Stranded Gymnasts Get a Helping Hand

When a group of sightseeing gymnasts from Western Michigan University returned to their rental van Tuesday afternoon in Hollywood to discover that a thief had absconded with their money and plane tickets, they flipped.

“We didn’t know what to do,” said team member Dana Henkel, 19. “We stood around for about an hour.”

But the scoundrel who broke out the van’s windows to steal the tickets and $7,000 the girls had saved up for the trip only momentarily shattered the team’s dream of fun in the sun.

By Wednesday, Californians had rallied to help the stranded sportswomen, deluging coach Gary Ehrman with over 400 offers of food, money and shelter.

“It’s just overwhelming,” Ehrman said as the group prepared to leave the Hollywood Holiday Inn, which offered them free lodging, for a complimentary tour of Universal Studios.

“It’s amazing that the city came together to aid us.”

The 13 gymnasts who make up the Western Michigan Broncos Women’s Gymnastic Team stopped in Hollywood to try and spot a celebrity or two and instead found themselves thrust into the spotlight.

Ehrman seemed bewildered by the media attention and said that Angelenos seemed “embarrassed by this happening, since this is such a tourist town.”

Michael Kellerman, owner of Hollywood Fantasy Tours, called the theft “a slap in the face for the entire city of Los Angeles” and came to the hotel Wednesday to offer the group a free tour.

Ehrman declined Kellerman’s offer because the team won’t have time.

He also has been turning away offers of money donations because Western Michigan University has promised to pick up the tab for whatever the group needs.

Detective Pam Conrad of the Los Angeles Police Department said the group’s plane tickets were recovered early Wednesday morning. No arrests have been made.

Despite the stress of the theft and the resulting freebies, the group looked forward to the real reason for their trip--a gymnastic meet Friday against Cal State Fullerton.

“We are going to have to focus,” said team member Maria Ventura, 20. “Once we are in the gym we will be focused.”