| Collegiate Nationals, a Success |
| Written by UW admin | ||||
| Monday, 31 March 2008 | ||||
The guys made their way to Springfield Massachusetts last Wednesday night, March 28th at midnight. After their red-eye flight they caught up on some sleep at the Days Inn before practice at Blake Arena Thursday night. The team and individual all around competition was Friday night. The team placed 3rd behind Arizona State, and James Madison University. This was a great accomplishment because each event counts four scores, and the team only had three competitors on the rings. The highlight of the night was a fantastic performance by freshman Ivan Koveshnikov. Ivan hit all six of his routines and won the collegiate all around title. He scored a season high of 81.35 beating Arizona State’s Anthony Naddour by five tenths of a point. Ivan’s placing makes this year the third in a row that Washington Men’s Gymnastics has provided an all around champion at this meet. Sean Liner and Jeff Crockett also claimed this title the last two years. Ivan also made it to the event finals on the floor (8th), parallel bars(8th), and high bar(7th). Jeff Crockett competed for the third time since his ACL surgery a year and a half ago, and is definitely showing improvement as he tied for first on vault and made pommel horse finals in the first night of competition. At finals, Crockett took 1st on vault and placed 7th on pommels. “Going into the surgery for my knee I knew that I might not get the chance to pursue my dreams of becoming the gymnast I know I can be, and I was scared. But after a meet like this I now have the confidence I need to push me to the next level. I am so grateful for Coach Russo and the team who have always encouraged me and never stopped believing in me.” -Crockett All arounder Marc Miller also had a strong performance that Friday night. He had some terrific performances on the high bar floor and rings. Marc will be key in next year’s team score as he looks to improve his skills over the summer and fall. Our specialists Mohamad(rings and vault), Jon(all but rings), and Morgan(floor, vault and parallel bars) all did well that Friday night as well. |
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