University of Arizona Athletics

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Lights, camera, action! Arizona gymnastics is back in action December 5^th for another thrilling season.
 
Returning to the McKale spotlight is Courtney Cowles, a 5'6 sophomore from Canton, CT. Cowles finished her freshman year with the GymCats competing in every meet of the season. She posted career highs of 9.90 on the balance beam at home against Cal and 9.725 on vault while on the road at Stanford. As Cowles' career with the GymCats is taking off, so is her professional career.
 
Cowles is currently pursuing a major in Film & Television with a minor in Intercultural studies.
 
"Film was something that I was always interested in," said Cowles. "I have always loved movies and I used to make little films and music videos with my friends during sleepovers when I was younger. I was able to attend the Florida Film Academy part time during my senior year of high school, and that is where my passion evolved for film. It is a way that I can express myself and put my creative ideas to use. I love the program here and it is part of the reason I chose to come to the University of Arizona.
 
"Arizona stood out to me and it was the first place that I visited," said Cowles. "The campus was gorgeous and the girls were all so nice. It had a great academic support system and I kept thinking to myself 'sign me up, I really want to go here'. I cancelled all my other official visits right after because I knew it was it."
 
Cowles combines her skills in the gym, with her skills behind the camera every day for the GymCats.
 
"Most of my free time is spent doing little film projects," said Cowles. "I like to take the videos that we have from practice or meets and edit them into hype videos. I also like to make travel videos for the team; which is such a great experience for me getting behind the camera and editing." Having the energy to do homework after practice is hard, but we have such a great support system and incredible resources like our academic advisors to help us out. I am getting to learn exactly what I want to do in life, and that is really cool."
 
Head gymnastic coach John Court said, "Courtney is a very intelligent student athlete. She is enrolled in a major that she is passionate about and wants to make a career of. She is vested in her program which translates to excellent grades and those who do better in the classroom, are always able to succeed easier athletically in college."
 
As for after graduation, Cowles is hoping to pursue a career as a motion picture director.
 
"I would like to go international after college," said Cowles. "I love learning about other cultures and would love to incorporate it with film or move some place abroad that has a big film capital. My minor [intercultural studies] allows me to take any introduction to language courses and my goal is to learn as many as I can. So far I have taken French, Spanish, and Russian and I am hoping to learn Italian in the future."