the Dawgs (girls) on our team are sweethearts also, but when we set our eyes on something you better watch out.

The regional was definitely a confidence booster, and I think the coaches are going to have a hard time as to who to put in at nationals. McCool's bar routine was beautiful, but I’m not sure who they would take out for nationals. I’m just glad I don’t have to make the ultimate decision.

I think that whatever the lineup ends up being, we all will be confident in each other and will be completely supportive. We only have a couple of days left of practice and then we are chartering a flight to Lincoln, Neb., on Tuesday.

This week is a busy one for everyone on the team. Lots of tests and everyone is trying to get ahead for missing the week of nationals. Marcia, Paige, Grace and LJ have the hardest classes if you ask me but they handle them all very well. We are working hard this week so that there will be zero distractions when we are in Nebraska.

TNT

   I have talked about a lot of different teammates in my blogs, but I have not talked much about Tiffany. Because she has been doing so well in the gym and in the classroom, I figured I would take a little time to talk about my beloved classmate.

   Tiffany, Courtney and I decided to come to summer school before our freshman year. Tiffany was my roommate that summer and continued to be my roommate throughout my freshman year. We went through so much that first year and I can’t imagine not experiencing it with her. I remember baking cookies at least once a week (chocolate chip cookies are her favorites) and going to the pool for a tan any free time we could find. We loved going to Jason’s Deli and she would constantly talk about how Sonic was her favorite place back home, yet she could never convince us to go with her here. She was my first college friend and will be a good friend for the rest of my life.

   I titled this blog TNT because I couldn’t talk about Tiffany and not talk about her explosive gymnastics. Her initials really are TNT, and it seems quite fitting to me. (My initials are ABS, but I think that would be more fitting for Paige’s stomach than mine.) Tiffany is one of my favorite gymnasts to watch because she is so dynamic. Her execution is absolutely perfect. She may be constantly in pain but her gymnastics does not show it. She is working one-and-a-halfs on vault and is doing well with her two-and-a-half fronts on floor. I don’t understand how that little body can do such high, amazing gymnastics, but I’m glad I have gotten to witness it my four years here. Tiffany will always have a special place in my heart, and I know she has made an impact on the Georgia program that will never be forgotten.

Forget fair-weather fans. We have Georgia fans.

I thought we had gotten off the rollercoaster that we had been on since the beginning of this year, but apparently I was wrong. This weekend really threw me for a loop. Actually, it was more like an upside down corkscrew that I’m hoping I never have to go through again. But coming back is what this team does best. We thrive on challenges, and I think the loss this past weekend will make us a better team.

   We left for Nashville Thursday on a 50-passenger plane. It was a crowded flight, but luckily for us it was only 46 minutes long. Once we got there they took us to a nice dinner at The Palm. I had a delicious steak dinner and then headed to the hotel to sleep it off.

My roommate this weekend was Kat, and I got to know her quite well. She is an amazingly strong woman and has handled herself so well. I can’t imagine having to deal with some of these things that she has. I love rooming with different people because I get to know them, which allows me to have more respect for their personality and who they are.

   On Friday, we had practice, went to the mall and played at the hotel. We stayed at a hotel along with a lot of our friends, family and fans. That hotel was bleeding red and black all weekend long. We had so many fans that came to support us. It was nice to get to see and talk to them at the hotel. The next morning was like any other. Marcia ate her oatmeal, Hilary had egg whites and Grace made some random mixture of anything she could find to put on her toast. We then had our meeting and headed to the Georgia tailgate. We were expecting just family and some friends to be at the tailgate, but when we pulled up it was a crowd. There were fans everywhere with signs and pompoms, cheering and yelling. It was AMAZING.

Our warm-ups started soon after and were quite shaky. We had to pull some people and use alternates, but it was nothing we were alarmed over. As we started our first event, I could not have been more confident. Once our first two girls fell, the whole team was thrown for a loop and the rest of the beam lineup seemed out of it (except Courtney). Thank goodness we had a bye before we went to floor because we needed to regroup. Courtney stepped up as a leader and challenged each of us to come back and do our very best.

I am proud of my team for not giving up and for pushing through the rest of the meet. We made a mistake and Alabama didn’t. They were on, and they deserved to win.  Congratulations Bama!

I think our fans must have missed the first event because they cheered for us as if we were the best team they had ever seen. It just goes to show how true they are to this program. No matter if we win or if we lose, they are always behind us, cheering and supporting. Let’s just hope they don’t have to support us through another loss this year.     We have some of the most competitive people I know on our team (Marcia and Courtney come to mind first), so I think these next few weeks are going to be tough in the gym.

But I think they will prepare us to put up a good fight at NCAAs.

Total Domination

    Who would have thought after the rollercoaster we have been on this season that we would have ended up having an undefeated regular season? Because I focused on senior night in last week's blog, I am going to go back and talk about our trip out to California and the highlights of senior night.

    The flight out to L.A. is always long, but with new technology that they have on planes (individual TVs in each seat), it makes the trip slightly less painful. You can buy movies or listen to music, but the best feature is the in-flight trivia game. We ended up playing for hours. Emily Bridgers literally played the entire time and Koop, Grace, Sessy and I all tried our hand at it. I think Emily and Court almost won a round but Doug beat everyone fair and square. For any of you who don't know, Doug is the trivia guru. He has a trivia team and they play at different restaurants around town. It is amazing how much he knows. Anyway, after we got off the plane we were all quite exhausted, but decided to go down to the beach to eat and take pictures.

    On Sunday, since the meet was early, we didn't have time to do much. We ate breakfast as a team and then got ready for our team meeting. On our way to the gym we thought we were going to be late because our bus driver got us stuck under a bridge. We went under one side of the bridge but when we tried to come out the other end, the top of the bus hit the top and we were literally stuck. The driver ended up having to back out on a four-lane road and somehow we made it to the meet with time to spare.

