Meet the Wildcats: Alex Hyland

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In preparation for the Blue/White Scrimmage on Dec. 13, UKathletics.com presents “Meet the Wildcats,” an opportunity for you to get to know a little more about the 2016 Kentucky Gymnastics team. Today’s Meet the Wildcats features freshman Alex Hyland. 

Alex Hyland, a freshman from Foxborough, Mass., enters 2016 as a four-time Massachusetts state event and all-around champion. Alex claimed the Region 6 all-around title in 2014, as well as a three-time uneven bar champion in 2011, ‘13, and ‘14. She has qualified for J.O. Nationsl four times, accomplishing a third-place finish on floor in ‘13, a fourth-place finish on floor in ‘14, and a fifth-place finish on beam in ‘12. Alex had a third-place all-round finish at the Sand Dollar Invitational in ’14 and won the event in both ‘12 and ’13.

Here’s a bit more on Alex:

Birthplace: Boston, Mass. 

Parents: Anne & Chris

Siblings: Aidan & Jake

Twitter Handle: @alexhyland08

Instagram Handle: @alexhyland08

Major: Kinesiology

Nickname(s): Al

The best part of being a UK student-athlete is … All of the resources available to us, such as the facilities and the academics. 

This season, I am most excited for … Since I am from a small gym where we only had one or two girls who were level 10’s, so I’ve never really competed with a team. I’m excited to be part of a team and compete together.

I chose UK because …  The program is on the rise and I want to be a part of the excitement.

The biggest influence for me in gymnastics… My club coach, Nikki Longo. 

I want to improve my … Landings and making my gymnastics clean and precise. 

My most memorable moment as a gymnast was … Signing with UK or placing third at J.O. Nationals.

My favorite food …  Pasta with broccoli

My pre-meet superstition is … That I have to pet my dogs and say goodbye to them before every meet.

Favorite Book … The Fault In Our Stars

The best concert I have ever been to …  Brad Paisley 

Do you have any relatives who played Division 1 sports?  Yes, my grandfather played basketball at Princeton.

The most famous person I have ever met was … Rob Gronkowski.

My biggest fear … Planes

Favorite thing about UK … I love being in a community where they love and respect their athletes.

The Wildcats kick off the 2016 season with the Blue/White scrimmage on Sun., Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. The scrimmage will serve as a preview to the 2016 season, with the season opener Excite Night set for Fri., Jan. 8 against Ball State at 7 p.m. All home meets will be held in Memorial Coliseum. 

For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Gymnastics program, go to UKathletics.com. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates and more can be found on Twitter at @UKGymnastics and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKGymnastics.