2003-2004
Thursday, May 20, 2004 -- 22:54:22 (EDT)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
as most of you know, nationals was a bit disappointing for us. no matter how well you do in the first day of competition, it is never fun to sit in the stands that second day for the super six. however, elise gave us all something to remember by winning the national bar title. i was actually on the floor with her, and i can't even tell you how awesome it was to be right there....watching her stick that dismount! it gave me the chills and i think it gave the whole team a new sense of michigan pride. it was just plain awesome.
this was an interesting year for us, with a lot of ups and downs. i know that we all have huge hopes to improve next year, and a lot of us have already been in the gym working some bigger and better skills for next year. it will be very weird not having chris, calli, and ali next year. but hopefully we have all learned something from each of them and will carry that with us through to next year.
as for myself, i am taking class this spring....i have two english classes and a modern dance class. other than that, it's just nice to be what we all like to call a "normal student." we don't have any restrictions or schedules to stick to during spring, and i can't even explain the feeling of freedom that it gives me. but i still can't stay out of the gym! haha. i love working new skills and i love when there is such a relaxed atmosphere in the gym, like there always is during spring term. it makes work outs really fun! i will also be working camp this summer, with a bunch of my teammates, and then i will be heading home to pittsburgh for the rest of the summer. my parents got my brother and i an apartment for the summer, so that is gonna be awesome. i know you're probably thinking that it's gonna be more trouble than awesome...but whatever. my dad said "yes" so.....haha.
well, that is enough from me. i hope that everyone is having a great spring and i maybe i will write a few entries over the summer. talk to you all later!
Friday, April 09, 2004 -- 10:57:41 (EDT)
Name: Elise Ray
Regionals was a totally different story from big tens...it was plain old torturous. first of all, i felt really tired and worn out, and i had to do everything i could to convince myself to get through it. it was a tough task. then our mistakes on bars scared everyone. as soon as i landed bars, i knew what type of situation we would be in on beam, an intense one, so i started to get focused immediately. i knew i was in a hard position being the anchor, to tell you the truth, i was so nervous! i mean, i always get nervous, the good nervous, but this was just painful nervous! i tried to just put myself in a "bubble" and pretend i was just in the gym. the relief i felt when i landed was incredible. then we had our bye, and we just had to wait. i prefer not to watch in situations like that, so i went to the lockerroom to change and pack up my bag. i came back out to the rest of the team towards the end of the meet when we all realized we made it. i was excited yes, but more relieved. Even though i took the individual title in this meet, it was no where near the same feeling as big tens. maybe because i felt so worn out, and my gymnastics all through the meet never felt up to my satisfacation.
so, that brings us to now. we leave on tuesday morning for LA, and i am getting really excited. i am excited for the warm sushine and even more thrilled so see all my old friends. this meet is so anticapated for me because i have so many old teamates that will be there. it is like a big reunion. the thought of seeing them and spending some time with them warms my heart.
this week of practice has been really hard for me because i am so worn out. everything is starting to hurt, and my muscles just ache. this is a sure sign of a long season. i am hoping that once i get to LA, a new burst of energy will get me through until the end. we all also have finals and papers galore so we are stressed about school too. this is a tough time! i am really excited that my mom and dad will be in LA and they even bought my grandma a ticket to come. she hasn't seen me compete since sydney!!
we only have 2 more days of practice this season, geez! calli said just the other day that this is her last week of practice in her life!! what a CRAZY thought. i don't want ali, calli, and chris to go!!!!
well, perhaps i'll get another entry in before we go, or while we are there, if the hotel has internet. sound good?
God Bless-
Elise
Thursday, March 25, 2004 -- 12:20:49 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
As for the meet itself, I don't really even have the words to explain it. We looked like a different team on the floor, but that was the team that we have seen everyday in the gym. Finally, we all seemed to be on the same page. Everyone was working together but more importantly, everyone was having so much fun! We knew that we were capable of having a meet like that, and finally, we did just what we have been seeking this entire season. It was one of the sweetest victories that I can remember in my three years here at Michigan!
Becca set the tone for the entire meet on the vault, when she stuck her front pike cold! It was gorgeous. From that point forward, our confidence just kept building and building and it seemed like no one could hold us down. Bars was probably the highlight of the meet for us. It seemed like we had stuck landing after stuck landing. Jenny, Lindsey, Lauren, Calli...all beautiful routines. And then culminating moment with the 10.0 from Elise! HOw awesome was that? Elise has been battling so hard all year, trying to fight off the soreness in her shoulder, not to mention the weekly soreness of competing in the all-around every week. In true Elise fashion, she emerged as a Big Ten Champion. Our bar squad is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, that it has ever been. We were so happy to put it all together. And Scott's smile by the end of that event? Absolutely priceless.
