OCR Text |
Show I ., .• , ' .. , . ., to '' , TH.E lJNIVERSlTYJOURNAL • SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• MONDAY:, DECEMBER 1, 1997 · ::·· 0 I 'BIRD SPORTS - - - ll1I New gymnastics rules might help ladies soar By LONNIE EVERILL JOURNAL SPORTS WRJTER As the Lady 'Birds gymnastic squad prepares for the upcoming season, the team will ultimately have to deal with some new rules and regulations in NCAA gymnastics that will be put into effect at the start of the season. Every Olympiad year, the rules and regulations are modified in the world of gymnastics. This is in an attempt to push the sport to even higher levels of competition and to keep the level of excitement in the sport elevating. "There are several noticeable changes to the collegiate rules this year," said Elite Judge Cathy Bennion. "The new rules for the 1998-2002 cycle will probably impact the scores the most in the area of execution and composition of the routines." The element values have not changed a great deal, but the performance of the skills has more severe deductions associated with it. "Tums, twists and body positions must all be very precise to score well," Bennion continued. Although the judges will be scrutinizing most of the squads routines this year in the NCAA, the 'Birds should still fair well due to there intense preseason emphasis on perfection in their form, along with strength and conditioning that has been set up by Head Coach Scott Bauman. Along with the emphasis on the greater deductions associated with the performance of the skills this season, routines will start at a 9.5 . This means that, providing all specia l requirements arc met, a perfect routine would receive a 9.5 score. So how does a gymnast obtain the 10.0 score we all perceive as the perfect score? Through performing extra difficult D and E level m oves and difficult connections between moves to receive up to an additional .5 bonus allowing the scores to reach a 10.0. Also, this year the Women's Collegiate Program Committee has voted to allow round off entry vaults which have not been permissible in the collegiate program, but noted that a safety zone must be used each time they are performed. On bars , release moves have increased in value. "The trend is to do harder skills from low bar to high bar and vice a versa to pick up big bonus points," Bennion pointed out. On beam a routine that is overtime or undertime will now only receive a .l deduction instead of the .2 that was deducted in previous years. During the floor routines, tumbling skills must be performed in a certain order to receive the maximum possible bonus points. These new rule changes will ultimately make the season more difficult for the 'Birds and their competitors but, strangely, some of the new changes might help the SU reach new heights. The new requirements for the start values of the routines will allow the 'Birds to be able to start routines at full value, which in previous years was not possible and made it tough for any of the gymnasts to receive a perfect score. Looking ahead, the Lady 'Birds will begi n their season here in Cedar City against UC Santa Barbara, where both the gymnasts and coaches will get their first look at the new rules in action . "It depends on how the judges score it but I ~ think these new rules will help us," Bauman ~said. ~ The changes could be an important factor in ~ how the 'Birds will be judged this season with ~ SU competing in one of the toughest regions in f:i the country. SU finished the last season with a G193.200 regional qualifying score, but were ~ unable to qualify for th~ meet as the seventh and L - - -~.;..--"··.a: "' •==•~:;::=::::=~:c::::;::==:::;:'.l=:!::1Qfinal seed was given to Arizona which finish ed Kym Franklin, a sophomore from Indian Wells. Calif., made the season at a 194.106 score. With more a ma;or impact last season in her firs t year of competition for difficulty added in the judging, it could make or the 'Birds. break the ladies upcoming season. Mid-Con off and running now Men continue to struggle offensively (contin ued from page 16) early 12-2 lead, but the Utes shut down any chance at an upset in cruising to an easy 66-48 win over the 'Birds. The early run against the Utes looked to be one of the biggest runs in SU history, as the 'Birds were facing the 16th ranked team in the nation and maintained an 10point advantage. The lead was short-lived however, as the Utes came right back to take there own 10-point lead and had an easy time shutting down the 'Birds offensively. The 