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Winter Cup start list
2010 collegiate gymnastics season kicks off
© Florida Athletics / Penn State Athletics
The 2010 collegiate gymnastics season kicks off this weekend with a number of top-20 matchups.
In women’s competition on Friday, Jan. 8, No. 14 Auburn hosts No. 3 Alabama in an in-state SEC match up. No. 4 Florida travels to Norman, Okla., to face the ninth-ranked Sooners while SEC rival No. 6 LSU plays host to ACC foe Maryland. Tenth-ranked Oregon state will hold a quad meet with Western Michigan, No. 11 Penn State and No. 21 West Virginia.
Saturday holds a clash of the titans as the five-time defending champion and preseason No. 1 Georgia Gym Dogs square off against No. 7 Stanford at Stegemen Coliseum in Athens, Ga., and No. 2 Utah faces a tough test as they travel to California to take on No. 5 UCLA. Eighth-ranked Arkansas faces Arizona in Fayetteville.
Only one men's gymnastics meet takes place this week with preseason No. 6 Penn State hosting Army on Jan. 9.
For links to official websites of the host schools featuring live webcasts and results, visit collegiate weekly schedule.
7 U.S. Olympic medalists featured in gymnastics-figure skating show on NBC
RAPID CITY, S.D., Jan. 4, 2010 – 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin, 2008 Olympic balance beam gold-medalist Shawn Johnson, 2008 Olympic horizontal bar silver-medalist Jonathan Horton, 2008 Olympic team bronze-medalist Raj Bhavsar, 2004 Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm, and 2004 Olympic team silver-medalists Morgan Hamm and Courtney Kupets are featured as part of the Progressive Skating & Gymnastics Spectacular that will air on NBC Sports Sunday, Jan. 10, at 4 p.m. ET. The cast also includes 2004 world acro mixed pair champions Shenea Booth and Arthur Davis, 1994 and 1997 world all-around champion Ivan Ivankov of Belarus, , and Cuba’s Charlie Tamayo, 2001 world vault bronze medalist.
Headlining the figure skaters are 1996 world champion Todd Eldredge, world bronze-medalist Michael Weiss, Olympic silver-medalist Elvis Stojko and Olympian Emily Hughes, as well as several other skaters. Pop star and actress Ashley Tisdale performs as the live musical guest.
The show was taped at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D. Check your local listings to confirm television times for your area.
USA Gymnastics names Mazeika as men’s national team coordinator
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Dec. 22, 2009 – USA Gymnastics announced today that two-time Olympic head coach Kevin Mazeika of Houston has been named as the men’s National Team Coordinator. Mazeika, who was the head coach for the men’s team at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, will assume his responsibilities immediately.
“Kevin has demonstrated that he can lead our gymnasts through the demands of training and competition to the medals podium,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “He has the respect and confidence of the athletes and their coaches, and we believe his experience will be invaluable in reaching our potential as we prepare for London and beyond.”
As men’s national team coordinator, Mazeika is responsible for overall management and supervision of the technical aspects of the Men’s National Team Program for both the junior and senior elite programs.
“I am both honored and excited to accept the national team coordinator position,” said Mazeika. “The men’s team has won the silver and bronze medals the last two Olympics, and our goal is to return to the podium. We have a tremendous group of talented athletes and coaches with the work ethic and determination to build on the momentum from 2004 and 2008. Most of all, we have the intangible strength that has been the bedrock of the men’s team, U.S. spirit. I am looking forward to working with everyone over the next three years on our journey to London.”
Through his international coaching assignments, Mazeika has already demonstrated his ability to work closely and effectively with the athletes and their coaches to build a successful team approach. While serving as head coach, the U.S. Men’s Team has recorded some of the USA’s most successful performances in recent history. For the first time in history, the U.S. men won team medals in back-to-back Olympic Games. In 2008, the U.S. men followed up the 2004 Olympic silver team medal with the team bronze, representing the U.S. men’s best Olympic team finishes since they won the team gold medal in 1984. 2004 was the men’s first team medal in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1932. Mazeika also was the head coach for the 2007, 2003 and 2001 World Championships Team. The U.S. Men's Team earned the team silver medal at both the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. Prior to 2001, the men had not won a world team medal since 1979. In 2007, the U.S. men finished fourth at the World Championships, staging a major comeback from the team’s 13th place finish in 2006.
