2005 Women's Gymnastics Senior Profiles

01/02/01 1:00PM

- Over the course of the gymnastics season, profiles on all four William and Mary senior gymnasts were published, both on TribeAthletics.com and in meet programs. Here are the four profiles, all written by sports information assistant Mark Hoskins.

Senior Profile: Jess Patterson
Senior Jess Patterson came to the College from Westfield, NJ, where she was a state level 10 champion on vault and floor and a USAIGC national floor champion in 2000. Patterson’s career accomplishments include a personal record score of 9.850 on floor at North Carolina last year, when the Tribe posted a team-record mark of 49.300. As a freshman, she notched a 9.825 on vault, at the time the second-best score in W&M history, which now ranks sixth in school annals. Patterson also established a career-high mark of 9.825 on beam as a junior.

She took time this week to reflect on her final season with the Tribe and her time here at W&M.

Q: First of all, how did you end up at W&M?
JP: This was the last recruiting trip I took, and I felt the team was very cohesive and got along very well. I thought the school was a great mix of academics and athletics, and I really liked how it strives to be the best in both fields.

Q: What would you consider the highlights of your career?
JP: Freshman year, the first time we broke the team score, because I had never experience such excitement with the entire team before. It was such a good feeling. Also, winning the ECAC championship that year, because it came right down to the wire so close and we were all huddled together waiting to find out if we won or not, then they announced it was us.

Q: Talk about this season, your senior year at W&M.
JP: We’ve suffered a ton of setbacks from losing girls to injuries and losing girls who have left the team. It has been a really tough year to overcome. But, I think we’ve stuck through it pretty well and maintained positive attitudes for the most part. We never gave up, we pushed through, and I think the most important thing was we had good character throughout the season. I’m really proud of this team for pulling through.

Q: What is the goal for the rest of the season?
JP: If we stick with the unity, good mentality and positive attitude and believe that winning ECAC’s is not impossible, I think we can regain the title. But, if we improve with each meet coming up that will be a success in itself, and if we improve on last year’s ECAC performance it will be something to be really proud of, knowing we made it through this season.

Q: What are you going to miss the most about your time here?
JP: When we do have a great meet, the feeling of wanting to go out as a team and celebrate and everyone is laughing and having a great time. That’s what feels great about being on this team, when everything clicks for everybody at the same time.

Q: What is life like outside of the gym?
JP: Usually, just hanging out with friends, but going to the beach and shopping are definitely my two favorite things. When we don’t have practice or meets, I’m pretty much a normal college student.

Q: Any plans after graduation?
JP: I was thinking about grad school, but now kind of rethinking my plans. I either want to get into the art market, or work in the fashion industry or with a fashion magazine.

Senior Profile: Jaci Lynn
Leading off the vault competition at the 2003 ECAC Championship meet as a sophomore, current senior Jaci Lynn was looking to give two-time defending champion William and Mary a good start. She scored a career-best 9.800, which also stood as the fourth-best mark in school history at the time, a pretty good start for the Tribe. But, 36 gymnasts later, Lynn’s score was still the standard and she finished as the conference champion on vault.

The Copley, Ohio native went on to tie that mark two more times last season with 9.800’s, which now stand as the ninth-best scores in W&M annals. A former ECAC Academic All-American and a NACGC Scholastic All-American, Lynn has always been one of the Tribe’s most consistent performers on vault and this year has been no different.

She also took time this week to chat about her time at W&M.

Q: How did you end up here at the College?
JL: Well, I didn’t come here to do gymnastics. I liked the school, and I’m a history major, so I really liked the area. And, being from the north, the weather is nicer here. I basically just fell in love with the campus.

Q: What made you major in history?
JL: I don’t know, that’s exactly what my dad said. I really like it, and I think it’s fun. It’s interesting if you can make it.

Q: Back to gymnastics, what are some of your best memories here?
JL: I think just being part of a collegiate team is the best memory I’ll have. With this group of girls, it’s just like a family. It’s not an individual thing to me at all, and I think we’d all agree, you’re out there for your team and you have them depending on you.

Q: What are your thoughts on this season?
JL: I think we have turned a lot of things around in the gym and together. A lot of issues have crept up, but we’ve started to deal with it and taken care of it. Some of this has been out of our control, but that’s part of life, learning that there are things you can’t control. It has been frustrating and disappointing, but I love those girls just as much as I would have if we’d won every meet. Also, we still have a great chance to do well at ECAC’s, and I think this has been a good learning experience.

