ALL-AROUND
It was clear from th e outset th at this yea r's AA competition would fea tur e the high est leve l ever in women 's co ll egiate gymna st ics, & the race for the title started ea rl y. Session I for spec iali sts and indi v idu al allaro und performers (those not in vo lved in team com petition) began at the irritati ngly ea rl y hour of 9 A.M. Thi s session featured many pleasa nt surprises howeve r, that more th an offset th e great inco nven ie nce of having to arise at 8 A.M. to view th e co mpetition . Cole DowalibY made it obvio us to everyone that she had co me to the meet to win. In a field that included no less than four gy mn as ts sco ring 36.00 or above, Cole was still th e class of th e co mpetition. A ve ry competent bar and compet i'tor, Cole ' s finest va ulting performances ca me on th e balance beam and floor exercise. Though always in co ntrol and co nfident, borne out by her remarkabl e consistency thi s year (including first place in every event in the eastern region als) it was Cole ' s see ming abandon , and her aggressiveness that gave her th e margin for victorY & made her the crowd favo rite as well. Combining near recklessness with sheer artistry Cole garnered a 36.50 that was to be the standard for the rest of th e day' s AA competition. Also of note in the Session I Competition were the very fine performances by Debbie Halle and Diane Sepke of Seatt le Pacific College and the U ni ve rsity of Illinois, Chicago Circle respectively. Ms. H alle, a very pretty and vivacious performer was th e hi gh light of th e beam competition , mov in g easily through a very difficu lt and exciting routin e to garner th e high es t score of the beam competi ti o n at 9.2. H er bars as well showed exce ll ent tec hniqu e and rh yt hm for a we ll deserved 9.0. Ms. Hall e end ed the competit ion in a tie with Dian e Sepke at a ve ry respec tibl e 36 .15 which was good enough for third place in the AA Competition. Rounding out Session I's fine allaround field were Sue Paul , a local favorite from nearby San Francisco State College who turned in a stro ng 36.10 p erfo rmance and eve ntual 5th place and Laurel Anderson, a tea mmate of Deb bi e Halle' s at Seattle Pacifi c who tied with Denise Didi er of SIU for 6th place at 36.00. With 36.50 the sco re to beat, se t so ea rl y in the competition , we had to wait nearly 8 hours for th e top seeded teams to begin th eir competition and perhaps cha ll enge Ms. Dowaliby ' s lead in the AA. The challenge finall y did come as everyone expected from M s. Karen Schuckman , who returning as th e defending AIAW AA Champion, was not go ing to go d.ow n easi ly. Once a teammate of Ms. Dowaliby under Muriel Grossfeld, Karen now trains under th e very capable eye of Jud y Avener at Pe nn State. Though Karen lost th e AA due to an unfortunate fall on the balance beam, she is truly a champion. To eac h routine Karen added an intellectual depth and a se nse of the sublim e that left none in doubt of her artisti c genius. Her techni ca l exec ution was c lear lY superior to anyone else in th e meet. H er understanding of basic swing is ve ry thorough and she blend s with it a fin e ability as dancer and c horeographer. Perh aps what is most impressi ve abo ut Karen Schuckman is that she doesn ' t appear to be merely a well train ed athlete. Thou gh her phYsical abiliti es are considerable , it is the impress io n one gets th at GYMNAST May '75
c0;'
1I..................Iii;;;~:c:
i" ". /I)
Photo by John M. Green
Photo by John M. Green
23