A Pioneer Proud Day...

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, is a date to circle on your calendar or planner if you are a fan of TWU Athletics. Why you ask? Because that was easily one of the best days in the recent history of the Pioneer Nation!

The TWU soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams all competed and all won yesterday. The Pioneer soccer team (pictured) defeated Texas A&M-Commerce in penalty kicks (4-1) in a quarterfinal game at the 2009 Lone Star Conference Soccer Championship. The T-Dub volleyballers did their part by picking up a critical LSC win in five sets over Southeastern Oklahoma State at Kitty Magee Arena. The TWU hoops squad then put the icing on the Pioneers' cake with a 79-75 exhibition win over the University of North Texas across town at The Super Pit.

Freakin' awesome. That's how I would sum it up in two words.

So go to your closet, dig out your maroon TWU shirt that you haven't worn in a month or so and put it on. Wear it with pride. The Pioneer student-athletes earned that right for you yesterday.

Rain, rain, go away

Usually we're praying for rain. But we've had so much in the past week that I'm actually wishing that the radar screen would clear out. No more huge green masses with steady rain coming through north central Texas please. It's the hill country, down by San Antonio, that's in a drought.

The weatherman has had an easy time of it. Even I could put out an accurate forecast with the weather system we're sitting in right now.

But I should have known it would rain this weekend. It was the start of the fall softball season! So we got rained out on Saturday and postponed the debut of our newly refurbished backstop and dugouts. You must come see how fan friendly we've made Pioneer Field!

The rain didn't stop soccer from playing though. We got through Friday with a victory over the other T-Dub - Texas Wesleyan. And we played... sloshed... slid... waded through a hard-fought match against #15 St. Ed's on Sunday afternoon. Our team denied them a goal on 25 shots in regulation! Great defense, ladies! But it didn't end in our favor unfortunately. The ball rebounded around the box and SEU knocked it in just over minute into overtime. Tough break.

Besides my shoes, the rain has soaked the Pioneer Golf Course too so we've rescheduled our Round of Thanks golf scramble for our corporate sponsors until the 21st. It's supposed to quit raining in a couple of days and then get sunny. We need everything to dry out!

But the rain is good in many ways including less money spent on watering the fields.

Lone Star Conference Fall Sports Preview Series

Melanie Robotham, the Lone Star Conference's outstanding Director of Media Relations, is currently putting together a very comprehensive Lone Star Conference Fall Sports Preview series. TWU hasn't been spotlighted yet (don't worry, they will get to the Pioneers), but if you want to study up on the Pioneers' LSC volleyball and soccer opponents I encourage you to read this series. The articles can be found on the official Lone Star Conference website. Also, a big thank you to Nick Eatman for the editorial content in this series.

Time for two-a-days!

The off-season for TWU Athletics is officially over as the Pioneer volleyball and soccer squads began two-a-day preseason practices earlier this week. Shelly Barberee's volleyball team is looking to build on last season's 20-13 record and qualify for the Lone Star Conference (LSC) postseason volleyball tournament for the seventh year in a row. Early reports about our volleyball crew are promising. The returners look good (in particular junior OH/MB Danielle Veitenheimer) and the transfers and freshman (especially junior MB/RS Launa McClung) have been impressive.

Fleur Benatar's soccer group is fighting through the Texas heat to get ready for their upcoming season. The Pioneers finished 9-8-2 last fall but just missed qualifying for the LSC postseason tourney. FB and her players are working hard in an effort to get a few more wins this year and contend for the conference championship. Junior defender Natalie Holovach and senior forward Chastity Hayter should be integral players for TWU this season. Freshman Amanda Allen, an import from Enoch, Utah, should also provide the Pioneers with improved scoring potential.

The TWU volleyball team opens play this year at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs tournament Aug.28 and 29. The Pioneers' soccer team will begin their season on Aug. 28 at Dallas Baptist University. Check out the complete volleyball schedule by clicking here. The entire soccer schedule is available here.

Not quite driving in the slow lane

First of all, let me post a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Beth and Zane Jillson on the arrival of beautiful Madison Grace last week! Welcome to the Pioneer family, sweet baby girl!

So I'm at a couple of functions last week and I get asked a few times by different folks if I'm enjoying my "down time" this summer. I smile and say that we're humming right along and that there really isn't any down time. The pace may not be fast and furious, but we're definitely not driving in the slow lane. The parking on campus is better and weekends are not cluttered with home events, but preparations are well underway for 2009-10. Before you know it, the Soccer and Volleyball student-athletes will be here for preseason and Student-Athlete Orientation. There's lots to do!

Yes, the front office staff can take some vacation days and many of us head to conventions and seminars. The office suite is quieter somewhat since most of the staff doesn't have to keep office hours in the summer. Except for basketball, all the coaches are off...but they really aren't off completely. They still pop in and out of the office. They recruit...and conduct summer camps...and recruit...and come to campus when their freshmen are here for Orientation.

As for camps, Gymnastics, Soccer and Softball camps have been great! We're not busy in Pioneer Hall because of the arena floor renovation. Normally this building would be a beehive of activity with Basketball camp, Volleyball camp and other outside camps like Point Guard College. But instead it's teeming with roofers, construction workers, floor installers, electricians, and until recently, the guys from Restoration Specialists. There were fans everywhere drying out the carpets, baseboards, ceiling tiles and sheetrock from the water damage Pioneer Hall incurred on June 10th. That's when those freakishly high 70-80 mph winds blew in with that massive thunderstorm and ripped up some of the roof and allowed it to rain inside the building! Thank goodness the new maple floor had not been delivered yet. The roof over the arena was secure anyway but I'm extremely thankful that Kitty Magee Arena was empty. We're drying out and I heard yesterday that we're getting new carpet. I guess there's a silver lining.

