Feb. 21, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky gymnastics team took advantage of its most recent road trip to Athens, Ga., as members of the team and coaching staff visited 100-year old Lois Frazar, who is a Kentucky alum and was a member of the UK tumbling team back in the late 1920s.
Frazar, who was a member of the squad in 1929-30, now resides in a retirement home in Athens. When UK head coach Tim Garrison heard that she wanted to meet this year’s team, he thought it would be a perfect way for Kentucky to spend part of their weekend.
“We feel it is really important for our student-athletes to get out of the gym and interact with those that have helped make this great university what it is today,” said Garrison, who is in his first season with the Wildcats. “Lois was a fantastic person, who you could tell had a passion for Kentucky and what she was able to accomplish while she was here. She was witty and fun for all of us to be around and I hope that our visit brought some joy to her day. We wish her the absolute best and appreciate that she gave us the chance to get to know her.”
The invitation to go see Lois was not mandatory. However, the entire team went along to see one of the pillars of the program. Senior co-captain Whitney Rose and sophomore Kayla Sienkowski both enjoyed their visit to see Lois.
“It was really neat to be able to meet Lois and hear about her life,” Rose said. “We got to see her accomplishments and celebrate someone who has seen so much. She told us she was a flyer back then, which was more like what our cheerleading team does today. But she also told us she earned her master’s degree during that time, which had to be an awesome accomplish for a woman back in those days. It was just a great day.”
“It was so fun to be able to meet someone who was on the UK gymnastics team years before we were,” Sienkowski said. “Lois was so full of life and was excited to show us all of her pictures while she was on the team. It is important for us to reach out and do things like this because we can make a difference. We helped her to have an amazing day by going to see her.”
Kentucky will return to the gym Friday when it hosts Auburn and Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum. The meet will serve as Kentucky’s annual “Pink Meet” where fans can receive $1 admission if you wear pink to the meet. All ticket proceeds benefit breast cancer research, education, and treatment at the Markey Cancer Center. Pink Meet t-shirts will also on sale for $10 with proceeds benefitting the Markey Cancer Center.