It was smooth sailing from that point on. We still have some improvements that we can make on beam. We had a few balance checks that we can improve upon. We are also looking forward to getting Calli Ryals back in more line-ups. She has been plagued with a foot injury, but she seems to be feeling a bit better this week so hopefully she'll be back in the groove by regionals.
As for myself, I was pretty happy with my performance. Bars certainly could have been better for me because I had a few steps back on my dismount and I didn't do the half, which I performed the week before against Alabama. But beam went well, and I can't even explain how good it felt to be back in the floor line-up.
One of the "questions of the week" someone had for me was, "what is wrong with your knee?" I guess this whole year, it has kinda been ambiguous to you guys as to exactly what is wrong with me....and you probably have no idea why i don't vault anymore. so it's a good question and probably one that i should have answered some time ago. This will be a long answer cause it's kinda complicated :) Last year, both of my knees were swollen pretty much the entire year but the doctors couldnt figure out why. I got tested for all sorts of stuff, but nothing seemed to be wrong. Well, at the end of a tough season, I got an MRI and found out that my meniscus was slightly torn in both knees. I went in for double-knee surgery in early July, but unfortunately, the doctors didnt find just a torn meniscus in each knee. They found that I have a chondral defect, primarily in my right knee, but also in the left. That means that I don't have cartilage between the two bones in my knee, and the bones are basically rubbing up against one eachother. I wasnt allowed to do any gymnastics over the summer, and I am not allowed to vault this season. I have hopes that someday I may be able to vault at least in one or two more meets in my career, but I'm just not allowed right now. The coaches and Lisa (our trainer) have been really good at tailoring my practices to my needs....they have been particularly conscious of the long-term effects that I could have to face if we don't be really careful. So even if I may want to do something, sometimes they just say "no." This is also why i haven't really been in a floor line-up this year very much. I am working my way back though, so hopefully I can ride it out on floor for the rest of the year.
Well, that is about it from me today. I hope that you all loved watching us at Big Tens, and if you couldnt be there, I'm sure Jess gave you the down-low over live-scoring. She's great. Well, I better get ready for practice. Thanks again and I hope to see you all again sometime soon.
GO BLUE!
Saturday, March 13, 2004 -- 12:39:54 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
I am anxious for this coming week, as the week before big 10's is always a highly energized time for us. Big 10's is arguably my favorite meet of the entire year because the energy, the emotion, and the competitive spirit of the team is taken to a whole new level in anticipation of post-season. You can bet that we will be ready to defend our title.
It was sort of bittersweet to send off Calli, Chris, Ali, and Elise (sort of;)) last night. The memories that we have made together over the past few years are certainly irreplaceable. It's really hard for me to imagine this team without them next year, and I don't think that it will sink in until it's time for them to pack up and leave Ann Arbor. The dynamic of this senior class is truly unbelievable, and their presence will be greatly missed. I love you, seniors of '04!
Well, that's about it for me today. I want to apologize on behalf of Elise and I for being a little bit sparse with our entries. As most of you know, season has begun to get a little crazy....so we apologize and we'll try to be a little more consistent over the next few weeks. Thanks again to all of you who came to support us last night. We're on our climb back...so look for us to be roaring and ready to go in the land of the 10,000 lakes. GO BLUE and I hope to see some of you die-hard fans in stands!
Thursday, February 26, 2004 -- 10:35:29 (EST)
Name: Chelsea & Elise
We had a rather grueling week, as we got back from WVU on Sunday night and trained throught the week...mon, tues, wed. We had some major improvements this week, but not so much in the form of gymnastics. We had some of our more passive people step-it up a notch in terms of cheering and general enthusiam. It seems that we're lacking a bit of "spunk" right now, and this week was about trying to get that excitedness back in our veins. Becca, Jenny, Lindsey, and Lauren in particular did a great job this week by showing a lot more leadership and enthusiam. That is what we really need right now to overcome the #1, #2, and #3 teams in the country. It was a hard push but we got through and now we have today off! Woo! And I feel as though we are ready to take on those gym dogs this weekend! We'll probably have a few more temporary changes in line-ups again....Calli hasn't been feeling very well and neither has Jenny, but we'll have to see where tomorrow brings us. I want everyone to look out for Sarrie Rubin tomorrow when she makes her Michigan gymnastics debut! She has been working so hard these past couple of weeks, and I believe she'll be exhibitioning on two events. Way to go Sarrie Berrie! She's really looking good, so be ready for her to show you what she's got.
