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PIONEERS THINKING PINK THIS WEEKEND AT OU AND HOME TO IOWA
DENTON, Texas (February 27) – The TWU gymnastics team will be leaping, spinning and twisting for a cause this weekend as they participate in two dual meets focused on raising awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
On Friday, February 29, at 7:00 p.m., the #35 Pioneers will travel to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the sixth-ranked and undefeated University of Oklahoma team in the Sooners’ first-ever “Flip for a Cure” event. Both TWU and OU will wear pink leotards for the meet and fans coming to the meet are asked to don their pink as well.
On Sunday, March 2, at 2:00 p.m., TWU will return to Kitty Magee Arena to host #23 Iowa in the Pioneers’ annual “Think Pink” meet. The TWU and Iowa gymnasts will be wearing pink leotards for this competition. The Pioneers’ coaching staff and meet operation staff will also be wearing pink. All fans that wear pink to the meet can receive a free popcorn at the TWU concession stand. For every score of 9.70 or higher earned by either a TWU or Iowa gymnast, a pink ribbon will be hung in the arena. At the conclusion of the meet, fans will be asked to donate $1 for every ribbon hanging. All of the money collected will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. At their standard post-meet autograph session, the Pioneer gymnasts will be signing commemorative “Think Pink” posters (pictured).
An inspirational storyline associated with Sunday afternoon’s meet will be the presence of Iowa’s assistant coach, Talya Vexler. From 1999-2002, Vexler was a member of the nationally acclaimed University of Georgia gymnastics team. In 2000 and 2002, she won the NCAA regional floor exercise championship and earned NCAA All-American honors. She also helped the GymDawgs to four Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles and the 1999 NCAA National Championship. Vexler’s life changed dramatically in February 2003, when, after graduating from Georgia with her Bachelor’s degree in business administration, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent 16 weeks of chemotherapy treatment and beat the disease.
After winning her fight against the dehabilitating disease, Vexler and Georgia head gymnastics coach Suzanne Yoculan worked together to host “Think Pink” meets at UGA to raise money and awareness in the fight against breast cancer. Their efforts were wildly successful as they generated more than $100,000 in donations to the Athens ( Georgia) Regional Breast Health Center.
“Talya and Coach Yoculan started the whole “Think Pink” initiative in college gymnastics,” said TWU head coach Frank Kudlac. “They raised a ton of money for breast cancer research, and, in doing so, set an example of how gymnastics programs across the country could step up and do their part as well. It is going to be an honor to have Talya at TWU for this Sunday’s competition.”
The “Think Pink” meet will also be TWU Gymnastics Camper Appreciation Day and High School Gymnast Appreciation Day. All 2007 TWU Gymnastics campers will be admitted free of charge and all high school gymnasts will be admitted for just 10 cents.
“I’m fired up about this weekend,” said an excited Kudlac. “Our gymnasts will get to match up against two of the best teams in the country and help bring attention to a very worthwhile endeavor (breast cancer). It should be a lot of fun for our team, our coaches, and our fans.”
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