2004-2005

Thursday, March 31, 2005 -- 10:54:23 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll

Hi Michigan fans....
Well, it's hard to believe that my final Big Ten's is already over. I don't know where the time has gone! It was an extremely close competition but as Wolverines are known to do, we fought through our adversity on beam and floor to pull out a W. We started the competition on vault which went really well for us. We know that we can still stick more of our landings, but overall I think this was one of our best vault sets of the season. And our energy was extremely high which is always a great way to start any meet. We carried this momentum over into the uneven bars, where once again our stellar bar team put together a six solid bar routines. One difficult aspect of such a large scale meet such as Big Ten's is that we had three bye rotations, which makes the meet feel about twice as long as normal. Although we passed the bye rotations in style, creating our own crazy dance parties in the locker room a la 50 Cent and Lil' Kim, it is still difficult to maintain focus throughout 7 rotations. As we headed to beam, everyone had to take a deep breath to calm down after such satisfying vault and bars rotations. We didn't exactly start off as we had planned, but I think the sign of a great team is shown in this midst of such adversity....when the team can get back on track after a fall or two to finish off the rotation with a bang. And that's exactly what we did. Becca Clauson has been our beam MVP for two meets in a row now. She seems unphased by pressure....Elise and Lindsey also had fantastic beam routines, as they've continued to do time and time again this year. We put ourselves in a similar situation on floor, encountering a fall and a few minor issues on tumbling passes. Although she didn't know the weight upon her shoulders at the time, Elise had to make her routine for us to win...and in typical Elise Ray fashion, she did it with ease. I was so proud of everyone at the end of the meet. It certainly wasn't our best performance, but the fight that we showed throughout the entire competition is something we can carry with us as we head into regionals. Oh yeah, and to cap the night off, Elise was given the well-deserved Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honors and Lieb was voted Freshmen of the Year! We were all so excited for both of them! Not to mention the other individual event champions.....Overall, I think we learned a great deal from this meet. Although it wasn't our prettiest of victories, sometimes you just have to win.....

The girls have this next weekend off, which will provide some much needed rest for their tired bodies. The weather has been sooooo nice this week which has seemed to make everyone a lot more light-hearted and "spunky" in the gym, as Elise and I like to say. Hopefully this week will be less stressful for everyone.....allowing the girls to focus on small parts of their routines before heading into next week. I know we are all excited to have a rest weekend in Ann Arbor, especially when the weather is gorgeous. Bev is letting us out of practice early on Friday so that we can all go to the softball game on Friday...they're ranked #1 in the country....how awesome is that?! Anyway, I think this weekend will do wonders for a lot of the girls, not only physically, but especially mentally and emotionally.

Well, that's about it for now. I know a lot of you have been waiting for Elise and I to get back at Lieb and Nellie...and now that the weather is starting to shape up you better believe we are getting our plans together. We wanted to have them sweat it out for the cold months before we made our move. And I think it's working...haha. I hope to see some of you at regionals. We'll be traveling to Nebraska which should present a great opportunity for us, particularly since the majority of our team has already competed there at least once.

Have a great weekend, enjoy the weather, and GO BLUE.

TC

Thursday, March 03, 2005 -- 20:37:10 (EST)
Name: Katie

Hi Everyone!! I am so excited to be writing my first Team Talk to all of you. I can not believe I am 3/4 of the way through my freshman year already! It seems it was just yesterday when I was late to the first team meeting because I turned the wrong way and ended up driving in a circle for about 10 minutes until I ended up where I started from. I finally made it to the gym with a good story to tell! And then there was the weekend we had recruits and my car wouldn’t start......that was so stressful! This year has been a great year for me. I have learned to balance homework, practice, laundry, and good ole college life. I have met a lot of wonderful people at Michigan and have become very close with my teammates. I am so excited to be a part of this amazing Michigan gymnastics team. I could not have asked for anything better. It is more than halfway through the season and I can not even begin to tell you how much fun college gymnastics has been. Competing at Crisler Arena in front of so many enthusiastic fans and for such a great university has been such an awesome experience. I have also had such a great time on road trips with my coaches and teammates. They are all such great people.