My mom is coming over in a little while to help me clean out my closet....i am dreading it but it's time for some spring cleaning. Elise can't wait because i am giving her first dibs on the clothes I don't want anymore! haha. I am looking forward to a nice day of rest with my mom and dad. It's always so nice when they are in town. Mrs. Mirkovich took the red eye on tues night so that she could spend some time with me and my fellow coopers. SHe made us dinner after practice last night, which was soooo good, and watched the Bachelorette finale with us. It was so fun! I am also really excited because my brother is making the trip this weekend as well! He's a Buckeye at heart, but he makes an exception for Michigan gymnastics..haha. Oh and one more thing before i go....i want to send a quick shout out to our #1 boosters for coming out to the gym last week. It was really great to actually get to speak with all of you....Thank you so much for your constant support and I hope that you had a great time. Well, it's time for me to go to the training room for treatment before mom gets here. I hope to see you all tomorrow and GO BLUE!
Saturday, February 14, 2004 -- 14:51:18 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
I think Elise pretty much covered everything else....the whole team has been really focused and with Jenny and Lauren coming back, we are really psyched up! I hope to see you all at the meet tonight...maybe we can break that attendance record AGAIN! That would be cool. Well, it's time for me to get ready, but I will see you all later. Don't forget to wish Clare and Kara happy birthday's. Oh yeah, and Happy Valentine's day too! Go Blue.
Friday, February 13, 2004 -- 19:48:54 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
There was a question addressed to me by a fan regarding the meet last weekend...how I felt taking the AA title on my birthday:) it was great! before the meet i though about how cool it would be to win on my bday, both team and individual, but i didn't want to put too much pressure on myself, so i had the mindset of just letting things happen. i think because i felt relaxed and excited because it was my day, i created a good combination:) i had a great bday by the way, some of my teammates took me to breakfast at Afternoon Delight (we love to go there) and the rest of the day i had some nice "elise time"...just did some shopping, talked to a bunch of friends and family who called from home, and relaxed before the meet. my teammates even showered me with gifts, flowers and balloons when i walked into Crisler before the meet. they sure know how to make me feel special. they are incredibly sweet.
practices have been going well. one of our mottos going into season is to train with "quality rather than quantity" and i think we all have been getting the hang of that. if we go in, get our job done, we can be done. it requires consistency and focus though, two tough aspects to conquer.
chelsea has been out this week due to some injuries...it's always hard when someone isn't working out...they are missed in the gym. hopefully she will be able to compete, but we have to wait and see how she feels. jenny and lauren are almost all the way back! jenny is competing several events this weekend which is awesome and mirk is working to get back vault and floor asap. we can't wait to have everyone out there:) they are all such tough cookies.
well, that's it from me for now. kara and clare have their birthdays on sunday...so a win over utah will be great b-day presents for them:)
talk to you soon-
Elise.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 -- 20:33:46 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
Monday, February 02, 2004 -- 12:43:17 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
As for the meet, I must say that we were all pretty psyched up after we found out that we scored a 197. But more importantly, I think we were all excited simply because we showed a lot of improvement. Finally, we broke that 49 mark on bars, which we had set as a goal for ourselves earlier in the practice week. Vault went really smooth as well floor and beam too. Everyone seemed really together, and it was a great feeling. We were so happy to have Jenny and Lauren back in the bar line-up. It might be awhile before they get to do anything else, but look at the difference they made for us just on bars!?! They are tough cookies. I am excited for practice today to get the chance to improve even more.
I wanted to tell you guys about our Wednesday practice last week because it was kinda cool. The coaches did something new with us and allowed Elise and I to have a "captain's practice," which meant that we got to dictate assignments, events, and in general, just how practice was run. It was a really fun day. We did a team beam and team bars intrasquad type thing, where everyone(not just those in line-ups) got to compete their routines for the coaches. It was a really fun, upbeat day, and I am hoping that we get another one like it soon. It's always nice to do something different every once in awhile (hmm.....hopefully Bev reads this!) haha). We topped the practice off with some conditioning and team cardio, which was also a nice change. I'll have to let you guys know if we get another day like that.
Anyway, that's about it over here. Make sure to tell everyone you know that we have a meet this weekend...we wanna keep those 4,000 fans coming back for more! I hope you all had fun because I know that we did! And thank you so much for cheering.....see you soon! Go Blue.
