Senior Aspen Hattley Provides This Week's Gym Talk after Coming off a Great Home Weekend
Hello Centenary Gymnastics fans! It’s Aspen a.k.a “Spin” checking in to give you this weeks Gym Talk! If you are wondering where I have been this year, they forgot to give me a Gym Talk last semester (I wish I can enter a shocked meme right here) But, I am back to give you this weeks’ one so sit back and grab a cup of coffee ‘cause I have a lot to catch you up on!
Hello Centenary Gymnastics fans! It's Aspen a.k.a "Spin" checking in to give you this weeks Gym Talk! If you are wondering where I have been this year, they forgot to give me a Gym Talk last semester (I wish I can enter a shocked meme right here) But, I am back to give you this weeks' one so sit back and grab a cup of coffee 'cause I have a lot to catch you up on!
The Ladies had their first two-meet weekend here at the #HomesweetDome for the 2019 season! With a short week of practice before competition, the Ladies wanted to focus on getting + .10 better than last competition; Coach Jackie asked each Lady focus on making one correction of .10 they could improve on to help the team score! Another goal of Coach Jackie's was to have every single person on the team in a leotard competing and let me tell you… WE DID JUST THAT! So, going into this meet, we had two major goals we were focused on achieving – which was in fact, no pressure at all. Starting off on Friday, the Ladies prepared to face off in a tri-meet against TWU and Gustavus Adolphus, but due to weather, the Gusties weren't able to make Friday's competition so it turned into a dual meet with T-Dub. But, we are happy to report that Gustavus got here safely for our Sunday meet!
Friday's meet was our "Pink Meet," sponsored by Centenary's sorority Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) helping them to spread awareness about breast cancer. There were many prizes from our sponsors: Jason's Deli, Chick-Fil-A, the Broken Egg, Starbucks on Youree and Franks Pizza. We had a few trivia questions in-between rotations about Breast Cancer to help increase awareness, where the fans got to answer and win prizes. We were so excited to host this meet and were privileged to have a guest coach, Tina Feldt, by our side throughout the night. She is the director of Counseling and Disability Services at Centenary AND a 5-year Breast Cancer survivor (or should I say WARRIOR!) Thank you for coming out to cheer us on Tina, and thank you for all you do to help students that have troubles or just need an ear to talk to! You are truly appreciated.
During the meet, we got to see some great gymnastics! Starting off with the "Vault Shakers", Jenny Jackson lead us off with a strong layout and it just kept building from there! S/O first to seniorita Navia Jordan for her career high for her beautiful handspring front and also to anchor Cami Bea for soaring through the air and earning a 9.775, a career high for First Place on her flawless Yurchenko-half.
Next up, the "Bar Stars" decided to swang (not swing) with some good routines. Bar line up really went aggressive, although they had a couple of mistakes, which really motivated them for Sundays' meet. S/O to Jenny for her Ray and Xi-Pie for earning a 9.650, placing her third on bars! It was a routine to watch, check out our highlights on social media or on our YouTube page, the smile and college finish at the end says it all. I am so proud of this Bar line-up and know they have some big things coming!
Moving on to the "Beam Queens", I can say we were a little down from bars, but some good came out of it as Navia Jordan (my best friend) scored a 9.650 and a new anchor put in for this meet, Kendall Knaps, who stepped up and gave her all! Ken, we were so proud of you, just seeing you up there was a sight to see! We knew this was your moment and I hope this experience gave you a confidence boost because you proved to us that you can do it, kudos K2! Also, s/o to senior Mackenzie Packer on a solid beam set in exhibition! Mack Pack, I am also so proud of you and hope you took in the moment. You have officially moved from Beam Princess to Beam Queen (haha).
