Kentucky Holds First Intersquad Scrimmage
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In preparation for the upcoming 2017
season, the Kentucky gymnastics program hosted an intersquad scrimmage on
Monday afternoon. The squad competed in a simulated full meet for the first time
this season.
The team proved themselves ready to compete, and while
they went head-to-head against each other, they were supportive and excited
during the meet.
“We had a positive feeling in the gym today,” head coach
Tim Garrison said. “They were up and together, and the athletes that were
competing performed at a high level. The athletes that were off the floor were
cheering at a high level and that is important in our sport. That level of energy
tells us about the togetherness of the squad.”
Sophomore Katie Stuart felt the energy at the practice
facility today.
“The energy was very good in the gym today,” Stuart
remarked. “We have a really good team atmosphere going right now and I think it
will only get stronger as the preseason continues.”
While both teams were happy with the result of the first
scrimmage, work remains to be done for the upcoming campaign.
“It’s a step in preparation and it was a good step,”
Garrison said. “We’ve gone through several different phases of training, from individual
skills to trying to put some things together to half routines and full
routines. We’ve got the groundwork laid and now we have to fine tune things
where the mistakes aren’t macro mistakes but micro mistakes. Once we get there
we will be in the right spot.”
Sophomore Alex Hyland used today to get better and
prepare for the upcoming season.
“We need to work on having more consistency,” Hyland
added. “When you compete you only have one chance. We need to have more repetition
to try and be as perfect as possible. I think we did really well as a whole
today. We put up a lot of routines on every event and it’s still really early
in the season.”
The Wildcats will kick off 2017 season with the Blue/White
scrimmage on Saturday, Dec. 10 at a time yet to be announced. The regular
season will begin on Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. when the Wildcats travel to
Eastern Michigan. Kentucky’s first home meet will take place on Friday, Jan. 20
at 7 p.m. when the Wildcats welcome SEC foe Auburn for Excite Night.
For complete news and
updates on the Kentucky Gymnastics program, go to UKathletics.com. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates and
more can be found on Twitter at @UKGymnastics and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKGymnastics.