Most recently, Mazeika was the men’s program manager at the Houston Gymnastics Academy and owner of Mazeika's Elite Gymnastics. Among the athletes he has coached are 2008 Olympian Raj Bhavsar, who also was a 2004 U.S. Olympic Team alternate and a member of the 2001 and 2003 silver-medal World Championships Teams; Sean Golden, a member of the 2005 and 2007 World Championships Teams; Sean Townsend, 2001 parallel bars world champion and a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team and the 2001 silver-medal World Championships Team; and Todd Thornton, a member of the 2005 World Championships Team.
Mazeika, a native of Houston, began coaching men’s gymnastics in 1984 and has served on the National Team Coaching Staff since 1988. Over the past nine years, he has coached at more than 35 international competitions and has been head or assistant coach at 15 international team events.
2010 NCAA Men's Gymnastics preview
© University of Michigan Athletics
By Jerry Wright
Jerry Wright was a Division II men’s gymnastics coach for 20 years at San Francisco State University and was the personal coach for four women’s team individual event national champions, as the women’s team assistant coach. He is in the National Gymnastics Judges Association Hall of Fame, recognizing his role as founding father of the NGJA. He was Indiana University’s leading scorer in the 1957 Big Ten Championships and he has been associated with the sport since 1949.
Once again, gazing into my crystal ball, it is possible for me
to predict that the 2010 Men’s NCAA Gymnastics season is completely
unpredictable.
USA Gymnastics announces international assignments for December
14th International Tournament of Pas-de-Calais
Dec. 4-5, Argues, France
Amanda Jetter, Milford, Ohio/ Cincinnati Gymnastics
Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics
2009 Toyota International Gymnastics Competition
Dec. 12-13, Toyota City, Japan
Men
Alex Artemev, Lakewood, Colo./5280 Gymnastics
Alex Buscagila, Cary, Ill./Stanford University
Tim Gentry, Plano, Texas/Stanford, University
Women
Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md./Hill's Gymnastics
Mackenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill./Naperville Gymnastics Club
US MAG's 2009 Worlds Experiences!
The team started off the quadrennium qualifying four guys into the World Championships finals. USA Gymnastics Men’s National Team Coordinator Ron Brant said, “I think it has been more than 20 years since we had four of our six guys make finals at the World Championships. We have one of the youngest teams here – three who are 23 and one each at 17, 18 and 20. I’m impressed because this shows that our training plans are working, that our athletes have taken it to heart, and that we have continued leadership within the team even though we have reloaded after the last two Olympics.”
We caught up with the members of the men’s team and here is what they had to say about their experiences at the 2009 World Championships in London!
Russia's Ryazanov dies in car crash
Yury was a talented gymnast and splendid competitor.
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian gymnast Yury Ryazanov was killed in a car crash on Tuesday, five days after winning a bronze medal at the world championships, police said.
Ryazanov was driving on a highway to his home city of Vladimir, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of Moscow, when his car collided head on with another vehicle, a Russian gymnastics federation spokeswoman said. He died at the scene.
The 22-year-old had just returned home from the world gymnastics championships in London where he finished third in the all-around competition to claim Russia's first medal in the top individual event in a decade.
Ryazanov was one of Russia's most promising gymnasts, winning this year's national all-around title and finishing third at the European championships in Milan.
"This is very tragic news for Russian gymnastics," federation spokeswoman Natalia Kalugina said.
"He was one of our most talented young athletes who could have achieved many great things for our sport."
Russia's head men's gymnastics coach Yevgeny Nikolko was devastated by the news.
"I'm still in shock," he told All Sport news agency. "When he told me he was going to drive home I just told him 'Please, be careful'. And now this terrible thing happened. I have no words to describe it."