Not only is Pioneer Hall a mess, there is also work going on down at Pioneer Softball Field as we replace the backstop and do a few more renovations with the dugout protective fencing/netting. When this project is complete, it's really going to enhance our already gorgeous facility even more. I can't wait to show it off!

So while our wonderful Facility Manager Beth Palmer oversees all the stuff going on in Pioneer Hall, I'm headed to Florida next week with my family for vacation. I guess this constitutes my "down time" for the summer!

Stay cool, everyone!

Camping with the Pioneers

The 2009 TWU Athletics summer camps are underway! Our gymnastics instructional camp began on Sunday afternoon. Our soccer instructional day camp kicked off this (Monday) morning and our softball elite camp will take place on Tuesday, Jun. 16.

Two more softball camps are scheduled for next week - a General Skills Day Camp on Monday, June 22, and Tuesday, June 23, and a Pitcher/Catcher Day Camp on Wednesday, June 24, and Thursday, June 25.

A soccer Speed and Performance Camp will also be held Monday, July 6 - Wednesday, July 8.

Registrations are still being accepted for the upcoming softball camps as well as the soccer Speed and Performance Camp. Campers can register online by clicking here.

New floor

When the salvage company arrived yesterday morning, I immediately went downstairs from my office to the arena. I wanted to see that first swing of the sledge hammer as the process of removing the arena floor began. The workers hit that wood with all kinds of tools and it was loud. Bam! Pop! Crack! They pried the planks off the runners, exposed nails, and started piling up the wood that would soon be hauled off. I walked over to the supervisor and asked for a couple of pieces and he obliged. He even took out the nails.

Why is this exciting? Because a new floor is being installed in Magee Arena this summer! That means a new surface and a chance to design a new paint scheme for the main court. It means a state-of-the-art floor for TWU students. And a home court advantage!

The only downside is that the camps that would normally host in the gym are on hiatus this summer. That's a big ouch in the pocketbook because we depend on the revenue from camps - both our own and outside clients - to fund our student-athlete scholarships.

So it's great to see this project finally start. Naveen is posting photos on the web site to show the progress so make sure you visit twuathletics.com often. You're gonna love the look!

But we also need your help. If you haven't already done so, please make a contribution to the Pioneer Athletics Fund Drive to help fund scholarships for the wonderful young women who are outstanding students and athletes. You can give online - click on "Giving to Athletics" in the lefthand menu on twuathletics.com.

If you've made your contribution this year, please accept a big "Thank You" with the same loud, banging clap that we're hearing in the construction area right now!

Co-national champs on floor!

The Pioneers ended the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships on a high note as seniors Amie Boles and Tonya Pipkorn posted matching scores of 9.850 to share the national championship on floor exercise!

What a way for Amie and Tonya to end their collegiate careers! They walked off the competition floor for the last time as national champions. Everybody is crazy happy for them right now!

Freshman Rashonda Cannie tied for fourth in the bars finals with a score of 9.700.

Here is a complete breakdown of the TWU results on both bars and floor (with place listed in parentheses):

Bars-
Rashonda Cannie, 9.700 (T-4th)
Kristie Costa, 9.625 (T-8th)

Floor-
Amie Boles, 9.850 (T-1st)
Tonya Pipkorn, 9.850 (T-1st)
Rashonda Cannie, 9.775 (7th)

That's all for now. I'll have more reaction (from both coaches and gymnasts) up here later tonight.

A silver on vault, a bronze on beam

The Pioneers picked up medals in both the vault and beam event finals! Senior Brittany Parker placed second on vault and senior Tonya Pipkorn tied for third on beam. Congrats to Britt and Tonya! Parker actually was in line for the title until the last vaulter of the competition, Temple's Katie Canning, absolutely nailed her vault to take home the championship.

Here is a complete list of the scores (with place listed in parentheses) for all of the TWU gymnasts that competed in the vault and beam finals:

Vault -
Brittany Parker, 9.763 (2nd)
Rashonda Cannie, 9.625 (6th)
Kristie Costa, 9.263 (10th)

Beam -
Tonya Pipkorn, 9.750 (T-3rd)
Brittany Parker, 9.725 (T-5th)
Kristie Costa, 9.675 (9th)

The floor and bars finals are just getting underway!

Rotation Schedule for Individual Event Finals

Here's how today's meet will run - beam and vault will be conducted first. The two events will be run simultaneuously, vault first, followed by beam.

After vault and beam are completed, floor and bars will run simultaneously.

The scoring for the individual event finals is a little different as well. Four judges will score each routine, the high and the low score will be dropped, and the middle two scores will be averaged to come up with a final score. Also, each of the competitors on vault will perform two vaults.

A little confusing yes, but isn't that always the case with gymnastics? HA.

March-in is done, the anthem has been performed, and it's time to get after it here in Connecticut! The beam and vault finals will begin momentarily.

Individual Event Finals - Will beats skill?

