Washington Season Preview by Greg

Last season, the Washington Huskies exceeded many expectations, including some of their own, in establishing a series of new highs.  These highs included a new team scoring record (197.475) in finishing just 0.375 points away from the Pac-10 Conference title.  Despite battling preseason injuries and heavily competing seven freshmen, the team qualified as a seed to the NCAA Regionals.  But at Regionals, the team faltered, suffering six falls and missing a spot at Nationals by less than a fall.

Writing in his online diary, Coach Bob Levesque noted, “… without a doubt, I have had more pleasure coaching this team than any team in my 11 years here at the University of Washington”.  He added,  “This team had heart, and they were working right up to the top of their potential.”  Considering that the Huskies have flirted with spots in the Super Six in recent years, this was high praise indeed.

The 2002 edition of the Huskies are poised to take on new challenges.  A trip to Nationals is definitely in their reach.  The loss of three seniors will be balanced against 10 returners, all with competition experience.  Added to this is yet another youth wave of eight newcomers, making for a total of 15 underclassmen out of a total roster of 18.  The youthful Huskies will gain valuable experience by taking on a challenging schedule, with meets against returning National qualifiers UCLA, Michigan, Utah, Oregon State, ASU and Stanford.

Washington will take on this tough schedule without the services of three departed seniors.  Mandi Klug exemplified the team’s achievements last year.  The team’s Most Valuable, Most Improved, and Most Inspirational Gymnast was primarily a depth player on vault and beam prior to her senior year.  But with a season goal “to have no regrets”  (as listed in her bio), Klug returned for her senior year with new skills and in the best shape of her collegiate career.  This 2001 NCAA Regional BB champion and FX school record holder (10.0, tie) will be sorely missed. 

Likewise, Lanna Apisukh battled through knee problems to establish new personal bests, including her first career 10.0.  Her consistent all-around presence will leave another large void.  The third graduated athlete, Jessica Schedler, was injured prior to end of the regular season.  Earlier in the year, this UB/V specialist had established new personal bests.

How will the 2002 Huskies fare without these departed leaders?  Let’s take a look.

Seniors

Stacy Wong is the top returning Husky and the top returning all-around finisher in the Pac 10.  Wong was the 2001 Pac 10 Champ on the Uneven Bars and finished second in the AA, less than 0.1 points behind UCLA’s Mohini Bhardwaj.  Relatively unknown in the NCAA going into last year, Wong quickly established herself following a series of major injuries.  After a stellar club career, Wong had suffered a series of major injuries that would have permanently sidelined most athletes.  A torn achilles as a high school senior was followed by back surgery that derailed her freshmen campaign.  In the fall of her sophomore year, Wong suffered a torn ACL. 

Now a senior, Wong has two seasons of eligibility remaining.  On vault, Wong competes a pike front half.  On UB, Wong combines textbook perfect pirouette and swing technique with super high releases (Tkachev).  In the past, Wong has also shown a Dawes (giant 1 ½) and a pike Jaeger.  On BB, Wong competes a two foot layout and dismounts with a gainer double full.  On FX, perhaps the event most impacted by her injuries, Wong has shown a double layout and a 2 ½ twist for a dismount.

Sidney Field also returns for the Huskies, after seeing occasional action last year.  Field competed on any one of four events last season, but shines brightest on UB (Pike Jaeger) and FX (double pike, double tuck).  She is also capable of a Pike Front on vault and set a career high on BB last year.

Allison Bruce returns after sitting out last season with a torn Achilles.  Another gymnast who has competed all four events, Bruce may contribute most with her consistency on Beam (gainer ff, ff, lo).  She is also strong on FX (whip to double tuck, 2 ½ twist) and V (9.9 SV), but must come back from the injury sustained in November 2000.  (continued on the next page)

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