Maggie Lundeen, L10 from Palmer's Gymnastics in Illinois, has committed to William and Mary according to a post on the Region 5 Facebook page. Lundeen had good results last season, including a 1st place finish (1st UB) at Circle of the Stars and a 3rd place AA (1st UB) at the Chicago Style meet. She qualified to the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup, finishing 24th AA. She placed 9th AA (1st FX) at her state meet, 7th AA at her regional meet, and 25th AA at JO Nationals.
Halle Moraw has committed to CMU for 2011-2012, according to a site submission. She's a L10 at the Gymnastics Training Center in Michigan. At the 2010 Region V L10 Regionals, she placed 9th AA, advacing on to the JO NIT tournament.
Link: YouTube.com Channel
Arkansas has hired Don Houlton as an assistant coach. Houlton was most recently an assistant at Cal, and was an assistant at Yale and owner/head coach at Nebraska Gold prior to that.
Link: Arkansas Release
The LA Times has confirmed that International Elite Samantha Shapiro has committed to Stanford. Over the past several seasons she has represented the US internationally at the Pacific Rim Championships, Pan Am, Gymnix, and World Cup. This season she finished 4th on BB and FX at the Covergirl Classic and 7th AA (5th FX, 7th BB) at the Visa Championships. She competes for All Olympia in Los Angeles.
Kelsy Landreth, L10 at Show-Me Gymnastics in Missouri, has committed to Missouri for the 2012-13 season. She finished 2nd AA (1st V/UB/FX) at her 2010 state meet, 2nd AA (2nd V/FX) at her regional meet, and 21st AA at nationals.
USAF has announced that Jeff Robinson has joined the men's coaching staff.
Rachel Spicer, L10 at Metroplex, has committed to Florida according to a Facebook posting. Spicer is the current JO national AA champ (5th V; 4th UB; 3rd BB and FX). She also finished 1st AA at her state and regional meets. She placed 4th AA at the 2009 JO Championships.
Personal Web Page (with video)
Arielle Bulls has committed to Southeast Missouri, according to her family and her recruiting website. She currently trains at Imagine Gymnastics. In 2010, she qualified to the L10 Nationals, where she competed in the Sr. A division. She also competed at the 2009 JO NIT meet.
Link: YouTube.com Channel
Christina Wood, a Level 10 gymnast with Desert Devils in Arizona, has committed to Arizona for the 2012-13 season. Last season she placed 2nd AA (1st BB) at her state meet; 5th at Regionals and 27th AA at JOs. She has been competing as a Level 10 since the 2007 season.
Colin Christ has been named the assistant men's coach at Cal, according to a school release.
Link: Cal Release
Today we honor the heroes of September 11th, 2001, including those who lost their lives. One of those people, Mari-Rae Sopper, closely touched the collegiate gymnastics community. As you may know, Mari-Rae Sopper was Head Coach of the University of California, Santa Barbara's women's gymnastics team. She was also a former standout collegiate gymnast and team captain for Iowa State. Many of you knew her in the capacity of coach, teammate, competitor, colleague and friend. In hours and days following 9/11, many of us suddenly realized the person we knew as "ISUFan", an enthusiastic supporter and contributor on the online college gymnastics forums, was actually Mari-Rae.
The college experience is, in many cases, the most important four years in the prospective student athlete’s life, as it will shape their future personal and professional direction. That being said, securing admission to a college or university that best match students’ desires, strengths, and aspirations is essential.
Tim Rivera has been named Assistant Coach for the William and Mary women's team. Rivera has collegiate coaching experience from various NCAA programs.
Michigan has announced the addition of Rheema Zakharia and Kristin Nagle to the roster. Zakharia was an earlier Michigan commit who was expected to sign last Fall but apparently did not sign in time for that release. Nagle is a L10 Regional qualifier who trained at Farmington Gymnastics. At the 2009 Region V L9 Regionals, she placed 1st on FX.
Link: UM Release
Nebraska has announced the hiring of former Husker athlete John Robinson as an assistant on the Men's team. The 2010 NU grad replaces Phil Cahoy, Sr.
Link: NU Release
Results from the Pan Am Championships Event Finals.