Welcome to the third and final day of the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships from the James Moore Field House on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University.

Five TWU gymnasts - Amie Boles, Rashonda Cannie, Kristie Costa, Brittany Parker, and Tonya Pipkorn - are warming up right now to compete in the Individual Event Finals. Boles will take part on floor, Cannie will participate on vault, bars, and floor; Costa will be on vault, bars, and beam; Parker on vault and beam; Pipkorn on beam and floor.

This afternoon's individual finals offer an shot at redemption for the Pioneers after last night's frustrating fourth place finish in the team finals. It's not going to be easy, however, for the TWU gymnasts. I know our girls are physically and emotionally spent after two days of intense team competion. That being said, I know Amie, Rashonda, Kristie, Brittany, and Tonya are determined to make up for last night's miscues. We'll see how it goes!

I'm gonna run down to the competition floor and find out the rotation schedule for this meet...

Dealing with defeat

When I walked out of the James Moore Field House about 30 minutes ago I stepped into a drenching downpour. Perhaps it was the gymnastics gods raining on what could have easily been a TWU Pioneer victory parade tonight at Southern Connecticut State University.

If you read my post-meet write up, you saw that Coach Kudlac summed up tonight's defeat in one word - disappointing. The General seemed stunned by the loss, just like the rest of the TWU gymnasts, coaches, and fans. The Pioneers' started unbelievably strong tonight as they rocked floor and vault. However, at some point between the second rotation and the end of the meet, the team hit a wall. It was almost like things were going to good at the start - we were up by a point and a half after two rotations. That lead proved to be too good to be true in the end. Bridgeport and Cornell came on strong while we faded.

The pain of this loss was obvious after the meet. Lots of tears, lots of distraught faces. Everybody took it pretty tough. I felt horrible for our girls, they worked insanely hard this year - 6:00 a.m. runs in September, two-a-day practices over Christmas and Spring Break, a ton of time in the practice gym - and to fall short of their ultimate goal tonight was definitely painful.

This team will bounce back though, starting tomorrow afternoon in the Individual Event Finals. This is a tough group, and they'll make amends for this loss. Junior Keri Miller told me as much in a brief conversation we had a little while ago. I had stopped to console her and Keri gave me a determined look and said "Ten in 10." I was puzzled for a second, so Keri repeated the phrase, "Ten in 10," and added "I'm serious, Jeff." You have to love Keri's attitude. She's already planning on winning the Pioneers' tenth national title in 2010. I wouldn't bet against her.

TWU finishes fourth

The team scores have just been announced. TWU finishes in fourth place with a score of 190.800. William and Mary came in third with a 191.100. Bridgeport and Cornell are the 2009 co-national champions with matching scores of 191.675.

Red-hot start. Ice cold finish.

Disappointment for TWU here in New Haven.

Still a season to be proud of for the Pioneers. Congrats once again to the eight seniors on the TWU roster - Brittany Parker, Amie Boles, Jennifer Kingsbury, Kelsey Nixon, Brista Michael, Tonya Pipkorn, Amy Hulbert - on their remarkable college careers. You guys will be missed.

Off to write a story for the DRC. I'll get more post-meet reaction up on this blog a little bit later.

TWU struggles on beam...

The Pioneers struggled mightily on their final event of the team finals, balance beam. Three TWU beam workers fell, resulting in an unofficial beam team score of 46.525, the second-lowest of the season for the team. Here are the Pioneers' individual scores on beam:

Rashonda Cannie 9.300
Alexa Brennan 9.100
Caroline Hilpisch 7.850
Brittany Parker 9.350
Kristie Costa 9.050
Tonya Pipkorn 9.725

Still no word on the final team scores. The Pioneers had a commanding lead after two rotations; we'll have to see if it holds up. Stay tuned...

A bump in the road

The Pioneers hit a bit of a speedbump on bars as they compiled a team bars score of just 46.975. Had one fall on the event. To be fair, the bar judges have been scoring tight this entire meet. Here are the Pioneers' individual scores on bars:

Jennifer Kingsbury 9.425
Keri Miller 8.850
Amie Boles 9.200
Kristie Costa 9.450
Rashonda Cannie 9.500
Brista Michael 9.450

For some reason, they didn't announce the team scores after the third rotation. Hopefully TWU is still on top...

Time for the final rotation of the night, balance beam. Let's finish strong.

Vaulting to new heights!

Show-stopping. That's the best way I can describe the Pioneers' performance on vault. All hits. No falls.

Senior Brittany Parker, in the last team competition of her career, set a new TWU school record (and career-high) with a 9.925 vault! Go BP!

Here are the Pioneers' individual scores on vault:

Amie Boles 9.600
Kelsey Nixon 9.475
Brittany Parker 9.925
Rashonda Cannie 9.850 (T-career high)
Kristie Costa 9.775
Marcella Fallon 9.525

Thanks to their awesome vaulting, the Pioneers' increased their lead! Here are the team scores after two rotations:

TWU 97.250
Cornell 95.725
William and Mary 95.325
Bridgeport 94.725

Two events down, two to go. Let's finish this.

Quick start!

T-Dub killed it on floor. Six-for-six. Great start! Awesome routine by senior tri-captain Amie Boles. Here are the Pioneers' individual scores on floor:

Tonya Pipkorn 9.700
Mollie Blessing 9.700
Caroline Hilpisch 9.650
Rashonda Cannie 9.725
Amie Boles 9.800
Keri Miller 9.425

The Pioneers' team floor score was 48.575, their second-highest of the year!

