2003 SEASON
PREVIEW New Faces, Depth Key as Titans Head into 2003 Jan. 9, 2003 – Fullerton, Calif.
You’ll have to excuse Cal State Fullerton head coach Julie Knight
if she has her gymnasts wear name tags for the 2003 season.
Entering her fifth year at the helm of the women’s gymnastics program,
Knight will have the luxury of returning 10 gymnasts who helped the squad
reach the NCAA Regionals.
However, on the flip side, the roster is filled with new faces as 10 freshmen
will also vie for spots in the starting rotation on almost every apparatus.
“I’m very excited about this season,” Knight said. “We
lost five seniors, but only three of those really competed for us throughout
the season because of injuries to the other two.
“I have 10 new freshmen and I am very excited about them. The question
is how do you replace Joanna (Hughes), but the fact that I have so many
more people, we are much deeper this season. For instance, I don’t
have Joanna’s perfect “10” bar routine, but my six bar
routines are at a much higher level than we were last year.”
ALL-AROUND... AND AROUND, AND AROUND When you begin to break down the 2003 squad, you will have to start
with senior all-arounder Kelly Mathiasen.
The first Titan since Celeste Delia in 1994 to represent Cal State Fullerton
at the NCAA Tournament, Mathiasen will be key in the Titans’ hopes
of returning to regionals and advancing on to the NCAA’s.
Mathiasen competed in the all-around in all but one meet and finished
13th overall at NCAAs with a 39.025. In the meet at UCLA, which also featured
Minnesota and Michigan, Mathiasen set a career-high all-around score with
a 39.425 while averaging a 38.967 on the season.
Junior Sharon Snell competed all-around in three meets last season, averaging
38.175 and notching a season-best score of 38.500 at Arizona State.
VAULTING TO THE TOP Minus two of their top vaulters for most of the year with injuries,
the Titans had to rely on an ever-changing corps of athletes in numerous
meets with marginal success as the vault proved to be the weakest event
for Cal State Fullerton in 2002 (47.971 average).
“We don’t have Joanna Hughes’ 10.0 start value on vault,
but we have Kelly Mathiasen’s and Annette Reyes’ 9.9 starts
which helps and our 9.8 starts, which are the rest of the pack, makes
us a lot more consistent than we were last year.”
This season, the scores should see a dramatic upswing as the Titans return
three gymnasts with vaulting experience.
Mathiasen averaged 9.729 on the vault last season with a season-best 9.900
at UCLA. Senior Nicole Kasson vaulted in all but two meets last season,
averaging 9.398 and Snell vaulted in every meet she appeared, averaging
9.530.
MMMM... POWER BARS The second-best event average-wise for the Titans in 2002 (48.517)
will also be looking for athletes to step in and take hold this season
as Cal State Fullerton lost four bars specialists for the 2003 campaign.
“Because of our depth, we are much more consistent in this event,
but it will still be our most difficult event. However, thanks to the
depth that the incoming freshmen give us, we will still be stronger in
this event than we have been in years past.”
Mathiasen is the leader in the event with a 9.656 average while Snell
(9.625 average) will also be a staple in the line-up for the Titans in
2003. Senior Jamie Moody will compete for a spot in the rotation despite
posting just a 9.313 average, showing signs of brilliance with a 9.725
versus San Jose State and Sacramento State and a 9.875 at the conference
championships.
BALANCE IS THE KEY The Titans should be well-armed on the balance
beam this season as Cal State Fullerton returns a gaggle of specialists
on the apparatus.
“I am extremely excited about this event,” Knight said. “We
return our entire beam lineup from last year and we can add some freshmen
into the mix this year. We have a chance to be better in this event than
last year and we were good in this event last year.”
Senior Theresa O’Gara gave the outgoing seniors and fans a reason
to cheer in the regular season finale against Utah State, scoring the
school’s second-ever perfect 10 in a span of mere moments after teammate
Joanna Hughes notched the first-ever 10 on the bars.
O’Gara averaged a 9.598 on the beam last season, good for third on
the squad behind Mathiasen (9.779) and sophomore Kristen Parker, who averaged
a 9.696 after recovering from an knee injury to compete in six events.
Sophomore Kim Runciman will also battle for a spot, scoring 9.7 or above
in four meets last season including a pair of 9.825’s.
Kasson (9.458), Snell (9.196), sophomore Annette Reyes (9.372) and senior
Jennifer Halloran (9.533) will all compete for spots in the rotation.
FLOORING IT Traditionally the strongest event in the history of the program at
Cal State Fullerton, the floor exercise will again be the centerpiece
for the Titans in 2003, featuring numerous performances rich in dance
and ripe with difficulty.
“This is always our best event and I can’t even begin to tell
you why,” Knight said. “We’re always good on floor and
we recruit athletes in other areas and we somehow always end up still
good on floor. We always do a good job of training them and choreographing
them to make them look their best, and once again we have a fantastic
floor lineup.”
Mathiasen leads the charge after averaging a 9.819 in the event last season,
scoring above a 9.700 in every meet but one.
O’Gara averaged just a 9.573 on the floor, but scored 9.8 or higher
five different times, while teammate Kasson averaged 9.692 for the year
and scored above a 9.75 on six different occasions.
Junior Latoya Milburn (9.567), Reyes (9.433) and Snell (9.630) will bolster
the Titans’ line-up and all will compete for regular appearances
in the starting rotation.
THE CONFERENCE The Western Gymnastics Conference is only two years old, but carries
a lot of clout when considered on a national stage. A loose confederation
of schools without a traditional conference to compete in, the Western
Gymnastics Conference sent all four of its teams (Boise State, Cal State
Fullerton, Southern Utah and Utah State) to NCAA Regional competition
last year.
“We’ve put ourselves in a league where any one of the teams
can win or come in fourth on any given day,” Knight said. “It’s
a good battle where scores tend to be high.”
THE SCHEDULE Cal State Fullerton will once again hit the floor against a tough
slate of opponents, including 2002 NCAA participant UCLA and five other
teams which advanced to the NCAA Regionals (Utah State, Illinois-Chicago,
Boise State, Southern Utah and Washington).
“I like to go up against better schools because the scores are generally
higher and I think our team is strong enough to handle it,” Knight
said. “We are trying to break back into the top 25 and I don’t
mind putting us up against that kind of competition.”
