Chancellor Robert Birgeneau lowered the boom on Cal's prestigious men's gymnastics program today by officially announcing the sport has been de-funded effective upon completion of the upcoming 2011 season. Birgeneau also gave the heave-ho to men's baseball, men's rugby, women's gymnastics and women's lacrosse. Yes, thanks to Title IX, the men had to be cut for quota purposes.
It's a sad day for Cal gymnastics, whose demise was [...more]
Sadly, this week we marked the passing of one amazing grandmother, who just happened to be a staunch supporter of the sport of gymnastics. Rita Jennings died on Monday, September 20 at the age of 70. Rita was wife to Sheldon, mother to Patsy, mother-in-law to Scott and grandmother to Jon and Nick Spiro. Jon and Nick, of course, are elite gymnasts who train at New Hope in Fountain Valley, CA. Rita was a Region I icon. She worked her charm, supporting Region I gymnastics for the past 32 years. As well as being Jon and Nick's grandmother, [...more]
Check out his birthday video. [...more]
ust a few weeks after an exciting 2010 VISA U.S. Men's Championships, six of our top gymnasts completed a successful competition in Guadalajara at the recent 2010 Pan American Games. Team USA, comprised of Glen Ishino, Jake Dalton, Wes Haagensen, Alex Buscaglia, Dylan Akers and Bryan Del Castillo, walloped Brazil, Canada and the rest [...more]
2010 was a break-out year for Jesse Silverstein in men's gymnastics, starting out the season with a 19th place AA finish and capturing the 5th best parallel bars score at Winter Cup. Then came his epic battle with Sam Mikulak at JO Nationals, where he placed a very close 2nd in the AA, took first on pommel horse and placed in the top 5 on the rest. Competing for the first time as a Senior, Silverstein cracked the top 10 (9th) in the AA at VISAs, and finished in 8th place on pommel horse, rings and vault. Yes, his arrival as one of America's top elite gymnasts is a [...more]