The Big 10 Championships-Everything you need to know!

University of Michigan

Who:                                               Home                               Away                    <--- Season Bests
Michigan                                         197.375                            197.550
Michigan State                                 195.600                           196.000
Penn State                                       196.975                           196.700
Nebraska                                        197.675                           197.625
Illinois                                             196.300                           196.350
Iowa                                               195.875                           195.875
Ohio State                                      196.875                           195.575
Minnesota                                       197.225                           197.175

Some specific names to watch:  (Click name for a video)
Joanna Sampson- Michigan
Katie Zurales-Michigan
Alina Weinstein-Illinois
Amber See-Illinois
Sharaya Musser- Penn State
Jessie Deziel- Nebraska
Emily Wong- Nebraska
Lindsay Mable- Minnesota

What:
The Big 10 Championships

Where: 

• Jenison Field House, East Lansing Michigan (Michigan State) 
• Live on the Big 10 Network
• Live tweets on our twitter

When: 

Saturday, March 23 

The meet is divided into two sessions based on each teams season ending regional qualifying score. All the teams ranked 5-8 will compete at 1pm ET and the teams ranked 1-4 will compete at 6pm ET.

1pm ET                 RQS
5. Illinois               196.092
6. Iowa                 195.800
7. Ohio State        195.675
8. Michigan State  194.605

6pm ET

1. Michigan          197.175
2. Nebraska         196.830
3. Minnesota        196.330
4. Penn State       196.325

Why: 

This competition will bring together all the schools in the Big 10 conference to determine which team is the best among the field. Although Big 10 isn't one of the major conferences in women's gymnastics, it is definitely worth watching. Michigan has been ranked in the top 3 (or higher) nationally all season, while Nebraska has been in the top 10. It also includes teams that are on the rise like Penn State, Illinois, and Minnesota who have all recorded some of their highest scores ever this season. Minnesota has been a big surprise this season and started the season ranked 13th. They have climbed their way up to as high as 11th nationally. As you could see above, Michigan, Nebraska, and Minnesota are the only teams to score 197+ on the road this season and I think those three teams will be the one's fighting for the title, although I think that if Michigan does what they have been doing all season, taking this title shouldn't be a hard task. Minnesota was the only team that beat Michigan this entire season, which is why they end the regular season sharing the "regular season Big 10 title" with Michigan.

University of Minnesota 

10 Questions with Emily Gaskins

Meet Cincinnati Gymnastics's newest elite; Emily Gaskins. She's a 7th grader from Coral Springs, Florida who recently moved to CGA to train with Mary Lee Tracy. Emily is the level 9 Eastern Champion as well as the bronze medalist from the 2012 Nadia Commenci Invitational. Emily just began competing level 10 this year and has already qualified to junior elite! We caught up with Emily to talk about her future plans and training at CGA!

Triple Twist: You recently competed in the Nastia Liukin Cup, what was that experience like?

Emily: "It was an amazing experience, just being able to meet Nastia and compete with cameras and on podium, it was the best feeling ever."

Triple Twist: You also recently qualified to junior elite, what are some of your goals as an elite gymnast?

Emily: "Some of my goals as an elite are to make the US National team and hopefully the 2016 Olympics."

Triple Twist: You have two older sisters who do sports at the University of Florida, they also have an amazing gymnastics team, have you thought about competing there one day?

Emily: "It would be so cool to be a gator gymnast! I've always wanted to be and would love to do that someday."

Triple Twist: What is it like training at CGA? Is Mary Lee a tough coach?

Emily: "I absolutely love training at CGA! Yes, Mary Lee is a tough coach, but I like that she is because she will get you to where you want to go. I also do better with tough coaches because I learn how much I love the sport everyday."

Triple Twist: Who is your role model in gymnastics?

Emily: "I would say that my role model is Courtney McCool because she had beautiful skills and flawless routines. She is also one of my coaches, and she is an amazing coach with Mary Lee."

Triple Twist: What are some of your strongest and weakest qualities when it comes to gymnastics?

Emily: "I think my strongest quality is that I can go for a lot of things, even if I'm scared. My weakest quality is that I want my routines to be perfect every time and that's almost impossible to do, so I need to know that it won't always be perfect."

Triple Twist: What would you say is your favorite and least favorite event?

Emily: "My favorite events are beam and vault. I don't really have a least favorite event because I like them all!"

