US Open - Cleveland, OH - Tuesday, April 20th

We're only a few days from the opening round of the US Open in Cleveland, OH. I will be leaving River Falls early in the morning on Thursday, April 22nd. I'm the head women's coach for the New York Athletic Club. Last season, we won the team title, but didn't know until after the tournament because one of the champions tested positive for a banned substance, thrusting a NYAC athlete to the top and giving us a team.

This year, the NYAC women are laced with inuries. Two of our returning national champions will not compete due to injury (Adeline Gray and Jenna Pavlik) and another one of our athletes in on the fence and will make the decision on Friday morning if she'll compete. The rest of the line-up looks good on paper, however, the ladies will need to compete well to do what is expected of them. Our line-up is as follows:

48 kg - Mary Kelly
48 kg - Sara Fulp-Allen
48 kg - Victoria Anthony
51 kg - Katherine Fulp-Allen
51 kg - Amy Whitbeck
55 kg - Helen Maroulis
59 kg - Leigh Jaynes
63 kg - Veronica Carlson

I don't think we have enough depth to win the team title this year, especially without an athlete at 67 kg or 72 kg.

I'm sitting at my computer, reviewing results from 2009-10 and preparing for the seeding meeting. US Coach Terry Steiner will call a few coaches, including myself, this afternoon and togehter we'll seed the tournament. All participants are pre-registered, but the final seeds will be done after weigh-ins.

I'm getting anxious for the weekend. Regardless of how the NYAC women do, I'll get to spend a weekend watching the nation's best (men and women) and visiting my brother, among other things - like the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, perhaps.