Pooh Bear's Assistants got a chance to observe some great competition at another intrasquad meet with the Tide Gymnastics team recently. The line up is starting to come into sharper focus on the uneven bars and balance beam while vault and floor exercise routines still have several gymnasts vying for positions, indicating that we will likely have the most depth and flexibility on these two events barring injuries. We are going to have a little fun here by proposing the possible line up on each event and will make note of particular skills that we think give that gymnast the edge in securing their position accordingly. Keep in mind that the Tide has about five more weeks of practice to fine tune skills and anything could happen between now and January 6^th.

Vault: The coaches are closer now than ever before to fielding six gymnasts each week who are prepared to compete 10.0 start value vaults. With this in mind, we think the following line up has the best chance of meeting this goal early on based on our observations of how practice has been going, for example, each gymnast's consistency in throwing these types of vaults either currently or in the recent past (i.e. Robin Hawkins). Positions 1, 4, and 6 will be critical, in terms of setting the tone, building the scoring potential and anchoring the overall team's performance. However, nerves of steel and competitive "drive" will certainly be required of each gymnast in the line up. Just as it was proven to be true in 1996, a strong vaulting team will just about assure the Tide of a clear shot at the national championship. Possible order of competition:

1. Sara Scarborough (Tsukahara ½ on ½ off, front layout)
2. Kristen Sterner (Pike barani)
3. Robin Hawkins (Tsukahara ½ on ½ off, front layout)
4. Jeana Rice (Yurchenko ½ off, front full layout)
5. Katie Hornecker (Tsukahara ½ on ½ off front layout)
6. Andree Pickens (Yurchenko ½ off front full layout)

The top six are followed closely by:

1. Raegan Tomasek (Front Pike; Pike barani)
2. Dara Stewart (Front Pike; Pike barani)
3. Stephanie Kite (Front Pike; Pike barani)
4. Lauren Holdefer (Front Pike; Pike barani)
5. Whitney Morgan (Front Pike; Pike barani)
6. Natalie Barrington (Front Double; Front Pike)

During practices and the recent intrasquad meet, we looked at form, extension, height, distance, and landing on these vaults. All of these gymnasts were able to stand up their vaults but the top eight showed strong technique along with extension and toe point (Robin's position again based on past skills since she is still working with a knee brace).

Uneven Bars:

Bama's depth on uneven bars is a little shaky after the first 8 positions but will increase as the year goes on when injured gymnasts return to full routines (Robin Hawkins, Tiffany Byrd, Alexa Martinez). We see the following line up taking shape:

1. Katie Hornecker (her consistent performance in 2000 may have earned her the all important lead off position)
2. Jeana Rice (freshman with big skills: full and half turns, inverted giants, full in dismount that is way above the high bar and landed solidly every time)
3. Kristen Sterner (full twisting Tkatchev is a huge new release skill she added to go along with her reverse Hecht)
4. Dara Stewart (added a pike Jaeger release and is now throwing her full twisting double layout dismount with ease)
5. Andree Pickens (added a Geinger release for #5 and a double twisting full in dismount)
6. Natalie Barrington (she now has two full turns on the high bar, two inverted giants in combination; the fluid pak Salto release and a Tkatchev; working on a dismount of a double front tuck out of a reverse giant)

The next six vying for a spot in the line up:

1. Whitney Morgan (major improvement in form and extension; two huge release moves and a double layout dismount)
2. Raegan Tomasek (toe on, toe off on the high bar to pike Jaeger; beautiful form but sometimes inconsistent in execution of the big skills)
3. Robin Hawkins (knee brace removal will get her closer to reclaiming her position in the line-up)
4. Alexa Martinez (excellent form but inconsistent with the Tkatchev release; has the most beautiful double layout dismount we have ever seen; needs to build confidence in her abilities on this event; could be a contender)
5. Lissy Smith (has thrown very solid exhibition routines on two occasions in 2000; Tkatchev release and a double pike dismount)
6. Tiffany Byrd (rehabilitating knee but is already back on bars doing giants and casts to handstands on the low bar; excellent form and toe point; great attitude)

