Junior Marijka Botterman

March 27, 2008

Get behind the scenes of Illinois Gymnastics with Illini Ink - the weekly women's gymnastics journal. In this week's edition, junior Marijka Botterman talks about spring break, the State of Illinois Classic, and this weekend's Big Ten Championships.

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Hey Illini Fans!

After our victory over the UIC Flames in Chicago we headed back into the gym to get ready for our state meet. This last week was especially good for all of us, it was our spring break. The dorms were closed so all the underclassmen got to get a little taste of apartment life with the upperclassmen. With our extra time not spent at the gym, most of us spent it shopping at the mall and watching Gilmore Girls episodes. Spring break also gave us a chance to take a little break from our academics and focus more on our gymnastics.

We ended up with another victory over Northern Illinois University, Illinois State University and UIC on Easter weekend. Although we walked away with win, as a team we did not perform as well as we should have. We ran into some trouble on beam but picked it back up when we finished on floor. After the meet was over, most of the girls were able to make it home to celebrate the holiday with their families on Sunday.

This past week at practice has been the most crucial for our gymnastics. Big Ten Championships are this Saturday at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Every meet this season has been practice for our team to shine this weekend at Big Ten's. We've pushed ourselves and each other all year for these last few meets. We owe it to our seniors, Michelle and Krystal, to go out with a bang. We've ran into other Big Ten teams all season but this is a great time when we get to see all of our friends from other schools. There will be about a three hour gap this weekend when they won't be our friends, but our competition.

We are also looking forward to the banquet that takes place every year the night before the Big Ten competition. All the girls get dressed up for dinner and the top athletes are recognized for First and Second Team All-Big Ten. The seniors will also be recognized for their time spent as collegiate gymnasts.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone wishes us the best of luck this weekend!

Marijka