A week after a disappointing loss at Denver, the women’s gymnastics team will travel to Oregon State looking to bounce back with a solid performance.
The dual meet will pit the seventh-ranked Bruins against the 16th-ranked Beavers.
Against Denver, the team scored a total of 194.8 points, their second-lowest output of the season. For a team coming off a streak of great performance, it was a meet that team wanted to forget.
“We really hope to improve our mental game,” sophomore Ariana Berlin said. “We need to talk to our teammates and help them out by just being there for them. We have to come out mentally focused and prepared.”
The team will once again be shorthanded, with sophomores Kristina Comforte and Janelle Dantzscher remaining out with injuries. Both of them could be out for several meets.
Freshman Anna Li, who seemed to have injured herself last week, will compete in today’s meet and may even be in the all-around.
Junior Tasha Schwikert continues to lead her team and seems to have finally returned to the form that won her the 2005 NCAA all-around title. She is currently ranked sixth in the all-around with an average score of 39.396.
But as the Bruins continue to battle with injuries, they will also look heavily to others to step up. Jordan Schwikert, who continued her recovery from a hamstring injury by returning on the balance beam last week, will hopefully provide the team a boost along with Berlin, junior Natalie Padilla and freshman Ashley Jenkins. All of them stepped up big against Denver, many of them competing in events for the first time this season.
“I know I can always improve on every event. My main thing is to just forget about my pain and not focus on that. I really want to get a 9.9, so I’m going to be striving to get that this week,” Berlin said.
With the postseason quickly approaching, the Bruins will look to return to their top form and hit their stride again soon.
And with their upcoming meets against SEC foes Georgia and Alabama approaching, the girls know they have to get focused and prepared for what the team hopes will be a long playoff run.