Team scores after the first rotation:

TWU 48.575
William and Mary 48.125
Cornell 48.050
Bridgeport 46.775

On to vault!

The Prez is in the house!

No, not Barack Obama, but Ann Stuart, Chancellor and President of TWU. The Pioneers' first fan is back at Moore Field House to hopefully see T-Dub win title number ten. I just had a pleasant conversation with her down in the VIP area near the competition floor. She's got her game face on!

Just about ten minutes away from go time. TWU opens the meet on floor exercise. Time to get it done.

Foreshadowing?

They just played the song "We Are the Champions" over the arena sound system here at the National Championships. Hopefully we (the TWU delegation) will be singing that song about three hours from now.

Welcome to The Alexa Brennan Show

Warmups continue here from the James Moore Field House for tonight's team finals of the USAG Championships.

So far the warmup session has been pretty uneventful. It has been entertaining, however, to watch the dance performance of TWU junior beam specialist Alexa Brennan. Alexa has a unique dance to nearly every song that has been played during warmups. It's funny to watch Alexa do her thing. Her solo show to the song "Chicken Fried" was pretty good.

Ninjas look good. Relaxed and confident. The General has a pretty good pace going on right now, though. He's wearing out a path on the far side of the floor exercise.

Finals night!

Our Pioneer ninjas just arrived at Moore Field House for tonight's team finals of the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships. Open stretch starts in about twenty minutes. The team looks relaxed, ready to go, and of course, resplendent in their gold. All of our girls have their hair painted gold, as TWU gymnastics tradition dictates. They also have the gold flowers that they carry with them during march in. For one night only, gold has become part of the color scheme for Texas Woman's University. Fine by me.

Here is the Pioneers' rotation for the team finals...

Here is the route the Pioneers will have to take tonight if they are going to win the tenth national title in school history:

Floor

Vault

Bars

Beam

Interestingly enough, senior Tonya Pipkorn will start and finish the meet for TWU. Pipkorn is the Pioneers' lead-off on floor and anchor on beam. I think that bodes well for TWU. Tonya is nails under pressure.

Getting the word out

What a wonderful morning! Our gymnasts are right on track for team title #10 (nice alliteration). And Rashonda Cannie rocks - congrats to this awesome freshman for tying for the all-around national title!

We have a large contingent of family and friends at the national championship cheering on our ladies including our very own Chancellor and President, Dr. Ann Stuart!

There's a story on the front page of the Denton Record-Chronicle Sports section this morning complete with a color photo - thanks to Jeff and gymnastics die-hard photographer Art Nicklaus. And for those who don't get the local paper, there's this wonderful web site. How cool to get the meet scores sent to your cell phone if you sign up for the free SMS service (see the front page of twuathletics.com). I was sitting at Pioneer Field last night with our softball team as they battled Angelo State and I didn't worry about not knowing what was going on half a country away in Southern Connecticut. Jeff kept me informed with scores after each rotation. I couldn't wait for my phone to start playing "Vida La Vida" by Coldplay, which is the music I've set for my text message alert. After reading the text message, then I'd go into the press box and read Jeff's blog over Naveen's shoulder between pitches (Naveen was doing live stats so he'd go back and forth between softball and our blog).

We've come so far! I can remember filing stories and box scores before we had all these nice electronic advances...and how long it took to stand at the fax machine watching as each page slowly went through (or how frustrating it was when it didn't and you were in a hurry!). And there were plenty of times when you had to dictate a story over the phone to meet the paper's deadline! I could go on...but I won't. :)

So enjoy this blog and all the other cool tools we use to get the word out.

Putting a wrap on the team semifinals...

Here are a few more golden nuggets of information from last night's team semifinals of the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships:

-Dr. Ann Stuart, the Chancellor and President of TWU, made the trip to Connecticut to cheer on the Pioneers! Dr. Stuart represented the Pioneers well and sat with a rowdy group of TWU gym parents to watch last nights' meet. Word is that she even put a TWU PIONEERS tatoo on her face (just like the gymnasts). One of the parents got a picture of that, so I'll have to get it and put it up here. Seriously, though, thanks to Dr. Stuart for coming all the way out here to New Haven. I know the TWU gymnasts and coaches definitely appreciate the support of the Pioneers' number one fan!

-The Pioneers have now advanced to the team finals of this championship for the last 16 years in a row. That's called rising to the challenge folks.

-Kristie Costa and Rashonda Cannie will take part on bars in Saturday's Individual Event Finals. Should Costa or Cannie win the event, it will be the fifth year in a row that TWU has the national champion bar swinger. Brisa Fuentes won the event in 2005, Bethany Rehm grabbed the title in 2006, and Courtney Arno-Templet won the crown in 2007 and 2008.

-Tonya Pipkorn, Brittany Parker, and Kristie Costa will compete on beam in the Individual Event Finals. TWU has also won three in a row beam titles - Courtney Arno in 2006, Rachel Zimmerman in 2007, and Arno-Templet again in 2008.

Also, here's a few more quotes from my post-meet interview with Coach Kudlac that did not make it into my meet story:

"I thought we handled the new format (Capital Cup - warmup/compete) of this meet very well. That's a credit to our preparation. We did a mock meet last week where we simulated every step of this competition."

