Hey Centenary Ladies Fans! It is freshman, Madison McCary with my first gym talk. I will cover all of the exciting events from this past week! Our week was jam-packed while we were gearing up in practice for our first real intra-squad of the year! We also had a fun day of team pictures on Sunday!
Each practice before the intra-squad was dedicated to focused hard work. Coach Jackie was wanting us to be on top of our game and ready to be at our best for Saturday! Sophomore Kendall Knaps had been catching her Gienger's for a few weeks on the pit bar and has been on her grind trying to move it to the competition bars. Knaps made her teammates proud when she made bar line up and caught her release every time she did it Saturday! She also has been showing us her beautiful moves in her new floor routine she showed off on Saturday night.
Our vault line up has been more substantial as to where we are this preseason. Only a week into November and we have 5 solid twisting Yurchenko's and a powerful hand-front by Jerrica Harris. All 5 twisting have been working hard on their technique and they will only continue to get stronger as the season goes on! Freshman Kennedy Stephens was our exhibition with her unique front handspring full, she is working towards a bigger twist for a higher start value, but it is absolutely gorgeous!
Our bars this intra-squad was something to watch! Each Lady did not hold back on any of their skills and they all did exceptionally well. Sophomore Xian Baumgartner had a mishap on bars earlier in the week, and we weren't sure if she would be ready for Saturday night, but she did not disappoint and showed her true grit by doing a beautiful, effortless bar routine. Taylor Wilson is the only freshman with a full bar routine put together, and it is killer! Cami Bea also threw her Tkatchev on the real set during the intra-squad, so she is putting fear aside and stepping up her game.
Overall, we are in a good spot in our progress for this upcoming season. The 6 freshman who aren't injured have been working extremely hard to make a big contribution to the team. As for the rest of the team, many of them are gaining new skills and perfecting their routines to smash the competition this season!
Sunday was our team picture day, which is always a fun day of smiles, team bonding, hunger, impatience and silliness. We had curtain call starting at 11:00, so we were up and working on getting beautiful for our big day! We headed off to the Spring Street Museum in downtown Shreveport, the oldest building in Shreveport, where our photo shoot was taking place. The freshman arrived first and got busy right away with their headshots and individual poses. As the upperclassmen started to arrive, Jenny's and Kendall Knaps' moms came through with some amazing snacks to get us through the rest of the day!
Two of our alumni parents snapped the photos of your 2019-2020 Centenary Ladies, and what a blast it was! Each gymnast came up with individual poses unique to them and they all turned out fabulous. We also took headshots, class photos, and full team photos in our two new leos! I can't wait for you all to see them!
We need to give a special shout out to Mrs. Penny Sander and Mr. Shawn Smith for their time and their amazing talents! And, to the Spring Street Museum for opening their doors for us and giving us full reign of the building to get the best shots possible.
This week was full of work but also full of fun. Check back next week for more updates from your Centenary Ladies!
Best wishes,