A quarter of the way through the season and the No. 16 University of Kentucky gymnastics squad is off to a 4-0 start, including its first SEC dual meet victory in over four years. Senior Staci O’Keefe lends us some time to answer a couple questions about this year’s team and the sport.
Having started the season 4-0, including a win against No. 9 Auburn, what type of things can the team do to continue to improve?
O’Keefe – “I believe that with every meet our team is getting stronger and more confident, but there is always room for improvement. Our team sets goals each week that will help us improve. I think this helps because we focus on the little corrections instead of just trying to win or get a certain score. Our team is really supportive and we feed off of each other. Everyone is on the same page of trying to improve on our performances each week and it really helps us focus on one meet at a time. We focus on the meet we have for that week and that is all. We try not to focus on previous meets.”
Describe the atmosphere of Excite Nite. What did it mean to you and what do you think it meant to the fans and the gymnastics program as a whole?
“Being a senior on the team this was by far the most memorable Excite Nite! It was amazing and the crowd was fantastic. It was awesome to be on the competition floor and look up and not see an empty seat in the house. We really work hard in the gym and want our fans to see how far we have come. Being able to do well in front of a sell out crowd was awesome! I think it was a really great experience for the fans as well. Excite Nite was a big night for the program as well because now that we have sold out, every team after this is going to have to try and top 2006 Excite Nite. It has been really special to see how far the program has come since my freshman year. I feel the team is going to continue to get more and more support from the community and improve.”
After this weekend’s meet against No. 24 North Carolina, the Cats go up against the SEC’s finest with consecutive meets vs. No. 3 Alabama, No. 11 LSU and No. 5 Florida. What types of things help you and the team prepare for such tough competition?
“These types of meets where we go up against not only the toughest in the SEC but in the nation as well gives us a chance to see how good we really are. We prepare for these meets the same as every other meet; we will focus on ourselves and not the team we are going against. Focusing on our team is what works and what we try to do for every single meet no matter who we are competing against. If we do what we are capable of, we can give any team a run for their money. There have been several instances where we have been right with some of the top teams in the nation and have let it slip away, but this team has been fighting for everything this year. This team has been through a lot and we know how strong we are and what we can do with our talent. This team has the determination and desire to accomplish our goals. I’m really excited to see how far we can take it!”
For those of us who don’t know much about the sport of gymnastics, give some reasons to come out and see a meet at Memorial Coliseum.
“Gymnastics is a lot of fun to watch even for those who don’t really know much about the sport. It is entertaining for everyone from young to old. We encourage the crowd to get into the meets and cheer loud and help us keep our energy up. It is a lot of fun to look up and see the fans standing and cheering along with us. We are family and have a lot of fun when we are competing and love to have the fans there to support and cheer us on. We have had several people come and tell us how they didn’t know gymnastics meets could be so much fun, and tell us that after one meet they have become addicted. Gymnastics is an entertaining sport and fans that come out to see us will have a ton of fun.”
