Q: The Auburn meet was only the third time that you have competed in the all-round and you placed second overall. How do feel about your accomplishment?

A: "It is always an honor to compete in all four events, because you feel that you are doing the best you can do and you're helping the team. Placing in the all-around doesn't mean a whole lot to me, though. There are lots of great gymnasts who compete in only a couple of events. Plus, college gymnastics is about being part of the team and not just an individual. I wouldn't think it was good if I won in the all-around, but the team lost the meet."

Q: You bested your top bar score (previously 9.875) with a 9.9 at the Auburn meet, what did that feel like? Should we expect to see any new skills added on this event?

A: "I was very excited about my score on bars. Typically this has been an event that I haven't competed in because of problems with consistency. My score proved to me that my hard work is paying off. I am performing the same routine as I did last year and that has helped. To stay at a consistent level I won't be adding any new skills."

Q: What is your favorite event and why?

A: "Really, I don't have a single favorite event. It depends on what kind of mood I am in that day at practice. However, my favorite events to compete are floor and vault, they're so fast that there's no time to get nervous. It's really great doing the floor exercise because of the audience response, especially this year since I am doing my routine to "Sweet Home Alabama."

Q: How do you feel about the new one vault rule?

A: "There were times when I would rather have done a single vault, however, this season I do wish I had a second vault. With the one vault rule it's much harder to upgrade your vault because you have to know you're going to perform well. Before we would use the second vault to try a vault with a higher degree of difficulty, then if you didn't perform as well it didn't matter as much."

Q: Who do you think the leader of the team is?

A: "I think it is hard to pick out a single person as the leader of the team. If I were a freshman, I would probably have a different answer to that question, but to me no single person stands out as the team leader. We have so many experienced members; there are 6 juniors and 5 seniors, counting April Makinson (former team member now student coach). That experience helps too, at some of the intersquad competitions I could tell the freshman weren't as comfortable with some of the equipment."

Q: How do you feel about the Tide's first road trip after competing in the first two events of the season at home?

A: "Home meets are great because you have the home crowd fans behind you, but away meets are where we really pull together as team because we spend so much time together, traveling, and in the hotel."