Balance Beam

The Tide has marvelous depth on this event and it will be hard to anoint only six gymnasts each week. In order to beef up the scores, however, the coaches may want to overlook practice tendencies in favor of competition performance when deciding who should be included in the line up. For example, junior Natalie Barrington sometimes struggles during her beam workouts but has competed like a trooper at U.Mass, Auburn, and the UNC meets during the past two years. She has that European flair that reminds one of the Romanians and Khorkina. It would be a shame not to see her compete on the beam this year because we think she gives the Tide an edge that few other teams have in terms of her international experience and her form, extension, and technique. Gee, this is getting to be fun! Let's consider the following line up accordingly:

1. Raegan Tomasek (the punch front mount is back; she now throws the Onodi in her flight series; she likely will retain the lead off position because she has been very solid and consistent in this role during 2000)Scoring range potential: 9.85-9.925: hindered by being the lead off, which tends to receive a lower start off score.
2. Jeana Rice (her confidence on the beam is awesome to watch; she completes every skill with the goal of perfection; a two layout flight series with toes pointed all the way; a 360 degree wolf jump; a straddle to ¾ wolf jump combination; punch front; Miller; triple full dismount;)Scoring range potential: 9.875 - 9.95: if she hits, the sky is the limit.
3. Kristen Sterner (very disciplined; a two layout flight series; wolf jump to pike gainer; straddle jump to ¾ straddle jump; 360 degree straddle jump; double full dismount) Scoring range potential: 9.875 - 9.925: a little more toe point and this could go higher.
4. Andree Pickens (punch front mount; two layout flight series; wolf jump to immediate punch front; double tuck dismount) Scoring range potential: 9.90 - 9.975: she just keeps getting better and better.
5. Lissy Smith (a three layout flight series; 360 degree wolf jump) Scoring range potential: 9.925 - 9.975: this may be the year she gets her first 10 because she is looking like she did as a freshman competing at day 2 of NCAAs at UCLA in 1998!
6. Natalie Barrington (she has the most eye-catching choreography in her beam routine as well as the best toe point and extension next to Rice; Nat has competed a punch front to Korbut (fish flop) gymacro series as well as a flic flac, flic flac, layout flight series; she has been working on a Miller and a second Korbut in combination with a wolf jump; if the first five gymnasts stay on, this could be an awesome routine in terms of maximum scoring potential). Scoring range potential: 9.90 - 10.00

We see the following Tide gymnasts closely competing for a spot in the line up: Dara Stewart, Katie Hornecker, Alexa Martinez and Robin Hawkins (once healthy), Stephanie Kite and Krista Gole (once they reach maximum conditioning).

Floor Exercise

No complete routines on this date as new music and dance are still being chosen and choreographed respectively. Based on the skills being demonstrated we think the line up might look something like this:

1. Lissy Smith (new music; double pike, double tuck, double twist)
2. Robin Hawkins (new music; double pike, 2 ½ twist, double tuck or double twist)
3. Raegan Tomasek (new music: double pike; 2 ½ twist to punch front; double twist)
4. Jeana Rice (full in; 2 ½ twist to punch front; double twist)
5. Andree Pickens (double front; double tuck; double twist)
6. Kristen Sterner (double pike; double tuck; double pike)
7. Katie Hornecker (double pike; double tuck; double twist, possibly to a punch front)
8. Whitney Morgan (full in; double pike; double twist)

Look for Stephanie Kite, Krista Gole, Alexa Martinez, Natalie Barrington, Lauren Holdefer, and Sara Scarborough to round out the floor event with vital depth and some great choreography and jazzy new music!

We had a lot of fun with this and know that the coaches have some tough decisions ahead of them. It's nice to have these kinds of problems, as Coach Sarah always says. Let's pray for the safety and welfare of all of our gymnasts and coaches and trainers as the team moves closer to competition season. We will continue to update tide fans on the team's practices during the next several weeks.