Q: Any plans yet after W&M?
JL: Well, I’m also majoring in education and student teaching at Lafayette High School, which is pretty intense working 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. , then coming here to practice, so I’ll be doing that. Then, I’m planning on going to law school next year and seeing how that goes.

Q: What is a typical day in the life of Jaci Lynn like?
JL: I have no life right now. Basically, I get up really early and teach class from 7 to 3 Monday through Friday. Then, I come here, and I’m in bed by about 9:30 every night. That’s about it. I try to go out on the weekends and be a normal student.

Q: What are you going to miss the most about W&M?
JL: Definitely the team. Having that camaraderie with all those girls and being around them every day. It’s going to be lonely not having that many girls you can come in and gab with.

Senior Profile: Emma Cross
Coming off an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Regional, senior Emma Cross was polishing a new routine and was prepared to show off the skills that put her front and center with many of the best gymnasts in the country last April in Raleigh.

At the regional, Cross, who admits she may have been a bit too caught up in the pageantry and scale of the moment, scored a 9.450 on the floor exercise in an event that included two Olympians.

“I would have to say the regional was the highlight of my career to date,” boasted Cross, winner of four individual titles in 2004. “I was right there competing at their level, it was awesome.”

Down the stretch last season, Cross collected ECAC Athlete of the Week honors and the ECAC Coaches Choice Award for the second time, in addition to the individual beam title at JMU (Feb. 6) and floor titles at GW (Feb. 8) and at home against JMU and Towson (Mar. 13), when she tied her own school record of 9.925 in the event.

Her goal was to start the current season just like she ended last year.

“I wanted to pick up right where I left off,” she said. “I had some of the highest scores of my career towards the end of last season.”

An ankle injury, however, has slowed Cross in preseason practice and forced her to miss the season-opening event at George Washington on Sunday. As of Thursday, it was 50-50 as to whether or not she would be able to compete tonight against the Tar Heels.

“It’s killing me to not get out there with the team and go through my normal routines,” admits Cross. “But right now, we’re trying to find skills that don’t hurt, so I can gain some exposure and get used to competing again.”

Although she concedes the campaign won’t start as 2004 ended, Cross has shifted her focus to finishing the season strong and possibly getting back to the regional.

“I know I won’t be able to do as many things as I was supposed to do, at first,” says Cross. “The scores won’t be the same now, but hopefully at the end of the season I will be where I was last year.”

When Cross, owner of the top five scores on floor exercise in school history, is able to perform, it will be a huge lift for the Tribe, who is competing with about half its routine because of injuries. Hopefully for the College, it won’t take her long to pick back up with record-setting performances.

Senior Profile: Rachel Glasmire
Heading into her final collegiate season, senior co-captain Rachel Glasmire’s aspirations and goals for the year were a little different than the rest of her teammates. After missing most of two of the previous three seasons, Glasmire had visions of a big comeback in 2005 and an injury-free senior campaign. She had even been working on new skills to incorporate into her bars and beam routines. Unfortunately for the Tribe, and Glasmire, her second ACL surgery in the last 10 months will cost her the final season of her career.

“At first, i was really upset about missing my senior year,” said Glasmire, who was also elected captain by her teammates as a junior. “It’s hard to sit and watch my teammates practice and compete, but I’m going to stay positive and do what I can to help.”

Though she may not be on the equipment, Glasmire, who captured the individual bars title in the season-opening event at N.C. State last year, is right there with her teammates in the gym every day at practice ready to lend words of encouragement or technical advice, even taking part in the conditioning drills she can handle.

“I know it won’t be the same, not being able to practice with the team, but I think its still important to lead by example,” added Glasmire.

Though her performances in meets have been limited by injury throughout her collegiate career, Glasmire cites the experience and success she gained through club gymnastics before William and Mary as credibility to her role as a leader and team captain.

“I still feel accountability for this team, and I’ll be there cheering for the girls and helping with technique.”

The scholastic All-American may have been forced to give up on her individual ambitions for the season, but Glasmire hasn’t lost sight of the team’s objective, even after a rash of injuries has limited the Tribe in practice and its first competition of the season. In her own estimation, Glasmire believes the team is currently operating with about 50% of its routine.

“It’s definitely been a frustrating three weeks,” she admits. “But, I think a lot of the things have happened for a reason, and in the long run, it should all be fixed and we can make a run at the ECAC championship.”

Frustrating three weeks, maybe. Frustrating three years, definitely. But, leave it to the captain to keep the big picture in mind and focus on the task at hand. That’s what leaders do.