Tomorrow night is going to be a very special night because it is the last time our seniors, Kara, Shanna, Lauren, Chelsea, and Elise, will be competing in front of our home crowd in Crisler Arena. It will be nice watching them being honored with their parents. It will be an exciting but bittersweet evening. I can not even begin to tell you how wonderful these five seniors are and what an impact they have made on our team. I can tell you, that when I first arrived on campus, they all made me feel so welcome and made me feel like I was leaving my family back home for a new family here at Michigan. They all gave me advice and were always around to talk to. These seniors are all such sweet, caring, and amazing girls and have definitely led our team this year. They taught me what Michigan is all about and how to “bleed” maize and blue. Our team could not have asked for any better seniors.

One of the hardest workers I have ever met is Kara. She has done so well this year and has helped out the team with her consistent performances. Kara is one of the friendliest people I have ever met......but you wouldn’t expect anything less from a girl who comes from the great town of Ann Arbor!

I am also so glad Shanna became part of this team and was able to show her stuff for Michigan! Even though she came on board her senior year, she fit right in with everyone. It was nice having her as our “fifth” freshman and I feel like we could always talk to her about getting adjusted to something because she was going through the same thing, as a senior though.

If any of us freshmen ever needed to know where to get our hair cut or where the best places to shop were, you know......the essentials to being a woman; Lauren would come to our rescue. Lauren helped me out a lot this year with many things and is an enthusiastic teammate filled with a lot of pride for Michigan.

Chelsea is the strongest person I have ever met. Even though, she had surgery and is out for the rest of her senior year, she has come to the gym every day in high spirits. The amazing girl she is, she even came to cheer her teammates on the day after her surgery. She has been such a great coach in the gym and has been helping our team a lot. Chelsea has motivated and helped me tremendously. She is such a great leader and role model for all.

Elise, the “granny” of the team, is one of the funniest and most talented people I have ever met. She makes the gym so much fun and lightens up our day. She has some great stories too, and LOVES USHER!! I don’t think I have ever met anyone who competes like Elise, with so much confidence. She makes everything look so easy!!

I will definitely miss all of these wonderful teammates next year but am glad that I had the opportunity to meet and compete with all of them.

Well, I hope to see all of you at Crisler Arena, 7:30 tomorrow night, to watch and cheer our five seniors on in their last home meet. It will be one you won’t want to miss. So bring all of your friends and be a part of this special night. Fire up and GO BLUE!!

~Katie

Tuesday, March 01, 2005 -- 17:43:50 (EST)
Name: Jenny

Ok, first off, who order this snow? We are suppose to have that heat wave this week in MI so when all of our friends come back from Spring Break and rub in our face how wonderful Cancun or Florida was we can say, “Oh well, it was sooo warm here in MI, I even wore my shorts.” I know that being from MN (as practically half the team is) we should be prepared for this weather, however I was told that MI has milder winters. I think not. Secondly, Becca and I do not have the appropriate type of car to be driving in the snow. My cougar (I call her the coug) and Becca’s Mustang are just not drivable in the winter. Becca’s was so bad that Bev had to come and pick her up for practice today because she couldn’t even back out over the driveway. Hahaha. Anyways other than all this snow, Spring Break 2005 isn’t all that bad. I have to say that it is pretty nice to be in Ann Arbor when no one else is around. Hey, you can even find a parking spot anywhere you wish! The team and I have just been relaxing, catching up on the homework(I mean getting ahead) and catching up on our movies! Chels and I just went to, Hitch, the other day. It was really good and they really nailed what women think, in my opinion. Well, it has been fun updating you on my first ever “Team Talk” but I must go now. I will see you all on Friday Vs. Iowa.