Monday, January 26, 2004 -- 12:34:22 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
That's about all I have for today. I want to send a shout-out to Rishi and the K-Grams crew for doing such an amazing job of promoting this meet. If anyone has been on campus, there are flyers everywhere! It's awesome! I have a feeling that we are gonna get a great crowd against those Spartans! Can't to see you all there.....GO BLUE!
p.s.- sorry i haven't written an entry in awhile. Now that we are home, the entries should be a little bit more regular.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004 -- 19:57:25 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
two of our freshman, lindsey and carol, are doing awesome for us. i am so proud of them because they fell into a tough position having to step up to the challenge of filling in for jenny and lauren. they rose to the ocassion beautifully.
lauren got her cast off today! and she is so excited to get back out there. jenny is coming aling really well too. she is in fact swinging bars and starting rehab on her ankle. they are both such tough girls and their desire to heal quickly is very evident:)
we are off on a 7 hour bus ride to iowa on friday. practice's have been tough this week because everyone has been real tired because of traveling and getting caught up on work. we have been pushing through though, and trying to keep our focus on our goals. we are ready to beat some hawkeyes!
one other thing i wanted to share was a great appreciation to the k-grams crew for helping out soooo much with publicity for our jan. 31st meet. they spent all last night hanging fliers and even going door to door to promote our meet. isn't that incredible? we are all VERY thankful for all their help. our big crowd in crisler on the 31st will be thanks to them:) they are awesome!
well, i am off to get a cup of coffee and to get some reading done. hope you all are well and keep cheering:)
Saturday, January 03, 2004 -- 08:51:01 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
Most of us got back to Ann Arbor on New Years Day because we had practice at 2 yesterday. Everyone seems really rested and ready to go for Nebraska. Practice went really well yesterday even though it was a pretty easy "get back into the swing of things" practice. After practice today is our team holiday party where we do our secret gift exchange...I have Clare. I know I'm not supposed to tell but she'll never read this before today so it really doesn't matter! haha. We're going over to Bev's at about five and having dinner altogether...I'm sure we'll have fun. Other than that, there's not much going on. It's a little weird for us to be here without class, and campus is pretty dead. We have so much free time and most of us don't know what to do with it! But we better enjoy the rest before the craziness starts up on Tuesday...
Well, that's about it for today. I'll be back sometime this week before we leave for Nebraska. Maybe Elise and I can write you guys an entry together since we always write the same things anyway! Again, I hope you all had a great holiday and a Happy New Year. It's great to be back! Go Blue!
Thursday, December 18, 2003 -- 12:32:49 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
We have had a lot of fun in our house this holiday season...we call our house "the coop" because Jenny has a slight obsession with roosters, and she has decorated our entire kitchen with several different versions of fake roosters. We call her the "mother hen" too because she always needs to monitor all household activities....even if it's just baking cookies! She's crazy. But anyway, our house is incredibly. We have a Christmas tree with presents for each other underneath and everything! I must say, it's been a great first christmas with my fellow coopers.
As I said before, I have my last final tomorrow and then I'll be heading back to Pittsburgh. I am excited to just be able to relax, hang out with my friends and family, and read books that aren't actually assigned to me! I'll will still practice several times throughout break, but it definitely won't be as strenuous. I am still really close with my old coach, and I love going into the gym and giving him a hard time! We all have to get ready for Nebraska when we get back, so even though this is a break for us, we still have to keep in shape.
Oh well...that's about it for now. I thought that I would share some holiday cheer with you guys rather than simply talking about gymnastics. I'm off to lunch with some friends right now, but I hope to see you all soon...you better be cheering for us in Nebraska (even if you're not there!) Have a great holiday and a happy New Year! I'll be back soon...
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 -- 19:31:54 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 -- 19:12:48 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
Well, it is coffee and studying time for Eray. Have a great holiday and make sure you take time to pray for all the troops overseas. Enjoy the break and i'll talk to you all again when get back to Ann Arbor. Happy Holidays!
Friday, December 12, 2003 -- 13:46:41 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
The reason I really wanted to write to you guys today to tell you about something really special that we did today. The team split up and was sent to different elementary schools were we did a sort of question/answer session with several different classes. This is through the program called K-grams that Rishi is in charge of. Anyway, it is a really awesome program. I went to Carpenter elementary school with Clare, and we spoke to about five different classrooms from 1st to 5th grade. The kids were so cute! They asked questions like, "What is your favorite event?" or "When did you start doing gymnastics?" I love little kids so its nice to be able to interact with them. And it is so special for them because they are literally star struck by us....it's really gratifying to have kids be so appreciative of you. They'll all be attending our Michigan State meet on the 31st so watch out! It's gonna be a crazy crowd packed full of little kids! what could be better?
