Sharks Weekly Review: Women’s Acrobatics and Tumbling

HONOLULU — For the first time live and in-person during the new year at the DSE Hawai’i E-Sports Arena in the Aloha Tower Marketplace, Sharks Weekly returned with new host Jeff Rich, VP of marketing and communications at Hawai’i Pacific University, talking to the HPU acrobatics and tumbling team. 

Rich was joined on a new day, with Sharks Weekly taking place on Wednesday mornings at 9:00 AM going forward, by HPU Acrobatics coach Peyton Smith, senior Arianne Grevesen and first-year student Breanna Corral-Vargas.

The conversation begins with some background on how collegiate acrobatics and tumbling came to be, how many schools currently carry it as a varsity sport and how it provides more opportunities to women to compete in collegiate athletics despite having experience in sports other than acrobatics.  

Rich then brings in the players, as Grevesen introduced herself to listeners by providing her background of sports before college. Corral-Vargas repeated the exercise, then discussed her academic goals for the future. 

The conversation shifts back to Smith and the head coach’s background, coming from the East Coast to Hawai’i and her work as an assistant coach and now a head coach. Grevesen and Corral-Vargas then discuss the trials and tribulations that come from being a student-athlete at the college level.   

Going into the second segment, the crew shifted the discussion to their journeys to the island and HPU specifically, with Grevesen coming all the way from New Jersey and Corral-Vargas coming from California.  

Grevesen talked about her attraction to the island and what she has loved during her time in Hawai’i. Corral-Vargas explained the importance of sports in her college decision and how she has adapted in her first year on the island. 

The crew then answers a few questions outside of sports, as coach Smith talked about what she would do with her time if she were independently wealthy. Corral-Smith showed her musical taste, talking about her go-to karaoke song. 

Grevesen’s chosen question of “favorite sandwich” was one that required an answer from everyone and a pair of segments to contain the complexity of the answers. 

The senior defended her hometown state of New Jersey’s niche sandwich, as Corral-Vargas went with an all-time classic and Smith went with her own choice. Rich joined in on the fun at the end, sharing his favorite sandwich before turning the conversation to how the team focuses on nutrition. 

The trio continues the third segment with each guest answering about their dream place to go live for a period of time. The answers, all strong, did go all over the world.  

The schedule for acrobatics came up next, when Smith talked about how the Sharks compete against some of the top programs in the country before heading into the show’s final segment. 

The final conversations of the day ranged over the expectations and schedule coming up for this season and this acrobatics team, along with where the eyes of the Sharks are in terms of competing and program-building. 

The show closed with the guests answering one last easy-going question, the imaginary friend from history that each would choose. The answers ranged from geniuses to heroes, all of which inspiring in their own rights.

You can catch Sharks Weekly every Wednesday at 9:00 AM HST on HSRN 95.1 FM/760 AM, at hawaiisportsradio.com or in our podcenter following the completion of the show.