University of Minnesota Athletics
Women's Gymnastics Team Looks Forward to 2008 Season
12/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
“When you have an upper class as dedicated and competitive as our juniors and seniors are, it sets the tone and the expectations both in practice and in competition,” said co-head coach Meg Stephenson.
The three-member senior class, consisting of Amanda Miles, Ashley Muchler, and Ashley Stanton, is ready to take charge and lead the team toward an NCAA Championship appearance.
Second-year team captain Amanda Miles was a consistent performer on the beam and floor last season, and the coaches will look to her for the same in 2008. She has upgraded the difficulty in her floor routine, increasing her scoring potential. “We expect Amanda to be a high scorer on both beam and floor,” said co-head coach Jim Stephenson. “You can put her in any situation and she will be successful, she’s a great example to our freshmen.”
Ashley Mutchler is training on three events, the vault, beam and floor. She is one of the team’s top vaulters, and owns a Big Ten title as the 2005 conference co-champion on vault. “Ashley has become a real seasoned athlete on her three events, and we expect her to be a major contributor in those three events this year,” said Jim Stephenson. “She has also upgraded her difficulty level on floor.”
Throughout her Gopher career, Ashley Stanton has been one of the team’s strongest gymnasts on beam. Since midway through her freshman season, she has anchored the beam line up. Ashley has competed on floor throughout her career, and was added as a vault competitor last season. “In the preseason, Ashley was our top performer on beam,” explained Jim Stephenson. “We also expect her to be competitive on floor.”
“Our upper class is outstanding, they are all greaet leaders, serve as wonderful examples, and are tough competitors,” said Jim Stephenson. “They will be carrying a large percentage of the work load this season.”
Minnesota’s junior class includes Jade Beattie, Carmelina Carabajal, and Angela Walker.
Jade Beattie was a regular competitor on the vault and bars last season, and is training for all four events. “Jade’s greatest contribution will come on vault, where she has upgraded to a vault with a 10.0 start value,” explained Jim Stephenson. “Her consistency on bars, beam and floor shows great promise.”
Last season, Carmelina Carabajal was a second-team All-Big Ten award winner, and was the team’s top performer on floor. “Carmelina will likely be an all around competitor for us again this season, and will be strong on all four events,” said Jim Stephenson. “She continues to show greater polish and more maturity in her gymnastics.”
Angela Walker is in her fourth year at the University of Minnesota, but received a medical redshirt in 2005, giving her junior eligibility in 2008. She was a regular competitor on bars and beam in 2006, and returned to training all four events in 2007. Last season, she was the team’s top performer on bars, and was also among the top competitors on beam and floor. “Angela is back to training all four events, and she has a good chance of competing all four this season,” Jim Stephenson said. “She has the potential to be our top scorer on bars, and possibly on floor as well.”
Alexis Russell is the team’s lone sophomore. In her freshman season, she was an all around competitor, and had the team’s top vault score of the season. “Alexis trained hard over the summer, she is very focused,” observed Jim Stephenson. “The result is that she has improved and upgraded on every event.”
Jamie Bullock competed in two meets last season, but redshirted the season after having surgery to repair a foot injury, and has four years of competitive eligibility remaining. She is training on all four events this year as she works her way back from injury. “After being redshirted, Jamie is making a slow but deliberate return,” said Meg Stephenson. “Our priority for her is uneven bars and balance beam. Her recovery will really dictate the season. Having her in the line up on any event will be an asset to the team.”
The Gopher squad is bolstered by five newcomers this year in Ana Balboa, Kendra Elm, Kristen Furukawa, Julie Kinal, and Yuri Nagai. This group of gymnasts came to Minnesota with an impressive set of credentials and will make contributions to the team this season.
Ana Balboa, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, is training on all four events. She was the 2006 Mexican national champion in the all around, and brings international experience to Minnesota. “Ana’s strongest potential is on vault, and we expect her to be capable of stepping in on the other three events as well,” said Meg Stephenson.
Kendra Elm is the only Minnesota native in the freshman class, hailing from Wayzata, Minn. She is also training on all four events. At the 2007 Junior Olympic National Championships, Elm earned her highest all around score, finishing in 26th place in the all around. “Kendra is improving at a remarkable rate,” said Jim Stephenson. “She looks to be competitive on the bars this year, and I see that she will be competitive on all other events in the future.”
A Pomona, Calif., native, Kristen Furukawa joined the Gophers this year after an impressive year of J.O. competition. She finished in the top 10 on four events at the 2007 J.O. National Championship, including a fourth place showing in the all around. Kristen’s all around performance earned her a spot on the Junior Olympic National Team. “Kristen is a beautiful performer,” said Meg Stephenson. “Her ability on uneven bars is outstanding, where we look for her to affect the team’s success this year. She also shows competitive promise on the other three events.”
Julie Kinal, who hails from Tempe, Ariz., is training on bars and beam while she recovers from an injury sustained while in high school. “We are hopeful that her gymnastics will reach their potential, because she’s a very talented athlete,” said Meg Stephenson.
Like Ana Balboa, Yuri Nagai brings an international flair to Minnesota’s team. A native of Japan, Yuri attended high school in Maryville, Tenn. She has made appearances in multiple international competitions, and qualified for the J.O. National Championships several times. She was able to compete at the J.O. national meet for the first time in 2007, after a rule change allowing non-U.S. citizens to participate. She is currently training on all four events. “Yuri is showing good success on vault and bars, where she has a good likelihood of making the competitive squad,” said Meg Stephenson. “She is a powerful tumbler, and has great potential on floor.”
In addition to the talent and leadership of the team, the coaches also feel that the chemistry of this year’s team is also a great strength. “When you have everyone committed to the same goals, and each person is willing to do everything necessary both inside and outside the gym to obtain those goals, it makes for great team chemistry,” explained Meg Stephenson. “We feel that team chemistry has a huge impact on the success of any program.”
Once again this season, the Gophers will be bringing exciting competitions to the Sports Pavilion. Every one of the NCAA Division I opponents that will visit Minnesota this season were NCAA regional qualifiers last season. Oklahoma, the eighth-place team at the NCAA Championship in 2007, will be competing at Minnesota for the first time in the Stephenson era. In addition, New Hampshire, Iowa State, Illinois-Chicago and North Carolina will compete at the Sports Pavilion in 2008.
“We continue to bring in top-level teams for several reasons,” explained Jim Stephenson. “It helps our team rise to the level of the top teams in the country, and it also gives our local gymnastics community the opportunity to be treated to a performance of top-level gymnastics.”
The Big Ten Championship will be held at Michigan this season. The Big Ten has historically been a strong conference in women’s gymnastics, and the 2008 campaign will be no exception. Five conference teams finished among the nation’s top 20 last season, more than any other conference in the nation.
Minnesota will play host to the NCAA North Central Region Championship on April 12, a highlight for the 2008 season. “There are several benefits to hosting the regional meet, with one of the biggest being the chance for our team to compete in front of our hometown crowd, especially when we have such a great history of fan support,” said Meg Stephenson. “We will also be bringing in six of the top collegiate teams to our community, which is in a part of the country where gymnastics is so strong and so popular. We’re assured that our regional competition will be a great success because the University of Minnesota is so good at hosting NCAA events in all sports. We really know how to do it right.”
The University of Georgia will serve as the host school for the NCAA Championship in April. The coaches feel that the regular season meet at Utah will be a good preparation for nationals, given the traditionally large audiences that attend the Utes' home meets. “We are really excited to go back to Utah, that will be a great experience for our gymnasts to compete in front of a big crowd and prepare them for the national championships,” said Meg Stephenson.
Players Mentioned
