Post by elp525 on Jan 14, 2011 8:58:45 GMT -5
Friday January 14, 2011
By Todd Murray
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
Jan. 14--TICKETS are $1. Hotdogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas are also $1.
Amy Bieski doesn't shy away from it.
She sometimes has concentration issues during her 13th-ranked WVU gymnastics team's matches. The congenial senior all-arounder has been known to wave at her young fans in the stands, pose for pictures and even sign an autograph or two between rotations.
"I get distracted very easily," she said, sheepishly.
Bieski will have to be on her concentration game at 7:30 p.m. today. There will be distractions aplenty, as the gymnasts share the Coliseum floor with the WVU wrestling team while both squads tangle with Michigan State.
It's WVU's first-ever Beauty and the Beast competition.
"I'm going to have to be focused," said Bieski, whose Mountaineers (1-0) knocked off then-No. 13 Missouri, 194.5-191.575, a week ago, in the Cancun Classic. "It's going to be hard. It's going to be challenging to both teams to stay focused and worry about yourself and not worry about what's going on around you."
The floor exercise mat -- in front of the visiting team's bench for basketball games -- and the wrestling mat -- in front of WVU's bench for basketball games -- will remain in the same position.
The vault -- on the baseline opposite the basketball benches -- is also in the same spot. However, the student section will not be pushed out. The bars and beam will be situated in that area.
Each gymnast will walk down through the stands, as she normally does, during introductions. She will be met at the bottom of the steps by a wrestler, who will be introduced and will escort her onto the floor.
The gymnastics teams will perform their first rotations before the wrestling match begins. The wrestlers are accustomed to competing in a darkened Coliseum, with a spotlight shining on the mat. Unless a coach or someone in the crowd yells, silence prevails.
As for the gymnasts?
"We're used to loud," WVU gymnastics coach Linda Burdette-Good said. "We're looking forward to it."
Music will blare out of the Coliseum loudspeakers during the floor exercise routines in gymnastics. Fortunately for the wrestlers, the noise aspect isn't expected to be a problem.
They work out to music -- "Bad music," WVU wrestling coach Craig Turnbull cracks -- every day at the WVU Wrestling Pavilion. The wrestlers are also used to distractions.
"We wrestle in so many different types of venues," said Turnbull, whose Mountaineers (4-3) are coming off an 18-15 upset of No. 8 Illinois this past Friday, in Champaign-Urbana. "You go to tournaments and there are matches going on beside you, and there's whistles in practice and we have music playing.
"I don't anticipate there is going to be an issue. It's such an individualized sport. When you're wrestling, you're not looking anywhere else. Maybe people on the bench are going to want to look over and see what the girls are doing. There is very little concern that I have that it's going to affect performance. Once you're in there, it's one-on-one and your match is on the line. Your attention isn't anywhere else, no matter what is going on around you."
Sixth-year senior wrestler Donnie Jones agreed.
"Most times during a match, whether you have crowd noises or not, you tend to zone in and focus on the task at hand," he said. "Whether there is cheering and music, you tend to keep your focus and do what you have to do.
"I think it's going to be good for the people that aren't on the mat at the time. Not only are they cheering for their individual teammates, but they're cheering for their fellow athletes with the gymnasts competing across the gym. It's going to be fun."
By Todd Murray
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
Jan. 14--TICKETS are $1. Hotdogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas are also $1.
Amy Bieski doesn't shy away from it.
She sometimes has concentration issues during her 13th-ranked WVU gymnastics team's matches. The congenial senior all-arounder has been known to wave at her young fans in the stands, pose for pictures and even sign an autograph or two between rotations.
"I get distracted very easily," she said, sheepishly.
Bieski will have to be on her concentration game at 7:30 p.m. today. There will be distractions aplenty, as the gymnasts share the Coliseum floor with the WVU wrestling team while both squads tangle with Michigan State.
It's WVU's first-ever Beauty and the Beast competition.
"I'm going to have to be focused," said Bieski, whose Mountaineers (1-0) knocked off then-No. 13 Missouri, 194.5-191.575, a week ago, in the Cancun Classic. "It's going to be hard. It's going to be challenging to both teams to stay focused and worry about yourself and not worry about what's going on around you."
The floor exercise mat -- in front of the visiting team's bench for basketball games -- and the wrestling mat -- in front of WVU's bench for basketball games -- will remain in the same position.
The vault -- on the baseline opposite the basketball benches -- is also in the same spot. However, the student section will not be pushed out. The bars and beam will be situated in that area.
Each gymnast will walk down through the stands, as she normally does, during introductions. She will be met at the bottom of the steps by a wrestler, who will be introduced and will escort her onto the floor.
The gymnastics teams will perform their first rotations before the wrestling match begins. The wrestlers are accustomed to competing in a darkened Coliseum, with a spotlight shining on the mat. Unless a coach or someone in the crowd yells, silence prevails.
As for the gymnasts?
"We're used to loud," WVU gymnastics coach Linda Burdette-Good said. "We're looking forward to it."
Music will blare out of the Coliseum loudspeakers during the floor exercise routines in gymnastics. Fortunately for the wrestlers, the noise aspect isn't expected to be a problem.
They work out to music -- "Bad music," WVU wrestling coach Craig Turnbull cracks -- every day at the WVU Wrestling Pavilion. The wrestlers are also used to distractions.
"We wrestle in so many different types of venues," said Turnbull, whose Mountaineers (4-3) are coming off an 18-15 upset of No. 8 Illinois this past Friday, in Champaign-Urbana. "You go to tournaments and there are matches going on beside you, and there's whistles in practice and we have music playing.
"I don't anticipate there is going to be an issue. It's such an individualized sport. When you're wrestling, you're not looking anywhere else. Maybe people on the bench are going to want to look over and see what the girls are doing. There is very little concern that I have that it's going to affect performance. Once you're in there, it's one-on-one and your match is on the line. Your attention isn't anywhere else, no matter what is going on around you."
Sixth-year senior wrestler Donnie Jones agreed.
"Most times during a match, whether you have crowd noises or not, you tend to zone in and focus on the task at hand," he said. "Whether there is cheering and music, you tend to keep your focus and do what you have to do.
"I think it's going to be good for the people that aren't on the mat at the time. Not only are they cheering for their individual teammates, but they're cheering for their fellow athletes with the gymnasts competing across the gym. It's going to be fun."