Triple Twist: Gymnastike recently did a documentary on your gym, have you seen it and do you think it correctly portrays what goes on in the gym every day?

Emily: "Yes, I've seen it and I do think that it correctly portrays my gym."

Triple Twist: What would you say has been your proudest moment in gymnastics so far?

Emily: "My proudest moment in gymnastics so far would be making international elite at the ranch and getting the overall highest score out of everyone who qualified."

Triple Twist: What's the best advice you've been given?

Emily: "I have the talent to go to the Olympics and that people believe in me, so no matter what happens they will always be proud of me."

                                 
                                  Highlights from the 2012 Sand Dollar Invite  featuring Emily.
                >

Dominique Pegg...What's next?

Photo Credit: Unknown

She was a star in the world of Canadian gymnastics and perhaps even one of the best in the world. An elite gymnast since 2007, it really wasn't until 2010 when Dominique Pegg burst onto the international scene at the American Cup; winning the hearts of many fans around the world. Dominique went on to do many great things in gymnastics, like competing at the 2011 World Championships (placing 11th with the Canadian team), taking 2nd all around at the 2012 Canadian National Championships, and of course the 2012 Olympic Games where she helped the Canadian team place 5th, a feat that has never been done before! Dominique also placed 17th in the all around competition. Coming off the high of making history at the Olympics, the excitement didn't end there for Dominique! Always a huge fan of Justin Bieber, Dominique spent years trying to be noticed by him on Twitter. Now an Olympian, she finally got her wish!

Although her gymnastics days are far from over, the 19 year old from Ontario is ready to wrap up her days as an elite gymnast in Canada. While teaching at a dance studio in her down time, Pegg is still training for the National Championships in April which will be her last competition for Canada.  "I'm still training...training hard and probably going to compete at the nationals coming up in April." Pegg told the Chatham news.  It's kind of a sendoff, kind of a retirement. I'm going to compete just for fun, say goodbye to everyone." Regardless of how the competition goes, Pegg knows that she is done. "It's a short lived sport, you hit your peak around 18. Some girls, depending on their body type, can go longer." Luckily for Dominique's fans, she does plan to compete in college gymnastics next season and is finishing up her paperwork with the University of Alabama

          .

It was such a pleasure to watch Dominique light up the stage as one of Canada's top gymnasts, and we are super excited to see what NCAA gymnastics has in store for her.

The story of Llomincia Hall's floor routine

In the world of NCAA gymnastics, there has been a lot of buzz about the LSU sophomore Llomincia Hall and her up-beat and high-energy floor routine. Every time I watch her perform, it puts a smile on my face and gives me chills because you can tell that she is truly enjoying every second of it. Even at away meets, everyone can't help but smile and enjoy watching her routine because it's one of the most entertaining pieces currently being performed in the NCAA. Even though some people have been critical about her choreography and whether or not it's "artistic", I think it's fair to say that most people really do enjoy this routine and the passion she puts into it every single time. It's very entertaining and I would absolutely kill to watch this performance live due to the energy and excitement it creates. I would love to see Mincy take the floor title at NCAA's this year. If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check it out below.

         

So what's the story behind the routine? Llomincia says it's all about religion. "My inspiration for the choreography was Christ. I begin my floor routine by putting both hands up to Christ to say without him it would not be possible for me to even be out on the floor." Her music is from a very popular African American gospel group whom Mincy thinks has an inspiring message. "I love their inspiration, I love their message, and that's what I want to represent to the world. I'm all about Christ and Christ is the main reason that I am here." she says. As far as the dancing goes, Mincy knows she's not a ballerina. "It's not classical, but if anybody knows Llomincia Hall, you know that I'm not classical. I didn't get to where I am by doing ballet, therefore I do what I can do and what god has led me to do, and I represent it the best I can." Llomincia has even caught the attention of actress Whoopi Goldberg who shared a link to Mincy's routine on her facebook page and wrote "I thought this girl was AMAZING!" Former LSU star Ashley Claire-Kearney choreographed Mincy's routine and says "People either love that routine or they hate it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm perfectly fine with that, so is Llominica. I know people think that gymnastics should be about ballet and artistry-and it absolutely is, but artistry doesn't necessarily mean ballet, and this isn't ballet, this is gymnastics."

Photo Credit: Morgan Searles

Source: GymShark