Nov. 22, 2002
The University of Kentucky gymnastics team took part in its annual Blue/White meet Friday in front of a pair of judges and over sixty spectators gathered at the Nutter Fieldhouse. The intrasquad scrimmage was the GymKats’ first chance to showcase the routines that they have been working on this fall.
“I am very pleased that we are routine-ready at this point. If we had to compete tomorrow, we could,” Coach Leah Little said. “We have six weeks to fine-tune our routines and fix the little things that separate good teams from great teams. We’re happy to be at the point where we can concentrate on polishing and perfecting things.”
Kentucky Blue was led by All-American junior Aronda Primault and a trio of seniors – Jennifer Simmons, Mindy Smith and Melanie Zaharias. Junior Julie Joy, sophomore Krista Prestigiacomo and freshman Staci O’Keefe rounded out the Blue squad.
Kentucky White featured seniors Karla Adelt and Julia Gore, sophomores Lindsay Cameron, Michelle Gales and Kara Prestigiacomo and freshmen Krista Roemerman and Bethany Strauch.
In a closely contested finale, the White squad pulled a narrow victory based on the traditional point system. But the Blue squad won enough bonus points, special to the exhibition, to earn an overall win.
Highlighting the meet were strong showings by Smith on the balance beam and Zaharias and Strauch on floor. Gore and Primault were the GymKats’ top two in the all-around.
“There were some great performances today. It was good to see Mindy (Smith) and Jennifer (Simmons) both competing well, coming off of injuries. It was nice to get a look at our freshmen in front of judges and fans. This was a very good marker for us. Everyone should really see exactly what they need to work on to get better.”
Kentucky opens the 2003 season on Friday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m., when the Cats host George Washington for the 20th installment of the season opening extravaganza known as Excite Nite.
