Oct. 8, 2002
The University of Kentucky gymnastics team is in the middle of its fall practice schedule, working out four times a week in preparation for a Blue/White intrasquad meet to be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22, in the GymKats’ practice facility at the Nutter Fieldhouse. This event is open to the public.
The season gets underway on Jan. 10 at 7 p.m., with Excite Nite, the GymKats’ season-opening extravaganza that has been a staple in the Bluegrass for the past 20 years. The event, which for 18 seasons had been UK’s final intrasquad warm-up, became the team’s first regular-season meet a year ago. This season, UK will play host to George Washington.
The GymKats return 11 letterwinners from last year’s squad, which finished the season ranked No. 23 in the nation. They are looking to build on their success, as only four of 24 spots from last year’s lineup have been vacated.
Kentucky is led by junior Aronda Primault, who earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference and second-team All-America honors as a sophomore in 2002. Senior Julia Gore, the 2000 SEC Freshman of the Year, and junior Julie Joy join Primault in the all-around.
Senior Jennifer Simmons returns to the lineup after missing last season due to a knee injury. Simmons was the vault champion at the 1999 NCAA Southeast Regionals and should contribute on the vault and beam this season. Fellow seniors Karla Adelt, Mindy Smith and Melanie Zaharias could all see time on the beam, with Zaharias also competing on vault and floor.
The sophomore class is led by Michelle Gales, who competed in three events last season and was second on the team in the floor exercise. Lindsay Cameron was a mainstay in the 2002 bars lineup, while Kara Prestigiacomo competed in every meet on vault. Her sister, Krista Prestigiacomo, will vie for a spot in the bars and floor lineups.
The GymKats also welcome three freshmen. Staci O’Keefe (Littleton, Colo./Colorado Aerials), Krista Roemerman (Middletown, Ohio/Queen City Gymnasium) and Bethany Strauch (Lawrenceville, Ga./ Gwinnett Gymnasium) will all compete for spots in the UK lineup.