"The main goal tonight was just to advance. Finishing first is just a bonus. But honestly, nobody remembers who wins the team semifinals. Tomorrow is the big one."

"I told the girls in our team meeting that they needed to forget about this meet before they got back to the hotel. I want their focus to be 100% on Friday night's team finals."

"It's always good to have several athletes qualify for individual event finals. That speaks well about the program. We have a history of success in the individuals and I'd like to see that continue on Saturday."

###

Well that's all I got about the semifinals. The team finals start at 7 EST. Check back for more updates as the day goes along.

Can't say enough about Cannie...

My intention was to hold off until tomorrow (Friday) morning before returning to this blog. I'd be remiss, however, if I shut down my computer tonight without a few words of praise for TWU freshman sensation Rashonda Cannie. The Harker Heights, Texas product was on her game this evening as she recorded an all-around score of 38.725 (her second-highest of the year) to tie for first in the all-around competition with Temples' Katie Canning and Yale's Alina Liao.

The all-around title is the first for a TWU gymnast since 2003 when Luci Romberg (yes, the Incredible Egg girl) won the same championship.

Rashonda is such a marvelous talent, and it was exciting to see her put it all together tonight. You know what made it even more special - her father Andre (a soldier in the U.S. Army; I apologize but I do not know his rank) was in the stands to cheer her on. It was the first time this season that Andre has gotten to see his little girl compete. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better.

Sleep well Pioneer Nation. Congrats again to our gymnasts and coaches for a job well done this evening.

Pioneers win team semifinals with a 192.850!

Thanks to a 192.850 team score - their second-highest of the season - the Pioneers won the team semifinal session of the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships.

TWU will compete in Friday night's team finals at 7 p.m. against Bridgeport, Cornell, and William and Mary.

Gotta run and write a DRC story now...check back tomorrow for more details on tonight's meet.

Title number ten is squarely in the sites of The General's army...GO PIONEERS!

Patience is a virtue, Pioneer Nation...

Just to update everybody, I'm still waiting on final results from tonight's meet. All eight teams are back out on the competition floor eager to hear who will compete in tomorrow night's team finals.

I'll get the final scores on here as soon as I've confirmed them.

Done swinging around...

Brista Michael, the Pioneers' final bar worker, just finished her set. TWU is done with the team semifinals. The Pioneers were in first place headed into this fourth rotation, and while bars weren't great, I think the team did enough to stay in the lead. We'll have to see though. Flight two in this fourth rotation is about to start.

Here were the Pioneers' individual bars scores:

Jennifer Kingsbury 9.475
Keri Miller 9.525
Amie Boles 9.300
Kristie Costa 9.575
Rashonda Cannie 9.725
Brista Michael 9.375

The team score on bars was 47.675.

Hopefully I can get the final results in my next post. Stand by...

Bridgeport struggles on bars, Pioneers' lead grows...

TWU didn't set the world on fire on vault, but they did enough to stay on top of the team standings after third rotation. The Pioneers' lead actually increased, due in large part to Bridgeport's struggles on bars. Here are the team scores after three rotations (I just caught the top three from the PA):

TWU 145.175
Bridgeport 143.150
Temple 142.775

I know Cornell is in fourth right now.

Headed to the last rotation. TWU is up on bars. I'm confident the Pioneers will finish this meet strong. It's going to be interesting to see what schools end up in the top four and advance to tomorrow night's finals.

Vault hits!

TWU is finished on vault. Not spectacular, but certainly a commendable effort. Six-for-six. Here are the Pioneers' individual vault scores:

Amie Boles 9.275
Kelsey Nixon 9.575
Brittany Parker 9.800
Rashonda Cannie 9.775
Kristie Costa 9.750
Marcella Fallon 9.400

The Pioneers team vault score was a 48.300. We'll see if that is good enough to keep them in the lead.

Two rotations down, two to go...

Two rotations done. TWU remains in first place. Here are unofficial team scores entering the third rotation:

TWU 96.875
Bridgeport 96.725
Cornell 95.950
William and Mary 94.600
Temple 94.425
Centenary 93.850
Air Force 93.525
Southern Conn. 92.825

Pioneers up next on vault!

Pioneers keep it going on floor...

Solid effort for the Pioneers on FX. Five of the six TWU gymnasts hit their routines, led by seniors Amie Boles and Tonya Pipkorn. Here are the individual scores:

Tonya Pipkorn 9.700
Mollie Blessing 9.650
Caroline Hilpisch 9.575
Rashonda Cannie 9.675
Amie Boles 9.775
Keri Miller 9.100

The Pioneers team floor score was a strong 48.375. T-Dub is in good shape two rotations into this meet.

TWU on top after the first rotation!

The first rotation is in the books. Here are the unofficial team scores after the first rotation:

TWU 48.500
Bridgeport 47.850
Cornell 47.700
Centenary 47.500
Southern Conn. 47.325
Air Force 47.225
William and Mary 47.000
Temple 46.450

The Pioneers are right where they want to be. Just talked to The General and Coach Klein - they were extremely pleased with the team's results on beam. TWU up now on floor!

Six-for-six on beam!

Talk about a quick start! The Pioneers went six-for-six on beam in their first rotation at tonight's team semifinals. Here were the individual scores:

Rashonda Cannie 9.550
Alexa Brennan 9.625
Caroline Hilpisch 9.550
Brittany Parker 9.750
Kristie Costa 9.825
Tonya Pipkorn 9.750

Parker's score was her highest of the season! Way to go BP!

