Dec. 1, 2011
Gymnastics Ranked 23rd in Preseason Poll
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Big Blue Nation will have a chance to get its first look at the 2012 University of Kentucky gymnastics team led by first-year head coach Tim Garrison when it plays host to the annual “Meet the Team” event Saturday at 6 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum.
Admission to the event is free. Doors to Memorial Coliseum will open at 5 p.m. ET with all seating general admission.
Instead of an intrasquad scrimmage format, this year’s event will feature a skills showcase on each event, followed by competition style routines. Fans will also have the opportunity to ask questions to Coach Garrison or the student-athletes about their routines or skills during the event.
“I think it’s important for our student-athletes to be able to interact with our fans and for our fans to be able to see what quality young women we have here at Kentucky,” Garrison said. “We have changed the way we are going to do this event this year in order to make it more interactive and I think people will enjoy the changes. My goal is to introduce our athletes to our fans in a workout setting, but still showcase some competitive routines. This will allow some of our gymnasts that are not quite full routine ready to perform individual skills or short routine sequences. Others will perform full routines, which will help them prepare for the quickly approaching competitive season.”
After all skill showcases and routines are complete, the team will invite fans down to the floor for a meet-and-greet session where fans can take pictures and get autographs from their favorite gymnasts.
Season ticket information will be available at the marketing gazebo during the event, while fans in attendance will also be able to sign up for special giveaways.
Reserved tickets for gymnastics events are $5.00 each, regardless of age, while general admission tickets are $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and youth. Tickets can be purchased by calling the ticket office at 1-800-928-2287. Tickets are also sold at the Joe Craft Center Ticket Office on the night of the event. Group tickets (20+ people) are available by calling the ticket office in advance of the event.
Gymnastics season tickets (reserved seats) are available for only $15.00. To purchase new season tickets, you may order online or call the UK Ticket Office. Current season ticket holders can renew your seats online by logging into “My UK Account”, or you can renew by phone or mail.
Kentucky returns nine gymnasts from last season, including senior co-captains Storey Morris and Whitney Rose. UK also returns juniors Caitlyn Ciokajlo and Caitlin Satkowiak and sophomores Holly Cunningham, Audrey Harrison, Kayla Hartley, Paige Krall and Kayla Sienkowski. The Wildcats also feature six newcomers in sophomore Liz Ames and freshmen Angie Goodwyn, Alexis Gross, Kenzie Hedges, Shannon Mitchell and Jessie Staples.
The event will help the Wildcats get familiar with Memorial Coliseum as it prepares for the five regular season home meets in 2012. Kentucky will play host to five meets this year, including dual meets with Southeastern Conference foes Florida (Jan. 20) and Alabama (Feb. 10). The Wildcats also will hold a tri-meet on Feb. 24 with Auburn and Pittsburgh before completing their home schedule on March 11 with a tri-meet with George Washington and Ball State.
Kentucky’s first meet of the year will be Jan. 7 when it hosts Excite Night at the Kentucky Classic. The event will be a four-team meet, featuring Bowling Green State, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and 2011 NCAA National Finalist Oklahoma. Show festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET with meet introductions starting at 6 p.m. ET.
For complete coverage of Kentucky gymnastics visit www.ukathletics.com or follow “UKGymnastics” on Twitter and Facebook.