Thursday, February 17, 2005 -- 15:39:42 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll

Hi guys. i hope everyone is getting fired up for the meet tomorrow night...i know we are! we're all extremely excited to be a part of tomorrow's event, the first annual coaches care challenge. i think this is such a fantastic event put forward for a great cause, and i look forward to seeing how much support we can raise for the battle against cancer.

after coming off a rather tiring road trip to new hampshire, we're all really excited to be home for a few weeks. last weekend, we played around with some line-ups changes to either give some people a rest or to give a few new people a chance before the post-season begins. sarrie got to compete for the first time in front of her home town crowd, which was just amazing! we were all so proud of her! i have spent a lot of time with sarrie this year rehabing, etc. i don't think i have ever seen anyone so motivated to make a comeback...especially after three surgeries. she looks great and for those of you who couldnt make it out to new hampshire, she'll be exhibitioning her floor routine again tomorrow night! so check that out.....it's awesome.

this week of practice went really well. this is the point in the season when everyone is getting really tired and feeling pretty beat up. but even amongst all of the bumps and bruises, everyone pushed themselves so hard this week. our landings in practice seemed to improve a lot this week, which is what we really need to focus on, so i am really excited to see how that hard work will transfer into tomorrow night. this week was also a really satisfying week for me, as i got to coach beam and vault. scott and joanne both had to miss a day of practice, so i took over their events and i had a great time. it's so cool to be able to see your advice translate over into a teammate's gymnastics, and especially to see it actually help their gymnastics. i am so thankful that i am able to help out in this way, and i really hope that i can make a difference...even if i can just say something meaningful to one person....it's really a fulfilling role that i obviously never expected to have.

well, i think that's about it for now. i should probably go give elise a call since we both have a paper due tomorrow. since we dont have practice today, we'll probably spend some time at starbucks getting our work done before the big weekend. hopefully we wont gossip too much but you know how that goes..haha. oh yeah, and one more thing...elise's brother and a few of his buddies are going to be in town for the weekend, so if you get a chance, make sure you stop by and say hi to them. they are probably the most amazing group of guys i've ever met. so if you get a chance, i'm sure they'd appreciate a hello.

that's it for now. i hope to see all of you there tomorrow night. jenny should be writing you guys an entry over the next few says, so be sure to come back and check out what this week's big ten gymnast of the week has to say. get ready for a great weekend and go blue!

Teece

Wednesday, February 02, 2005 -- 21:45:22 (EST)
Name: Elise Ray

well i hope you all haven't given up on me! if there's something you should know about me, its that i have a horrible memory. i live by sticky notes and "team talk" unfortunately hasn't been amongst my most recent sticky notes. i am sorry! but here i am to fill you in on the most recent news of elise ray. let's see...well first off, because i am a fifth year senior, i have only 3 credits, yes, i know what you all are thinking...only three credits!! it's an independent study to work on my writing...creative fiction and non fiction. i think my first paper will be about the farm and our nine goats.

i am keeping busy as i babysit three days a week for 6 month old twin girls who just make me giggle everyday i am with them. they are so beautiful.

chels has been staying with me for the past few weeks because of her surgery and such. i told her mom i would take great care of her and i am trying to do so. we are having a blast thats for sure...but who would expect anything less from the two of us? ha. she's is being so strong...our little warrior. she has adopted a coaching role in the gym and has a natural knack for it. i think she is going to do some great things for us.

as for me, i am excited to be back in AA, as it is hard for me to sit out any event! the coaches are being wonderful with me in regards to keeping my numbers low and being smart about my shoulders and my body in general. practices are going really well (knock on wood) and we are so pumped about friday night. i am so excited to see krsiten maloney because as you can imagine, we have such a bond from sydney. even when we don't see eachother very often, it's like no time has passed when we meet again. we have both joked about staying a fifth year and being "old" so i'm sure we'll have a few laughs about that.

speaking of being a granny on the team, i am turning 23 on sunday. we will be competing in the afternoon but come back in time for superbowl and maybe a little bash for my birthday, i am excited although i can't believe its 23. woo.

well, that's that. i will get better at writing more often! jenny is over hanging with chels and me so we're gonna watch some tv:)

see you all friday, fire up!

