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.