Finally. Finally. She [Strickland] finally broke the barrier. She was sick, and she's finally starting to feel better. She won bars at states last year and she could be right up there again this year.

At half time I knew we were up, but I had no idea how far we dropped before floor. It was huge. We had a pep talk; it was their first challenge of the season so they got pumped up more.

They have all stepped it up. Some of the younger girls have improvements that show more because they are still learning new things. The older girls have improved on the little things, like pointing toes. They're all competing hard.

Branford is a team that is trying to build. But we had some highlights. We had Alyssa back, and she had her highest (all around) of the season. And this was just coming back from pneumonia. Heather had a flyaway half and her first 9.0 of the season (on bars). And Emily's vault, it was the second time she's stood it up this season. We decided to rest Kim and go without her.

We had a lot of confidence coming in. I told them to treat it like a championship but to have fun.

It was a long meet because only one judge was there for the three teams. I was excited about the way the girls rallied on floor. They went out there and put their best foot forward.

Kim couldn't have done that routine better. She had a great week at practice and came in very confident.

Heather tried a more difficult first pass on floor. It's a big risk, and it could have a big payoff. Unfortunately she fell in the meet even though she nailed it in warm-ups. But its good, she needs to make a statement if she wants to make nationals.

This was a really fun meet, a competitive meet. All the girls on both teams really respect each other and that makes for a great atmosphere.