..

Ask the Team (2004 - 2005)

Ask the Team is for our fans to have the opportunity to ask anyone from the gym family something that is burning on their mind. Check out these questions from the 2004 - 2005 season!

April 5, 2005 (for Mirk)

Sarah (a gymnast from Detroit):
"Is it hard living so far from your hometown?"

Lauren talks about being away from home:
"At times it is hard being so far away and especially at the begining of my college career. But I am lucky to have such great teammates and friends at Michigan that they have become my family away from home. Also, I talk to my parents all the time, which makes it easier as well. So really they have been ways around the distance and I am just lucky to be surrounded by so many great people that have become my family."

Mar. 20, 2005

Sarah C. (a gym supporter):
"How is the location for Regionals decided?"

Past 10.0 President and overall umgym connoisseur Bruce Wilson takes this one:
Universities bid to host regionals and nationals. The NCAA chooses a school in each of the six regions based on the bid proposals. The NCAA tries to move both the regionals and nationals around.

Interestingly, when the six regions were established, Michigan was moved out of its geographic home and assigned to the Northeast region. The purpose was to create a little balance. Without the move, the Northeast would not have had one of the dominant schools.

Regional alignments don't matter too much, because the top 18 teams are seeded into the six regions based on a 1-12-13, 2-11-14... 6-7-18 seeding pattern (with occasional exceptions). The final three teams in each region are highest unseeded teams from that region. So Michigan can wind up going anywhere!

Mar. 3, 2005

Jessica S. (a local gym fan):
"I have so much fun at the meets!! I was wondering how the girls get there nicknames like Eray and J-Diddy and TC?!? Do they make them up themselves before the season?"

Web guy Rishi and apt nicknamer responds:
"Nicknames are a big business in and out of college gymnastics. :) Often the athletes have a nickname that folks at home or their club used to call them. Alternatively, once they get to Michigan, their teammates are sure to put a tag on them (especially if they have a multiple-syllable name). I'm especially proud of "ERay" because that is one I made up during Elise's first year here... we got the whole student section saying it after awhile and now many people know her that way! We are still searching for a winning nickname for Lindsey Bruck though, so if you have any ideas, come let us know and maybe we'll give her one that sticks."

Feb. 21, 2005 (for ERay or TC)

Laura (a hometown gymnast in another arena):
"I was just wondering if you guys have done any retaliation to Katie and Nellie because you guys had said something about it in the team talk before, but you never wrote about what you actually did? I hope it was good!!"

Chelsea might be off the floor these days, but she's still scheming:
"We haven't gotten those freshies back yet. But don't worry, we will! We've been scheming this whole year for a grand finale before we graduate....those freshies better watch out....!!" tc

Feb. 8, 2005

Louise V. (a local gym fan):
"Do the gymnast's pick the song that is always played during their beam routines? (and what is the name of the song that plays during Jenny Deiley's routine? It is cool!)"

J. Diddy responds with Keys in mind:
"Well... we do all get to pick our beam songs each year. When Ipick mine it is usually just because I like it at the time and feel like it would calm me down before I get ready to do my beam routine. So this year it is Karma by Alicia Keys- it seems to be working well. This is a different/ more up beat song than my last years and I like that. I think the slow songs make me more nervous!"

Feb. 2, 2005

Lilly E. (a local Ann Arbor resident):
"Who holds the record for the most all-around scores of 39.00 or higher?"

Pulling out the stats book, here is the breakdown of the top U-M 39.00+ career gainers PRIOR to the 2005 season:

  1. Sarah Cain (97-00): 36
  2. Beth Wymer (92-95): 34
  3. Elise Ray (still active): 31 (+ current)
  4. Calli Ryals (2001-02004): 30
  5. Lisa Simes (1996-1999): 22
  6. Jenny Deiley (still active): 20 (+ current)

Jan. 20, 2005

Jeffrey N. (a dedicated 10.0 member):
"I was wondering what are some of the factors that are considered for selecting opponents for the season? Are there any Conference guidelines, or others rules that have to be followed for creating the schedule?"

All-around sceduler Coach Scott says:
"As far as scheduling goes, the NCAA allows a maximum of 13 competitions including our conference championship. The Big Ten conference does not have any guidelines regarding intra-conference competitions during the regular season, so we just have the BigTen Conference Championship meet in March to determine our champion.

That situation allows us quite a bit of freedom to determine our own schedule. We do have had several teams that we historically compete with each year, including long standing series with top programs like Nebraska, Utah, UCLA, and Georgia. We also have the Michigan Classic meet each year which includes all 5 Michigan universities with NCAA Division 1 programs. Beyond that, we try and schedule a variety of teams. Each commitment is usually at least a 2 year deal with a "home and home" arrangement."

Jan. 7, 2005 (for Shanna)

Jessica C. (a CMU alumna from PA):
"I am an alumni of Central Michigan University (graduated in 2003) and was a big fan of the gymnastics team. I was just curious as to why you chose to leave Central? I hope you do well with Michigan!"

The Ann Arbor News actually answered this one in an article just days later!

Dec. 15, 2004

Deb Cole (a booster from Cinci, Ohio):
"I have a question about cameras with flashes. Yestereday I believe I heard Coach Bev speak to a fan about the flash on the camera that the fan was using. But right in front of the fan were two professional photographers that were both using flashes. Why is it ok for professional to use a flash?"

Coach Bev on the logistics of cameras:
"The professional photographers that we are working with this year requested that we could use the strob lights that are positioned up in the rafters at Crisler. They light up the arena but do not create as direct of a flash and therefore do not bother the athletes. The direct flash from a camera pointed at an athlete creates a blinding effect and is dangerous to the athlete who is preforming or could cause them to fall. So to answer the question, no one should be using a flash right on their camera, not even the professional photographers!"

Nov. 13, 2004 (for Elise)

Andrea (from 'bama):
"Elise, are you still friends with Kristen Maloney and Jamie Dantzscher?"

ERay (who competed with them at the 2000 Olympics among other places) says:
"Yes, Iam definitely still friends with Kristen and Jamie. I think it is a friendship that will always have such a strong bond because of what we all went through together in Sydney. I don't get to see them much because they are in LA and Iam here, but Ilove seeing them at meets... and of course there is always email and the phone. They are such great girls!"

Oct. 25, 2004 (for Bev)

Jennifer L. (from Grand Blanc):
"How do you think the team will do this year compared to last year?"

Bev responds to this year's first Q:
"Thanks for your question. I think that this years team has a great deal of potential! I expect that we will have a higher level of difficulty and at the same time be much more consistant than we were last season. Our returners know what they need to do and our freshman are going to provide more depth to our line ups. We are going to have a difficult time choosing only 6 to compete on beam and floor because we have a lot of options. Vault and Bars are the events we still need to improve in our depth if we want to fight for an NCAA Championship!!"

...