The Pioneers' team beam score was a stellar 48.500, their second-highest of the season. The second flight of the first rotation is still going on - I'll try to get updated team scores posted at the end of this flight.

Keep it up T-Dub!

Give a bear, get in free...

Before the gym meet begins, I wanted to take a minute to remind everbody to head out to Pioneer Field tonight and see the TWU softball team take on the Angelo State University Rambelles, the #2 ranked team in all of NCAA Division II. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Bring a new or gently used stuffed animal to donate to the TWU Softball H.U.G. Challenge and you'll get in free. The Pioneers and the Rambelles wil continue their three-game series with a doubleheader on Friday (Apr. 10) at 1/3 p.m.

Show time at SCSU...

The team semifinals of the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships are about to get underway. All eight teams - SCSU, Bridgeport, Centenary, Cornell, Air Force, William and Mary, Temple, TWU - competing, plus the individual qualifiers, have been introduced and marched in. The anthem has been performed, the pleasantries have been exchanged, and it's show time at SCSU. The Pioneers will begin the meet on beam. Let's go T-Dub!

If that's what it takes...

The General frowns on our gymnasts just laying around the hotel room on meet days.

So - in the time between breakfast and lunch this morning - and while the coaching staff was at a coaching meeting at another hotel - our gymnastics team played an exhilirating game of "Hen in the Pen - T-Dub Style" in the hotel parking lot.

TWU gymnastics trainer Kris Ring supervised this activity which drew curious stares from other hotel guests and staff.

Honestly, I'm not really sure what the objective of "Hen in the Pen" is but, if that's what it to takes to win title number ten, I'm all for it. Only next time I want to see The General playing. HA.

Breakfast with the TWU gymnastics team...

Greetings from the fair burg of New Haven, Connecticut!

Well, the first competition of the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships - the team semifinals - is just over eight hours away! The Pioneer ninjas seem relaxed and ready to go. That's a good thing!

I just had breakfast with a few of our gymnasts - Brittany Parker, Alexa Brennan, and Marcella Fallon. Brittany and Alexa concentrated on the baseball highlights being shown on ESPN News on the TV in the dining room. Brittany was bummed that Jon Lester and the Red Sox got drilled last night. Alexa was quick to point out that the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki hit another homerun on Wednesday. She's a huge Rockies, or more specifically, a huge Troy Tulowitzki fan, so she likes to keep up with all the action. Marcella seemed content just to listen to the baseball banter. Typical Marcella - always happy!

After I finished eating I walked over to visit with the Kingsbury crew. Jen, of course, is a senior on our TWU team. This weekend will mark the end of her outstanding gymnastics career. Jen's mother, Lori and her twin sister Jamie (bet you didn't know that Jen had a twin, see the info you get when you read this blog) were sitting with her, sharing a bit of family time. Because it's Easter weekend, Jen and bought a package of Peeps and an Easter card to give to her sister.

So when I sat down, I commented on the fact that it was nice of Jen to get a gift for her twin. The Kingsbury sisters kind of giggled and said the Peeps were not to eat. Me - slightly confused now - asked "then what are they for? Come to find out, it's a Kingsbury tradition (OK maybe a Jamie Kingsbury tradition) to find creative ways to destroy Peeps at Easter season. Jamie amuses herself - and Jen - by bringing the Peeps to an untimely death. The photo above shows a Peep passing on to the next plane by drowning in a cup of hot chocolate. Evil? Yes. But definitely funny and deserving of a place in this blog.

Now we sit and wait. The team will leave for Moore Field House and SCSU at 3:00 p.m. Open stretch starts at 3:50, timed warmups at 4:25, and then it's go time at 5:00 p.m. There's no live stats or video for this meet, so be sure to check this blog for score updates. I'll also be using the SMS (text message) service on our website to send out scores. If you haven't signed up for that, go do so right now. It's easy - click on the SMS graphic on the lower right hand corner of our home page. Follow the simple registration procedures, choose the sport you want updates about, and then enter the confirmation code that is sent to your cell phone.

Good luck faxes!

I know it's old school, but - if you can - please take a moment to send a good luck fax to our TWU gymnasts and coaches at their hotel in New Haven, Connecticut. The coaches tape all the faxes that are recieved up in the hallway on the floor that our team is staying on. Last year in Shreveport about five feet of wall space was covered with faxes from the Pioneer Nation.

Here's the fax number to send your well-wishes to: 203-932-0405. Just address them to "TWU Gymnastics"!

Go Pioneers! Bring home title number ten!

The quest for title number ten begins

The TWU gymnasts, coaches, and support staff departed at 10 a.m. this morning (Tuesday) for New Haven, Connecticut and the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships. A delegation of TWU faculty and staff came out to the tennis court parking lot to wish the Pioneers' well and see them off on their trip. Thanks to everybody who made it out to see our gymnasts off! A special thanks to Micah and the TWU BSM for the goodie bags with candy! Also, a big high-five to Rocky Phillips for coming out on short notice to shoot pictures of our team "send-off". Check out a gallery of Rocky's work here.

Our team will fly to Hartford, land at 5 p.m. EST, and then take vans to New Haven. Tonight will be a pretty easy night - a team dinner followed by a team meeting.