Warm-ups were shaky, as they sometimes are, and I have to be honest, I was a little nervous before competition began. We looked sluggish and unenthused, but after we started doing our little cheers I became more confident and relaxed. As you can tell by the score, our competition was not a reflection of our warm-ups and we totally dominated. The best part of the meet was Hilary's 9.95. Her older brother told her last year if she ever got a 9.95 that he would buy her DG sunglasses. Well, we have all known about this and have all been anxious for her to get that 9.95 and those sunglasses. After her score showed up, Paige screamed and ran over to Hilary reminding her about the glasses. I can't wait to see which ones she picks out.

    Because it was our spring break Suzanne decided to let us stay out in L.A. for an extra day. Some people (Paige and Cia) went with their parents, some people (Court and Cas) traveled elsewhere and some people (Grace and LJ) headed to the beach. It was nice to have a "do what you want" day. We left early the next morning and arrived back in Athens late that night. The trip to L.A. is always tough but when you come out with a win it is always worth it.

    Just four days after we got back from California, we were ready to compete against Michigan. As you know it was an emotional day, but I think it was the perfect meet for Suzanne to go out with. It completed an undefeated season in front of a sell-out crowd. Her entire family was supporting her and although it
was not our best meet, it was pretty darn good. The best part about this meet was the video in our team meeting. The freshmen, sophomores and juniors
made a video for the seniors, including Suzanne. Before the video, I was crying about it being our last home meet. After the video, I was crying
from laughing so hard. Even though the video was quite funny, it really made us realize how much we are loved and how much this team is like a family.

Turning the pages of life...

          Because it is Senior Night this Saturday, I am going to write about my time here and the time I have had with my classmates. Suzanne always says that we have Senior Night to be sentimental and to cry but once the night is over we don't talk about it again. Therefore, I am going to write about it and then I am going to finish the year off with blogs about our current team and postseason meets.

          I’m not sure where I should start. How do you close a chapter of your life? I feel like the past four years have been more like a whole book rather then just a chapter. You have seen me at my best and at my worst. You have seen me cry, laugh, be happy, be sad, be mad, be glad ... the list goes on. You have allowed me to be myself and have not judged me or pushed me away for any differences we might have had. I want to go through each year and explain how this program and the people involved have touched me and how it has changed my life forever.

            My first year here I learned the meaning of TEAM and selflessness. I also spent time developing relationships that would last for the next four years. I remember thinking before I came to school how I was embarrassed for my roommate to see me without makeup on. Now, I never wear makeup, put red in my hair for meets and dress up in 80s clothes just for the heck of it. I remember how hard we worked and how hard we played. We ran three times a week out on the football field and then would go to class all sweaty and gross. We would all hang out together after meets in the dorm and go to a local restaurant on Sundays. We were undefeated and went into nationals with complete confidence. There are times I miss my freshman year when we were so innocent and the pleasures of life were so simple.

            My sophomore year could be characterized as the year of struggles. I had just come off of a hard summer of school and I was not physically fit to do gymnastics. I had stressed myself out so much with class and didn’t take care of my own health. I had a hard time but everyone stuck by me. It was this year that I learned how much more to life there is than just gymnastics. Because all of us gymnasts have been in the sport since we were kids, it is all we know. Suzanne makes sure that you know how to take care of yourself after college and gymnastics. She taught me and encouraged me the entire time I was having trouble. It was this year that I developed some of my most valuable relationships. My teammates stuck by me no matter how crazy I was, and that makes you realize how much of an asset they are to your life. I honestly don’t believe that I would be here today if I was not pushed and encouraged by my teammates and coaches as well as my family and Mitchell. Also at nationals that year we lost Kelsey and Ashley. It is amazing how true the phrase is “overcoming struggles makes you stronger.” That year we overcame the loss of two all-arounders to win NCAAs, and I overcame struggles in my life to be a more confident and fun-loving woman.

            My junior year started off in a brand new facility, "The Suzanne Yoculan Gymnastics Center." Still to this day we comment on how spoiled we are to get to practice in there and how lucky we are to have a University that supports our program. It was this year that I started business school and each person in my class (Courtney, Paige, Tiffany) started to develop her own personality. We all have been pretty independent, but this year we grew up and chose different career paths. It is amazing how different my class is but how together we are when we are in the gym. I truly feel like we complement each other. Tiffany is very serious, and I am not, Courtney is a perfectionist and Paige is determined. We each bring something different to the team, and it was this year we started to become leaders. We lost Courtney before the Michigan meet but she was still going to be a huge part of our team and our success.

            Now, onto this year, which started off rocky but has slowly gained momentum. At the beginning of the year each class and each person had different agendas. The freshmen wanted to go out and meet new people. Tiffany and Courtney were trying to get healthy and I was focused on life after college. I was so concerned about finding a job after college that I was not fully committed to the team. As the season has gone on, we have put our personal desires aside and have been focusing solely on the team. I am fully convinced that you cannot win a championship unless each gymnast and every coach is on board. As I learned from my freshman year, you must be selfless if you are going to compete on a team.

            My time here is like a good book. You rush to finish it and cannot put it down because it is so good. Then you finish and you are upset because you don’t want it to be over and you have nothing to read. You might sulk around for a day, or maybe even a week, but then the author comes out with another book and the whole cycle starts again. My time here went by way too fast, and I’m sure when I graduate in May I am going to be upset it is all over. I may take a week or two to pout but then the next book of my life is going to start. I don’t know what the title of my new book will be but I know it is going to be a good one; For the Author, The Lord my God, is always the same.