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Last Week in College Gym: December 7

There’s a lot that happens on the gymternet each week. So much so that it can be hard to keep track of it all. From training updates and COVID news to recruiting rumors and coaching announcements, we don’t blame you for missing some important points here and there.

But that’s where we come in. Last Week in College Gym is your one-stop shop for all the important headlines from the previous week in college gymnastics. No matter if you’re taking a social media break, went on vacation or just don’t have the capacity to follow every single gymnast, team and fan, we have you covered.

Newsworthy Items

  • UC Davis announced that former Oregon State standout Kaytianna (McMillan) Kell has joined its coaching staff. Kell most recently served as an assistant coach at Seattle Pacific. 
  • Former UCLA gymnast and current MLB Player-Agent Rachel Luba was named to Forbes Top 30 Under 30 list.

Training Updates

  • Training has been delayed for Stanford, as the county the school is in has prohibited athletic activities unless they are able to train outdoors, wear masks, and stay six feet apart at all times. This is effective until December 21, 2020.
  • San Jose State has also been affected by Santa Clara’s latest measures in response to growing COVID numbers. The Spartans posted a video of a recent outdoor, socially distant training session. 
  • California sophomore Nevaeh DeSouza is working on a new, front aerial connected to two back handsprings, combination on beam. Junior Abigail Solari was also seen training a double Arabian on floor.
  • Utah treated us to some footage of their Thanksgiving intrasquad last week. Freshman Lucy Stanhope was a highlight, showing off a Yurchenko one and a half on vault, Bhardwaj on bars, full-twisting back handspring to back handspring combo on beam, as well as a full-in on floor. Sophomore injury returner Jaedyn Rucker was also seen training vault, bars, and floor.
  • Iowa State bars standout Jade Vella-Wright — who was notably absent from the team’s Halloween intrasquad — was spotted training her signature event on the Cyclones’ Instagram account. 
  • Northern Illinois sophomore Natalie Hamp was shown training a blind full to double layout dismount on bars on the team Instagram Story this week. That is a rare combination we don’t see very often!

READ THIS NEXT: How Smaller-Budget Gymnastics Teams Are Safeguarding Against COVID-19


Article by the editors of College Gym News

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2 comments

  1. I have only followed NCAA for a few but was interested in Rachel Luba. From what I could find she was only on the roster for a year. Am I not searching well or did she have a longer career?

    1. Many UCLA gymnasts, especially walk-ons, don’t remain on the roster all four years for a variety of reasons. It’s not out of the ordinary that she was only on the team one season.

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