'Birds didn't give up at that point however, coming back to tie the game before the half. The Utes exploded in the closing minutes to maintain a 30-22 lead at intermission. The 'Birds opened up with another run in the second half to tie the game, then 'Pretty much went scoreless the rest of the game as the Utes had an 18-1 run that stopped the 'Birds cold. ln a 79-58 loss to Oklahoma State, SU also jumped out to a big lead early, as the Cowboys scored just seven points in the first 10 minutes and trailed the 'Birds by eight. The final 10 minutes of the half belonged to the Cowboys however, as the 'Birds were outscored 26-10. "We didn't take care of the ball," said Evans. "It's a matter of being tough and making good decisions. We had opportunities and didn't take them." The second half was more of the same, with the Cowboys pressuring the ' Birds and controlling the tempo through most of the second half. "We took a little step back tonight-and we can't do that, " Evans continued. Tonight's game against UTEP begins at 7:05 p.m . and can be heard on KBRE-FM (94.9). For those that feel the men's basketball l-4 start this season does not give a bright outlook to the future of the 'Birds first season in the Mid Con, there is still some hope. Some of the teams in the conference are going through some of the same struggles when it comes to losing, namely the league's top team. Valparaiso, the team picked to win its fourth conference title th.is year, hasn't jumped off to a very good start either, losing three of its first four games. They have made a very good showing however, going up against top-ranked teams and coming very close to pulling off a win. The Crusaders lost their first contest to Bethel College, which was the NAIA Division II National Champions last season. In that game, turnovers and poor foul shooting were the key in Valpo's 8575 loss, as the Crusaders were 0-9 from the charity stripe in the second half. Bethel used a 13-2 run in the final minutes to steal the win from the Crusaders. Things didn't get any easier in the following game for Valpo, facing top-ranked Purdue at home and suffering a big 56-73 loss to the Boilermakers. Once again several turnovers cost the Crusaders allowing the Boilermakers to maintain a substantial lead. However, a last minute comeback by the Crusaders pulled them within seven points before Purdue finally shut them down for a 17-point win. The Crusaders picked up their first win of the year in a 70-58 win over the University of Montana. The Grizzlies led at the half, but Valpo outscored Montana 42-24 in the second half as they were led by Bryce Drew who scored 23 points. Saturday, the Crusaders drought continued against Stanford as the 15th ranked Cardinals shut down a furious Valpo comeback in a 70-65 win at the Big Island Invitational in Hawaii. Drew hit four threepointers in the fourth quarter to narrow the lead to just two points, but Stanford went on a 14-0 run that shut down any chance at a Valpo win. The Crusaders are now 1...3, but have yet to play a game in the conference. In other Mid-Con action Buffalo, a team the 'Birds lost to in the home opener, is currently first in the league with a 1-0 record in conference play. The Bulls lost their second game on the road against Seton Hall 83-75, but then rebounded with a win at home over Cornell, 71-65. Rasaun led all scorers with 21-points. Buffalo is picked to finish third in the conference, right behind Oral Roberts which is probably the best team in the conference right now with a 3-0 record to start the season. The Golden Eagles extended their home winning streak to 22 games, with help from Mid-Con player of the week, Tim Gill. Gill is leading the league in scoring with an average of 24 points a game, including a career-high 32-points against Montana on Nov. 18. The next conference game for the 'Birds will be with Oral Roberts when the Golden Eagles come to Cedar City this Saturday. The Eagles lead the series 5-0, and beat the 'Birds three times last season before the teams joined the league. Mid-Con Notes: Four players in the Mid-Con have scored more than 1,000 points in their careers, including Valparaiso's Drew and Oral Roberts Gill. Rasaun Young and Mike Martinho from Buffalo have also scored over 1,000 points . ... Young, who scored 25 points against the ' Birds, is currently second in the league in scoring with a 22.5 average. ...Statistically, the 'Birds do not have leaders in a ny category, but Kenyatta Clyde is 16th in the league in scoring averaging at 12.3 points a game. |