NCAA Gymnastics National Championships

Olympic gymnast Samantha Peszek started college at UCLA this fall. She's blogging about the experience for Jack and Jill!

Dear Readers!

I am so excited to tell you all about my first NCAA National Championship weekend! I was kind of sad when it was over, because it was such a blast competing with my team and seeing all of my friends that go to different schools!

We traveled all day to get to Cleveland, Ohio. I was happy it was in Ohio because I knew a bunch of my friends and family from Indiana could come and watch. My UCLA team and I attended the banquet, which was held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! It was so neat! We also played lots of team bonding games at night to get our competitive juices flowing. After winding down with some schoolwork, I was ready for the big meet!

It was finally the day our team had been working for the entire season, SUPER SIX! This is when the best six gymnastics teams from around the country compete for the national championship title. It was a good competition, and unfortunately for us, the University of Alabama was the better team that night. Of course, I wanted my team to win, but we put up a good fight and had come so far since the beginning of season. We battled injuries and dealt with other obstacles, but we never gave up, and everyone on our team was proud of our accomplishment in the end! We were a true team and a team full of heart and fire! You can believe we will be back again next year with even more passion!

The next day was individual event finals, and I added an extra skill that is very difficult to my balance beam routine. I knew it was a risky choice, but an exciting one I was willing to take! I like surprising the audience and adding that unique flare to my routine that makes people want to come back and watch more. I love performing! I ended up becoming the national beam champion that day and I couldn’t feel more honored to take on such a special title as a freshman! I knew all my hard work had paid off, which was a really fulfilling feeling for me!

That’s it for now! Thanks for reading! =)

xoxo,

Sam

Previous posts from Samantha’s Blog:
College Life Picks Up Speed
The Beginning of Fall Quarter
A New Start at UCLA