GymKats to Roll with the Tide

The University of Kentucky gymnastics coach Leah Little is making good on her prediction that people would see "...a much improved Kentucky team this year". Two weeks ago against Illinois, they tied their 1996 school record of 195.875. This is a young team that is growing and learning with experience.

Their top all arounder is freshman Aronda Primault. Last week she was named SEC Gymnast of the Week. It followed her first all around competition where she established career highs on all four events. Then on Friday she surpassed two of them, including a score of 9.9 on floor. She comes in with a high level of difficulty and the power to execute on floor and vault. Experience may be all that is needed to boost her scores on bars and beam, where consistency has been a problem. Also returning in the all around is the 2000 Freshman of the Year, Julia Gore. She is known as a fierce competitor who thrives under pressure. Coleman Coliseum should be just the venue for her to perform. She suffered an injury earlier this season against Georgia, and did not compete the last two meets. After a season ending ankle injury early in 2000, junior Jennifer Simmons is also back in the all around. She has struggled this season with being consistent on all four events.

Vault has traditionally been the GymKats strongest event, and continues to be so. They are ranked 12^th in the nation and have worked toward having 6 10.0 start value vaults on that event. Simmons has been the most consistent with a high of 9.85. Freshman Julie Joy has been a dependable vaulter for the team. Senior Beth Coleman is capable of throwing a 9.85 vault, but not on a regular enough basis.

On the uneven bars the team struggles with consistency. Juniors Jessie Lemp and Katie Toups along with Gore will have to pull out their 9.8+ routines that they are capable of, in order to remain competitive against Bama.

Beam scores reflect the general trend toward improvement of this team. They are ranked 25^th in the nation. Sophomore Mindy Smith has been a tremendous asset to the beam line up. She has a high degree of difficulty in her routine and has been incredibly consistent with it. Her lowest score this season is 9.8 and her highest is 9.9, earning her a ranking of 9^th in the country. Lemp is a very dependable performer on this event. Junior Nicole Allen has not had any falls from beam but has struggled with the execution at times. She is capable of scores 9.8 or greater.

Kentucky is coming on strong on floor. They have the capability of putting up 6 scores of 9.8 or better. Two weeks ago they put together a 49.2 on floor, their 3^rd best floor score in their school's history. Along with Primault, watch for Joy's strong tumbling. Coleman has been fairly consistent on this event and has a season high of 9.85. Allen's routine is enjoyable to watch as it has some nice dance elements in it.

The GymKats were riding a wave of steady improvement through this season. Hopefully they can catch that wave again and roll with the Tide this weekend.

Alabama vs. Kentucky
Sat., Feb. 24, 2001
7:00 p.m.
Coleman Coliseum