Be sure to visit this blog tomorrow for more updates on the Pioneers' quest for title number ten!

Monday afternoon musings...

Time for some Monday afternoon musings from the Pioneer Nation...

Mixed results for the TWU softball team this weekend down in Kingsville. Carly Case pitched a four-hit shutout for the Pioneers in the first game of the series on Friday afternoon, a 4-0 TWU win. TAMUK, however, came back to win Friday's nightcap 5-4 and then the single-game on Saturday 2-1. Case (pictured) started all three games for TWU and turned in an admirable effort in the circle. Freshman utility player April Mandel was the Pioneers' top hitter in the series with three hits and four runs batted in. TWU is now 4-8 in the LSC South division standings and will need a strong finish to the season if they want to qualify for postseason play.

Speaking of softball, the Pioneers will host the number one team in all of NCAA Division II - the Angelo State Rambelles - in a three-game series later this week. TWU and ASU will play a single game on Thursday night at 7 p.m. and a doubleheader on Friday scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Fans can get in free to Thursday night's game if they bring a new or gently used stuffed animal to donate to the TWU Softball Help Us Give (H.U.G.) Challenge. The four senior members of the TWU team - Amber Brooks, Ashley Martin, Tiffanie Boone, Kayla Behrle - will be honored prior to the start of the first game on Friday afternoon with a brief Senior Day ceremony.

Nationals week is finally here for the TWU gymnastics team! The Pioneers depart for New Haven, Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday morning, Apr. 7, at 10:00 a.m. Come out to the parking lot by the tennis courts on the TWU Denton campus to see them off. The team semifinals are on Thursday, team finals are scheduled for Friday, and individual event finals are slated for Saturday afternoon. I'll be flying up to New Haven on Wednesday night for the Championships so I'll be able to keep everybody up to speed on all the happenings at Nationals on this oh-so-convenient blog. You can also read the daily Pioneer Posts from the TWU gymnasts.

That's it for now...more to come later this week. Thanks to everybody for their continued support of TWU Athletics!

Big games for Bruister's bunch...

The TWU softball team is in Kingsville, Texas this weekend to play a three-game LSC South Division series against the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas. TWU and TAMK will play a doubleheader tonight (Friday, Apr. 3) at 5/7 p.m. and a single game on Saturday, Apr. 4 at 12:00 noon. How the Pioneers play in south Texas could go along towards determing their postseason fate. TWU is currently in sixth place in the LSC South Division standings and two games in the win column behind fifth-place TAMK. If Richie Bruister's bunch can take two of three from the Javelinas over the next couple of days they would put themselves right back into contention for a spot in the LSC South Division postseason tournament. Go get 'em kids.

Time for some spring soccer!

TWU soccer head coach Fleur Benatar took a few months off to bring a new addition into her family (Welcome to the world Fletch!).

Coach Benatar is back on the job, however, and she is, to quote, "on a mission" to win the 2009 LSC Soccer crown.

The Pioneers' preparations for the upcoming 2009 campaign will continue this weekend at the Panda Cup in Garland. TWU will play the women's team from the Olympic Development Program (ODP) on Saturday, Apr. 4, at 7 p.m. The Pioneers will then play two games on Sunday, Apr. 5 - at 11:15 a.m. against a Mexican club team and at 3:00 p.m. against Incarnate Word.

The Pioneer players and coaches will also be assisting at a Special Olympics soccer clinic on Saturday afternoon before their contest against the ODP side.

Next Saturday, Apr. 11, TWU will host a 7-on-7 soccer tournament at Pioneer Field. Dallas Baptist, Cedar Valley, and Tyler Junior College will all come to Denton to take part in this event. The round-robin action will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at approximately 6 p.m.

On Saturday, Apr. 18, TWU will travel to St. Edward's in Austin to play in another 7-on-7 tournament.

As the softball schedule changes...

The wet winter weather in Durant, Oklahoma (it's 37 degrees there right now) forced the cancellation of this weekend's 2009 Lone Star Conference Softball Crossover. Fortunately, LSC officials made the call to scratch the three-day, 42-game event early enough on Friday that our TWU softball team did not make the drive up there.

After being notified of the cancelled tournament, Coach Bruister (pictured) went to work right away to fill the voids on his team's schedule this weekend. Abilene Christian was already in Durant, so Richie called the Wildcats' head coach - the always pleasant Chantiel Wilson - and convinced them to stop here in Denton on their way home and play a (non-conference) doubleheader against our team on Friday afternoon (read about those games here). He also got a hold of Cameron University head coach Beth Watson and worked it out so the Aggies will come to Denton on Sunday afternoon to play a 2/4 p.m. doubleheader. Hopefully all of our TWU softball fans will come out to Pioneer Field and enjoy some "bonus" softball!

I've got to give credit to Coach Bruister. A lot of coaches would have just pulled the plug on this weekend because of the weather. But - knowing that his team needs in-region games to enhance their postseason chances - he scrambled to find opponents, umpires, and staff to run these games. High five to him.

Happy camper

Let me explain why I'm a happy camper now. We're whole again. I have a full staff and all is well on Bell Avenue in beautiful Denton, Texas. Naveen Boppana has taken his place in the office as our new Asst. AD/Sports Information Director. Jeff Bowerman has relinquished the SID reins so he can concentrate on his duties as Asst. AD/Marketing and Operations. A HUGE THANK YOU to Jeff for tackling both jobs in the interim. This was a monumental task and Jeff was a very busy guy...and always had a smile on his face even when he was functioning on little sleep.

