Freshmen help gymwomen cause

Nikki Smith and Ashley Wilson looked wise beyond their years at the NCAA Northeast regional tournament.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When watching Nikki Smith and Ashley Wilson, one would think they were proven upperclassmen.

In reality, they are two freshmen who have stepped it up all year and provided a boost for the Lady Lionsat Saturday's NCAA Northeast Regionals at Ohio State.

In the first rotation on beam Penn State had a rough start, as sophomores Missy Leopoldus and Ellen Casey both suffered a fall on the event. However, Smith followed Leopoldus' exercise with a confident looking routine, hitting her flips and nailing her dismount. After her routine ended Smith raised both arms in joy and ran to her teammates, who were cheering loudly with enthusiasm.

"I was a little nervous on beam, but I pulled it out and I was really excited because in club I didn't always hit regionals on beam," Smith said. "I sometimes fell, so in college it's like a new life."

On her second event, bars, Smith performed a fantastic routine, sticking her dismount. Again, her teammates went wild, and the Penn State fans who traveled to Columbus made their cheering heard throughout St. John Arena. The 9.825 she received on the event put her in a five-way tie for fifth place on the event.

"I went up there, and I knew I had to hit," she said. "I just set my mind to doing my routines exactly like I do them in White Building."

As Smith was having a very successful competition, Wilson enjoyed the same amount of success in her first regionals. She led the team off on vault, bars and floor. Wilson received a 9.5 on vault, 9.75 on bars and 9.7 on floor.

Lady Lion coach Steve Shephard was very happy with the way Wilson performed throughout the competition.

"Ashley did a tremendous job," he said. "Ashley performed better in competition than she did in practice. This was the best floor routine she's done all year."

Leopoldus said the meet was a good learning experience for the team.

"I think it was very, very good for them especially since it was so close, and they knew that every tenth had to count," she said. "It was a good position for them to be in."

Leopoldus added that as new freshmen come in next year, Smith and Wilson will be able to give them advice about handling certain situations in important meets, such as regionals.

"They're going to need to know this feeling so that they (Smith and Wilson) can tell them about it, and so that next year when it comes down to this time it's going to be like this again and they're going to have to deal with it," Leopoldus said. "So it's going to help in the future. I think they handled it great."

Smith said the meet gave her a lot of confidence that will help her not only at nationals but also for the future.

"For next year I think I can step right in and be a big contributor to beam and bars," Smith said, "and hopefully the other two events when my knees get better."