Moving on to the final rotation, the "Floor Roars" went out there and attacked! Not biased or anything, but our floor ROCKS! We had some high scores from freshman Kendall "K1" Sanders earning her a wowing 9.650, Cami Bea with a solid 9.7, and anchor Navi with a whopping 9.850 (also earning her First place on floor). Big ups for Tavia for debuting her new and improved floor routine that looked stunning! We took home the all-around 2-3 punch with senior Tavia Smith (Second) and Kendall Sanders (Third). During awards, The Beast Award was given to one competitor from each team who exhibited traits and characteristics of Sylvia Keiter; a former Centenary Gymnast and assistant coach, who was tragically killed in a car accident last May. The Beast Award was presented to our own, Sierra Ponder! Congrats SiSi, you deserve it as you have put in the hard work and dedication, putting the team before yourself, and giving all that you have, which inspires all those around you! Last but not least, S/O to the ALL 6 Seniors for all being in a leotard, competing together for the first time! It was a bitter sweet moment. Team score broke 190, giving us a 190.075. GREAT JOB LADIES, #LevelUp!
On our off-day Saturday, we were grateful to get a little rest and hang out with friends and family! As for me, I got some much-needed sleep but it gave the Ladies time to rejuvenate, hit the training room for treatment, and get some study time before going hard again on Sunday!
On to Sundays' meet. The team decided to dedicate this meet to Sylvia aka "Big Syl." Syl was a fierce competitor and athlete who gave everything she had and put it all out on the floor during her time at Centenary. Coach Jacks gave us a goal for Sundays meet to bring that same fierceness Big Syl had to this competition! #AllForBigSyl
We took this to heart and had one of the greatest warm-ups we've had all season! This got us hyped and ready to take on Gustavus in a dual competition. Starting on vault, the "Vault Shakers" wanted to go in a little harder! Our vaults are definitely on the rise with each lady doing their job. S/O again to Cami Bea on the 9.725 earning First place *cough, cough* again and to TT claiming Third with a 9.450!
On to bars, did I mention we swang? Well, I would like to replace that with we swaaaaaang! We brought the bar swangers out for this one! Kendall Knaps lead us off with a good set and what really made this bar squad phenomenal, was the "I got your back" mentality after a mistake was made. Everyone in that line up showed fight and the person going after matched the energy which created greatness! Amazing bar sets from TT, SiSi, and Xian which earned a Centenary sweep of 1-2-3. Great job Nat for your awesome bar set! I can just watch it alllll day! Well done Ladies.
On to beam, the energy was high, fire was in our eyes as we ATTACKED beam (not literally, but you know what I mean). Ok, I may have literally attacked the beam a couple times because I am not friends with beam but shhh! Kendall S lead us off with a solid set to earn a 9.525, lets just say those Beam Queens did not come to play ok! Every routine was flawless and it was exciting to see my teammates determined and looking effortless up there! Kudos to Cami Bea for a 9.675 routine and senior Liz Sanders for earning a 9.6! First and Second place were earned for these two plus Kendall S earning Third! Check out some of our beam highlights where you will see Jerrica Harris's AWESOME beam set too. Last but not least, we got to see junior Dorothy Mims compete for the first time since her injury and surgery. We are proud of your progress and getting back to being better than before! You did great and we can't wait to see what the season has in store for you, this is only the beginning!
Floor Roars came with the rawr as they put on a show! It was so much fun to see such greatness out on the floor. Anchor Navi-Jay earn an incredible 9.825, getting her 1st place, with Cami Bea right behind her holding Second place with a 9.8, like wow! Again, go check out of YouTube channel to see these routines.
Waiting for the unofficial results, we decided to show Gustavus how we 2-step in the South to Copper Head Road, which I'm sure they enjoyed learning by the smiles and laughter! It is always fun to make other teams feel welcomed when here in The Dome, a little Southern Hospitality. This is what it is all about, having fun! Also, The Beast Award was given out to both teams and Dorothy Mims was honored with this award for her commitment and being unstoppable.
With the results in, Tavia took First in the AA with a 38.050 and Kendall S took home Second with a 37.525! YASSS LADIES! With a team score of 190.375, we leveled up and took first also! What an exciting feeling to climb up each meet with our team scores. We are meeting goals and ready to go back into the gym and get some upgrades and clean up some routines. The Ladies look forward to having some time off from competing to let our bodies rest, drill hard in the gym, and be even better than we were before; time to level up to Level 4! This is all for you Syl! <3
Hope you enjoyed this lengthy Gym Talk! Check back in next week to see what the Ladies are cooking up in preparation to compete against Lindenwood in a few weeks! This is Spinderella signing OUT!
