Four gymwomen teams converge on Rec Hall


Friday, Feb. 27, 1998	Four gymwomen teams converge on Rec Hall By CRAIG YETSKO Collegian Sports Writer For those attending tomorrow night's women's gymnastics meet at Rec Hall, it may be difficult to pay attention to what will be going on. No. 12 Penn State, a week removed from participating against three teams at UCLA, will be hosting a quad meet against No. 7 West Virginia, Arizona and Temple at 7 p.m. The action will move more rapidly than a dual competition, according to Lion junior Missy Leopoldus.
`Penn State Women's Gymnastics Home Page`	"They do move a little faster than a dual. It's a lot easier to focus," she said. "This is how it's going to be at Big Tens, regionals and nationals." Senior Joanna Knox said the UCLA meet was not only an indication of how the backup gymnasts could be called on to produce but it also showed that work still needs to be done on their routines.
Lion gymnast Joanna Knox performs a beam exercise on Feb. 14 against Ohio State. Knox and the rest of the gymwomen host West Virginia, Arizona and Temple at 7 p.m. tomorrow. (Collegian Photo/Christa Rimonneau - click for full size image)	"I think the past weekend woke everyone up. It still points out that there are areas for improvement," she said. "Everyone is working on the little things more." Knox is currently working on different passes on her floor routine and a handspring front pike vault which will complement her handspring front tuck vault. She said her front pike, which has a start value of 9.9, is getting better although there are some bad days mixed with the good ones. One event which Knox feels comfortable on is bars. "There are still some things I'm working on but the bars dismount is the only new thing I have," she said. The team that will pose the stiffest challenge for the Lions will be the Mountaineers. Although they lost six-time All-American Kristin Quackenbush to graduation, West Virginia has a solid lineup with plenty of experience.
`West Virginia Women's Gymnastics Home Page`	"We have more depth which makes a big difference," Mountaineer coach Linda Burdette said. "They've all made huge steps and jumps." She said senior Umme Salim and junior Nikki West are key all-arounders while junior Rebecca Slobig and sophomores Shirley Lee have been solid contributors throughout the year. Burdette said each gymnast raised her expectations, level of difficulty and form to increase her score by a tenth.
`Temple Women's Gymnastics Home Page`	The Lions had a short week of practice due to the weather and getting back from California. After taking a late flight from Los Angeles Sunday and arriving home late Monday morning, the team took the day off to rest. On Tuesday, its exhibition at the State College Junior High School was canceled due to the snowstorm, although a few gymnasts worked out in the gym. They resumed practices Wednesday and yesterday and have today off. With the schedule moving past the midway point of the season, Penn State may be getting a few of its starters back into the lineup. Freshman Maria Taylor still has some lingering effects of mononucleosis but Lion coach Steve Shephard said she has been doing better and has been able to make it through beam and bars routines. "She's more than likely going to go on beam," he said.
`Arizona Women's Gymnastics Home Page`	Another injured starter who appears to be ready to get back into the lineup is Leopoldus. After taking last week off to rest the medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain, she resumed practicing on Monday. She had trouble with tumbling and vaults but has shown that she can perform on bars and beam. "It's definitely progressed pretty fast," she said. "I know that I have to take some time and rest it so I don't re-injure it." The news about junior Janae Whittaker's heel injury is not as promising. Shephard said she is still sore and doubts she will compete tomorrow.