Well, it's time for me to head off to practice. Finals have just started so things have been a little stressful, but i think we're all hanging in there. only about a week until we leave for Holiday break! Can't wait. Thanks for all of your support at our meet on saturday and i look forward to seeing you all again....GO BLUE!
Thursday, December 11, 2003 -- 11:03:40 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
other than gymnastics, everything is pretty good. i am excited to go home, although i always miss everyone here so much. i have much christmas shopping to do still...have you guys tried shopping on ebay? it is really fun, but kind of addicting so be careful! well, it's about that time...i better get to studying and writing my papers. talk to you soon.
Friday, December 05, 2003 -- 10:31:06 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
Well, tomorrow is the day we've all been waiting for...INTRASQUAD! Everyone has done really well this week, and it seems like Thanksgiving break was a nice rest of most of us. We had another in-gym intrasquad on wednesday, which went a lot smoother than the one the week before. Everyone seemed to have a little bit more confidence in their routines, which was nice to see. Overall, i think it should be an exciting meet tomorrow. You should get to see a few new skills from almost everybody, not to mention the debut of our freshmen and the return of Elise. She is really looking good and we are all so excited to have her back in line-ups. Even though she's not back to full strength yet, just her competing with us gives everyone a little more confidence.
I am just competing bars and beam tomorrow. The coaches and i opted not have me compete floor so that we can save my legs for later in the season. Floor has actually been going really well, so hopefully I will get a chance to show you all my new routine. My music is from the Bourne Identity and Lord of the Rings. I love it! Oh well, I have to start getting ready for my Shakespeare class but i am sure that I will see you all tomorrow! GO MAIZE!....(and blue!)hehe....
Sunday, November 30, 2003 -- 18:04:26 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
I also visited my hometown gym, where I practiced before college. I have a lot of my very best friends in Maryland, who I used to train with, so it soothed me to be around them again.
I am anxious to get back in the gym. We had about 4 days off, so I am feeling refreshed and getting excited for intrasquad...you all better be there!
Well, I think I'll go unpack my suitcase and make some soup for dinner. My mom gave me a great new recipe that I want to try.
Talk to you all soon.
Thursday, November 20, 2003 -- 12:30:47 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
The field hockey team is also gonna have an exciting weekend. They are in the final four of the NCAA championships. We are all so excited for them! Our team is really close with the field hockey girls...in fact, Elise and Ali live with two of them, Kara and Calli live with one of the girls, and a few of our freshmen also live with them. So we're really gonna be pulling for them this weekend. Field hockey is my favorite sport to watch, so I wish I would be able to see them play Wake Forest this weekend, but I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed until they get back. It should be a really close game, but I know that we can do it.
Oh yeah...and one more thing. If anyone is planning to go to the women's basketball game tomorrow afternoon, you will be excited to know that we are doing the halftime show! It's nothing to exciting really....we're just gonna be doing a couple of tumbling passes on a long trampoline, but it should still be fun nonetheless. We'll only be out there for about 10 min, so be sure to catch us if you can.
OK. That's it for me today. I'm off to do some cardio before practice. I hope everyone is having a great week and is getting ready for thanksgiving break...I know I am! You better be cheering for the Big Blue this weekend....it should be a good one!
Go Blue!
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 -- 20:46:27 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray
i am soooo excited to be working out full time again. my shoulder is feeling pretty good and all my skills are coming back nicely. i have to work through some pain still, but that's normal. the coaches are being very patient with me. i am just excited to be on the events again! we have a judge coming in tomorrow to look at our routines, so i'll let you guys know how that goes. talk to you soon. go blue!
Tuesday, November 11, 2003 -- 12:30:29 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll
Elise is coming back really strong so we are all really excited about that...with every new skill she does it seems to give of us all a little bit more fire. Chris is slowly making her climb back, training lots of bars and trying to take it easy on the landings. I'm hanging in there, doing tons of bars and my fair share of beam as well...but it's ok...I could use the extra time anyway.
Everyone else is pretty healthy. Our freshmen are really starting to come into their own. They all have great gymnastics to show you over the next few months, and will be great assets to our team, both athletically and academically...not to mention the fact that they all have great personalities. I think the whole team would agree that we have really enjoyed getting to know them both inside in out of the gym.
This week we have started routine training, which actually hasn't been too bad. I think we should be ready to go come december 6th...wow, it seems like just yesterday that we were at the super six. I can't believe that season is right around the corner. I guess we'll just have to do it again this year.
Ok. That's about it for now...I'm gonna go eat lunch before practice, but I'll be back some time soon to chat a little bit more. See you all soon. GO BLUE!
Thursday, November 06, 2003 -- 17:17:17 (EST)
Name: Chelsea & Elise
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