Russia's overloaded roads are treacherous, with around 30,000 people dying in road accidents in the country last year according to official figures.Reuters Link
Four U.S. gymnasts compete in event finals Sunday at the 2009 World Championships
- Start List
- Watch Live on UniversalSports.com at 8 a.m. ET
- 2009 World Championships information
- Watch on Universal Sports TV at 8 p.m. ET
Rebecca Bross, Ivana Hong, Jonathan Horton and Danell Leyva will compete in event finals of the 2009 World Championships on Sunday, Oct. 18 beginning at 8 a.m. ET.
Fans can watch the competition on a free live webcast at UniversalSports.com. There will also be a delayed TV broadcast on Universal Sports at 8 p.m. ET. To find a Universal Sports channel in your area, click here.
- Rebecca Bross - Floor Exercise
- Ivana Hong - Balance Beam
- Jonathan Horton - High Bar
- Danell Leyva - High Bar
USA’s McNeill finishes seventh in the all-around at ’09 World Championships
- Complete Results
- World Championships Information
- Friday's Women's All-Around: Start List | Live Webcast
McNeill hit all six of his routines and finished with an 87.150. He started with a very solid floor routine, posting a 14.500. He did well on his pommel horse routine, which includes the full Kehr, and received a 15.000. On rings, McNeill scored a 14.325 for his routine that included a tucked double double dismount. McNeill’s Yurchenko double full on vault scored a 15.300. His parallel bars routine, which is packed with difficulty, yielded a 14.200. Finishing on high bar, his routine that included a Yamawaki release and a tucked double double dismount received a 13.825.
“I’m pretty excited (about finishing in the top 10),” said McNeill, who trains with the University of California - Berkeley. “I really tried not to think about my ranking or standing against the rest of the field, but it is pretty impossible to blank that out and I think that did get to me a little bit. Parallel bars gave me a chance (to move up in the rankings), and if I could change one thing, it would be to go back and redo that routine. Overall, I gave it my best, and I put everything out there. That’s all I can ask of myself. I still have the pommel horse final so have to get back to work.”
2008 Olympic silver-medalist Jonathan Horton of Houston had a disappointing evening, finishing 17th in all-around. He got off to a rough start on the first two events, which unfortunately dropped him in the standings. He missed the landing on his tumbling first pass and due to a few other missteps earned a 13.775 for floor. A miss on pommel horse caused him to land on the horse, where he got an 11.100. His rings routine was solid and earned a 14.900. Horton had a small step outside the boundary on his landing but executed his handspring double front well for a 15.750 on vault. He continued to build momentum with a well-done parallel bars routine that received a 15.125. A missed release move dropped his score to a 13.650 on high bar. He ended with an all-around total of 84.300.
“It’s gymnastics,” said Horton, who trains at Cypress Gymnastics. “It’s a tough sport. Things happen and they happen for a reason, I believe. I have a lot of faith and I have a lot of confidence in myself. It’s the world championships, and some things you just can’t explain. I went out there and I tried to have my best performance. After pommel horse, I went to my coach and said, ‘I can’t be mad at myself. I am not going to quit.’ So then my goal was rings and high bar. I was thinking, 'Let’s hit and have a good time.'"
Following the women’s all-around, the individual event finals are Oct. 17-18. All four women advanced to event finals: Kayla Williams of Nitro, W.Va., vault; Bross and Sloan, uneven bars; Ivana Hong of Allen, Texas, balance beam; and Bross, floor exercise. For the men, four will compete: Steven Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas, floor exercise; McNeill, pommel horse; and Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics, and Horton, horizontal bar.
2009 World Championships
London, Great Britain
Oct. 13, 2009
Men’s all-around finals
Complete results
All-around
1. Kohei Uchimura, Japan, 91.500
2. Daniel Keatings, Great Britain, 88.925
3. Yury Ryazanov, Russia, 88.400
U.S. finishes
3. Tim McNeill, Falls Church, Va./University of California – Berkeley, 87.150
17. Jonathan Horton, Houston/Cypress Gymnastics, 84.300
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