So I'm going to enjoy our wonderful staff as we barrel through the spring. Because you know, things change and although I'm always hopeful that there will be a summer when we won't have any open positions, good people move on sometimes. (I don't want them to, but I'm happy for them.)

Welcome, Naveen!

Job security...

Our softball head coach, Richie Bruister, had a great line at our Maroon and White Luncheon this past Tuesday afternoon at Outback Steakhouse. He got up and said - "My next career is going to be a weather man. That's the only job in the world where you can be wrong 75 percent of the time and still keep your job.". Good point made by Coach Bruister. Our TWU softball team was scheduled to host ECU for a pair of LSC crossover games on Tuesday afternoon, Mar. 24. The forecast on Monday called for an 80% chance of rain on Tuesday. So Coach Bruister and the ECU head coach (Destini Anderson) agreed to rescheduled the games for Wednesday afternoon when it was SUPPOSED to be clear and sunny. Unfortunately, the weather did not follow the script. Tuesday afternoon turned out to be beautiful and Wednesday brought us a three-hour plus downpour. Needless to say, our games against the Lady Tigers were washed out.

That's part of softball season, though. You've got to almost expect the unpredictable weather. Coach Bruister is going to try and reschedule the games against ECU for a later date in April. Check the softball schedule on twuathletics.com to see what he works out.

Now our softball team will focus on getting ready for this weekend's 2009 Lone Star Conference Softball Crossover at the Durant, Multi-Sports Complex in Durant, Oklahoma. The schedule for the Crossover tournament is a hectic one - six games in three days - two games Friday, two games Saturday, and two games Sunday. Our new Assistant AD/SID Naveen Boppana will be traveling up to Durant for Friday and Saturday's games so perhaps he can throw some game updates up on this blog (that is if I get it worked out for him to post).

Show time in Normal...

The 2009 Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Championship just began at Illinois State University. The TWU gymnastics team is in search of their second MIC crown in four years (they won the 2006 MIC title). Pioneer fans that want to watch the meet can do so online at goredbirds.com. I just bought the video ($6.95 well spent if you ask me) and was able to watch Tonya Pipkorn get us started on floor exercise! Hey if you can't be there - like me - watching online is the next best thing.

Rare Saturday off for the TWU softball team...

So its a Saturday in March, about 75 degrees out, not a cloud in the sky, just a slight breeze, lots of sun...i.e. a perfect day for softball. However, all is quiet on the TWU softball front this afternoon. This is actually the second Saturday in a row that the Pioneers have been idle. Last Saturday, Mar. 14, the Pioneers did not play their scheduled home doubleheader versus ACU because of rain and poor field conditions. Today is a scheduled Saturday off for head coach Richie Bruister (the highly touted one) and his charges. Here's hoping that they use the time away from the field wisely - the Pioneers will play six games in eight days next week, beginning with next Tuesday's (Mar. 24) home doubleheader versus East Central.

Welcome to the TWU Athletics Blog

The TWU Athletics department has officially joined the blog-o-sphere!

As of right now, all of the blog posts will come directly from the cluttered brain of Mr. Jeff Bowerman (that's me - the Asst. AD for Marketing/Operations for the Pioneers). After I make sure we get all the kinks worked out on this new toy I'm going to add users. You'll soon be hearing from Naveen Boppana (our new Asst. AD for Sports Information), Chalese Connors (our AD - can't leave out the boss), and, eventually, our five Pioneer head coaches - Fleur Benatar (soccer), Shelly Barberee (volleyball), Beth Jillson (basketball), Frank "The General" Kudlac (gymnastics) and Richie Bruister (softball).

Ultimately what I want to do is create a blog for all five of our sports teams. Then the coaches and student-athletes for each sport could post their own blog-friendly thoughts.

Hopefully all of our Pioneer fans will get in the habit of checking this blog. This is where you are going to find a less formal (but maybe more insightful) take on all things TWU Athletics.

So what's going on tonight in the Pioneer nation? Not a lot; it's a rare slow Friday. Our Pioneer ninjas (that's what I call our gymnastics team - come watch a meet, you'll see why the name fits) traveled to Normal, Illinois and Illinois State University earlier today. They are getting ready to compete in the 2009 MIC Championship tomorrow (Saturday, Mar. 21) at 4:00 p.m. I talked to Lisa Klein (our Assistant Gymnastics Coach) a couple of hours ago (we talk a lot actually HA) and she said the coaches and team were getting ready to head out for a pregame meal. Should be a relaxing night for The General's Army - dinner, team meeting, lights out. We won the 2006 MIC title but finished fourth in both 07 and 08. Hopefully we'll have a good showing tomorrow. SEMO should be the favorite (they are the top-ranked team in the conference), but don't sleep on the Pioneers. Our team has been steadily improving all season long, and, if we hit like we're capable of, then we can definitely win another conference crown. Hey - you can watch the meet online at goredbirds.com. Be sure to check out the webcast if you are by the computer.

That's it for now. Bookmark this blog as a favorite. I'll do my best to keep fresh stuff on here. E-mail comments, concerns, questions, etc. to me at jbowerman@twu.edu.

See you down the dusty trail!