 Susan Buffington |
Seniors Beth Coleman and Susan Buffington take center stage on Friday, March 9, for the University of Kentucky gymnastics teams senior night festivities as they say goodbye to the home crowd. The GymKats will face Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Pittsburgh in the final home meet of the 2001 season at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.
These two young women who have made a solid impact on the UK program have each taken different, yet equally important paths to get to this special day, one on the mats and one on the sidelines.
Coleman came to the Bluegrass from the Chicago area in 1998. Her choice of Kentucky was not a difficult one as she considered a number of factors. Other schools had one or another of the characteristics she was looking for in a college, but only Kentucky provided her with all the ingredients for which she was searching.
For Buffington, a Jonesboro, Ga., native, UK was the only school she really considered. She was friends with UK gymnast Shawnte Hall, who told Buffington about the program. One visit was all it took for her to decide on UK.
“Kentucky was the only school I visited,” Buffington said. “When I got here, I just knew this was the place for me.”
And it has been a good place for them both.
 Beth Coleman |
Coleman got into gymnastics at the age of six, when she started taking classes to follow in her older sisters footsteps, but that was not where she started.
“My first classes were in ballet,” Coleman said. “But I was kicked out of ballet because all I wanted to do were cartwheels.”
She started competing at the age of nine but stopped for a year at 11. After picking it back up Coleman took it more seriously and came to the realization that this could be the sport for her.
As a freshman at UK, Coleman had a solid season entering the all-around lineup at the Nebraska Invitational, while recording a career-high 9.900 on the vault against Florida. In 1999, she had to fight off an injury in preseason and, after missing much of the season, went on to establish career-highs on the floor, bars and all-around.
After competing in the first seven meets of 2000, Coleman sat out the remainder of the season with a case of mononucleosis. However, in her senior season, she has shined. Competing for the GymKats on vault and floor, Coleman has positioned herself second on the team in both events. She has recorded three consecutive scores of 9.825 or better on the vault and tallied a career-high 9.850 on the floor against Illinois in February.
“This has been a great experience,” Coleman said. “When I was young I never really had any intentions of going to college. I just wanted to compete. When I was about 15 I realized I could compete well, and that opened the door for what I have done the last four years. I am very happy with my choice and can look back at my time here with no regrets.”
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“Beth has seen adversity,” assistant coach Mo Muhammad said, “and despite that has shown that she can be a motivator and a team leader in the good times and the bad. She has been an integral part of this program for four years.”
Buffington, on the other hand, has not competed nearly as much as Coleman. As a matter of fact, her UK career consisted of exactly two meets. She did not have the best start since she had four surgeries in high school alone. As a freshman she had an ankle injury, and then by the time she graduated, she had had three surgeries on her left knee.
As an incoming freshman, Buffington was ready to begin what she and the coaches thought would be a wonderful collegiate career, but during her physical examination, another tear in the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee was detected, requiring another operation. After more rehab, she was again ready to perform, but after two meets her knee just was not as strong as it should be and the decision was made to end her competitive career.
“In the back of my mind, I knew I probably couldnt continue,” Buffington said, “but the coaches were the ones who convinced me that I should stop competing. They said that it was more important for me to be able to walk when I am 25 rather than continue to compete.”
Instead of competing, she has served as the teams manager. Her duties include handling music for the GymKats floor routines, organizing equipment for home and away meets, and videotaping of all meets.
“It means so much to me that I can still be a part of this program,” Buffington said. “I worked hard my whole life to be a part of a college team, and even though I cant physically compete, I still feel like Im a member of the team.”
“Susan brings so much to our program,” Coach Leah Little said. “She suffered a career-ending knee injury but wanted to stay with the program. She helps out in all aspects of the program and is such a positive person to be around day-in and day-out. Coach Mo added, “What would we do without her? A day without Bûff is like a day without sunshine.”
Both gymnasts give credit to great coaching and wonderful teammates in helping them make it to this day. It has been a rough road at times, but they are stronger because of their experiences.
“One thing I have learned while at UK is to go out and do my best no matter what happens,” Coleman said. “It is important to have a team like we have to be behind you and help you through those tough times.”
Added Buffington, “It has been hard for me to not get to compete, but it is important to not give up no matter what you try to do, and it is okay to rely on others. This team has really helped me through it all. Most importantly, you need to be happy in whatever you do.