elise

Wednesday, February 02, 2005 -- 12:54:50 (EST)
Name: Chelsea Kroll

Hey guys! Thanks to everyone who came out to our K-grams Night against Penn State...what a crowd! That was so exciting! A big crowd always makes the team feel much more energized, especially when there are a lot of fired up elementary school students in the stands! As you guys can probably tell, the team has been just AWESOME this year. We have been very consistent and clean, posting a lot of really good home and away scores which will certainly help us in the rankings as we get closer to the post season. We are finally getting to the point where "getting through" routines is pretty much a secondary concentration now, and working on the "little things" is becoming a bigger part of our focus. Especially after the meet at Utah, I think everyone realized how much clean landings can contribute to the overall score of the meet. Utah had some great routines but I think what made them stand out the most was their stuck landings. There is no better way to cap off a routine, not only for the judges but for the crowd as well, than a stuck landing. As a result, the coaches have started incorporating landing drills into the daily workouts on each event in order to improve upon this weakness. We do a lot of trampoline drills to work on general air awareness, and also a lot of basic dismounts, tumbling passes, and vaults just to concentrate on landing them perfectly. This week of practice has been completely devoted to this focus. I think it is really going to benefit us and I am excited to see how we improve on our landings this weekend against UCLA.

The coaches have given the girls off on tuesday and thursday in order to ensure rested bodies before our double-header this weekend. After seeing that we can "hang" with Utah this past weekend, the team is really fired up to compete against UCLA. It is going to be a tough match but it's always a great experience to compete against the best teams in the nation simply to know where you stand. And I know our team is more than ready for the challenge...

As most of you know, I tore my achilles tendon a few weekends ago during the touch warm-up at our Ohio State meet. I had surgery about a week ago and I am now just focusing on recovering and helping my team in any other way possible. It's been pretty hard on me emotionally simply because this is my senior year. I don't think I've ever loved doing something as much as I love doing gymnastics...and an even better feeling is competing and winning for Michigan. However, even though I physically may be done with gymnastics, I have noticed that I can manifest this passion in a different way, in a different role. Over these next few months I will be acting as a sort of "coach" for my teammates, kind of a liaison between my teammates and my coaches. I've already been able to help a lot of my teammates in the gym, which has made this transition a lot easier than I ever thought it would be. My teammates have been so supportive of me and really make me feel as though I am still just as much a part of things as I was when I was training. They are the best and I hope that I can give back to them as much as they have given to me in these past few weeks.

I am staying with Elise right now just because her apartment is all on one floor, which makes it a lot easier for me to get around. I keep calling her "Mama Ray" because the minute my parents dropped me off, she started taking care of me. She had a bed made up for me and everything! It's kinda funny because her, being the granny that she is, doesn't have any class besides an independent study. And because of my situation I also got my classes switched to independent studies so that I didn't have to brave the Michigan weather on crutches. So basically, we do nothing but watch "Sex and the City" and "Felicity" dvd's all day until we have to go to practice. Our teammates always make fun of us for being so lazy but we know that they're just jealous...haha.

Well, that's about it for now. I hope to see you all at the UCLA meet on friday. Come say hi if you get a chance....I'll be cheering my loudest from the sidelines! Oh yeah, and Elise's birthday is on sunday so if you remember, give her a happy birthday shout out. See you all on the flip side and GO BLUE!

TC

Friday, January 14, 2005 -- 13:41:14 (EST)
Name: Nellie

Hi everyone!! We all have been back here in Ann Arbor for about two weeks now. I experienced my first real college meet against Nebraska last Friday. It was a blast!! Thanks to all of you who came out. As a team we did really well; however, we had a few mess ups on floor that were a little unusual. It is amazing to walk into an arena and see so many people watching and cheering for you… it is a lot different from club gymnastics. It is such a dream come true to be able to compete as a wolverine and a great feeling to score well for the success of the team. All of the teammates and coaches are so supportive. As for being a freshman it has been a little bit of an adjustment for me. The ride to the gym is now five minutes instead of the hour I had at home, and there is a lot less commotion now that I am the only one that I have to watch over opposed to being at home with my parents and six siblings. Now that I am in my second semester I have begun to come up with a good routine on how to get everything done in one day that needs to be completed. I can still remember my first day of classes when I left a half hour early in fear that I would get lost. That time has now decreased drastically. Katie and I have been waiting a long time now for Elise and Chels to prank us back after the many that we pulled on them. I tried sushi for the first time with Lauren and I love it!! Today we are driving to Ohio State where we will compete against Ohio State, Maryland and Minnesota (my home state). We had a difficult time deciding who to put into the line up because we have more people ready than spots available. This is a really good problem to have. Well I need to start packing now. Hope to see some of you there!! GO BLUE!!
:0) Nellie