Melissa Arms

I think it was a real advantage having tough judges tonight because we're heading into the states. The girls had read more

I think it was a real advantage having tough judges tonight because we're heading into the states. The girls had to earn every tenth they got... there were no gifts out there tonight.

Finally. Finally. She [Strickland] finally broke the barrier. She was sick, and she's finally starting to feel better. She won read more

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.

Branford is a team that is trying to build. But we had some highlights. We had Alyssa back, and she read more

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 great time on the floor, though we had a few bobbles. We were so relaxed. By that read more

We had a great time on the floor, though we had a few bobbles. We were so relaxed. By that time, we knew we had it won.

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

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