TUCSON, Ariz. – Despite the final season of Arizona Gymnastics' six seniors being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was still a memorable campaign and career for them all. During this downtime, our seniors took a moment to reflect on their time at Arizona and being a GymCat. This group of seniors was highly accomplished on the competition floor and in the classroom, racking up All-America, Scholastic All-America, Pac-12 All-Conference, and Pac-12 All-Academic accolades.
Christina Berg
Berg is majoring in nutritional sciences and is planning to go to Physician's Assistant school following graduation. She has been very successful during her time as a GymCat, serving as a team captain her sophomore year and competing as an individual competitor on the uneven bars at the 2018 Tuscaloosa NCAA Regional and at the 2019 Corvallis NCAA Regional. She earned career-highs of 9.975 on the uneven bars and 9.90 on floor during her junior year and was named All-American Second Team and All-Pac-12 Second Team on bars for her incredible performances. This season, Berg was named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention for her performances on the uneven bars. Throughout her career, she was named Scholastic All-American in 2018 and 2019, Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2018 and 2019, and named to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll in 2020.
Q: What is your favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory?
A: "My favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory was scoring a 9.975 twice my junior year. Seeing how happy my teammates and coaches were for me was awesome!"
Q: What are you going to miss the most about Arizona Gymnastics?
A: "I am going to miss seeing Rob in the weight room, Sam's smiley face in the training room, Sarah for grade checks, Phil's smoothie/snack station, and making memories with all my teammates!"
Courtney Cowles
Cowles is double majoring in Film/Television and Sociology with a minor in Intercultural Studies and is a leader in the classroom. She was named a Scholastic All-American in 2017, 2018, and 2019, Pac-12 All-Academic First Team in 2018 and 2019, and to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll in 2020. She holds career-best scores of 9.825 on vault, 9.925 on the balance beam, and 9.85 on floor.
Q: What is your favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory?
A: "Being a part of the beam team that set a school record when we were at Arkansas, and then John getting us Cold Stone ice cream after."
Q: What are you going to miss the most about Arizona Gymnastics?
A: "I'm going to miss seeing my best friends and teammates every day."
Haylie Hendrickson
Hendrickson is majoring in Physiology and has been an important member for the GymCats during her time on the team. She earned career-highs of 9.875 on the uneven bars and the balance beam and 9.775 on floor during her senior year and competed as an individual at the 2019 Corvallis NCAA Regional on beam. Hendrickson was named a Scholastic All-American in 2018, Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and was tabbed to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll in 2020. In addition, she earned the C.A.T.S. Academics Student-Athlete of the Month in December 2018, which recognizes her hard work as a student-athlete.
Q: What is your favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory?
A: "My favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory is when we got to explore New Orleans after our meet at LSU because we got to go on a walking tour and see all of the history of the city together."
Q: What are you going to miss the most about Arizona Gymnastics?
A: "I am going to miss seeing my best friends every day in the gym. I am grateful that Arizona Gymnastics taught me so much and gave me friends that I'll have for life."
Jenny Leung
Leung is majoring in Management Information Systems and is a member of the Honors College. She served as a team captain this year and was a Scholastic All-American in 2017, 2018, and 2019, a Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2019, and named to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll in 2020. Leung was recognized as a C.A.T.S. Academics Student-Athlete of the Month in March 2019 for excelling in the classroom. Her senior year, Leung earned career-highs of 9.85 on vault and 9.875 on the balance beam.
Q: What is your favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory?
A: "Competing during senior night; it was a bittersweet ending but I am so thankful that our class got to experience it together one last time in McKale before we were done."
Q: What are you going to miss the most about Arizona Gymnastics?
A: "The team, the positive attitudes, and the hard work that we put into the gym to show it all off in McKale."
Maddi Leydin
Leydin is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Care, Health, and Society and was named All-Pac-12 First Team on vault for her standout performances this season. She holds career-highs of 9.975 on vault, 9.875 on bars and beam, 9.925 on floor, and 39.35 in the all-around. Leydin competed at the 2019 Corvallis NCAA Regional as an individual competitor on vault and was also named a Scholastic All-American in 2017 and 2018, Pac-12 All-Academic First Team in 2018 and 2019, and a member of the 2020 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll.
Q: What is your favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory?
A: "This year's meet against Cal Berkley. It was our best away meet in a really long time, and we came so close to beating a Top 15 team. I loved the team energy and chemistry at that meet, we all had each other's backs and all executed our routines really well. I also stuck my vault and got a career high of 9.975, with one judge giving me a 10 which is a moment I'll never forget."
Q: What are you going to miss the most about Arizona Gymnastics?
A: "That feeling you get when you've just done a good routine and your teammates come running, screaming, and jumping towards you to give you a big hug and celebration. The team experience you get in college gymnastics is unlike anything else and I've loved being out there in front of our amazing fans in McKale competing with my team over the last four years. I've had some pretty special meet moments with my awesome class and I'm really going to miss stepping out onto the floor with them."
Heather Swanson
Swanson is majoring in nutritional sciences and was a team captain this season. She earned career-highs of 9.875 on vault, 9.825 on bars, and 9.85 on floor during her years competing as a GymCat. Swanson was named a Scholastic All-American in 2017, 2018, and 2019, Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team in 2018 and 2019, and earned a spot on the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll in 2020. Swanson also earned C.A.T.S. Academics Student-Athlete of the Month in December 2019.
Q: What is your favorite Arizona Gymnastics memory?
A: "My favorite memory would be competing my triple twist on floor for the first time at Washington this season. It was a skill that I had worked all preseason for and nailing it was an amazing feeling. I was so excited and proud of myself because it had been one of my goals. I couldn't help but smile as soon as I landed it. I knew when I punched the floor for it that it was going to be a great triple. It was a feeling I will never forget."
Q: What are you going to miss the most about Arizona Gymnastics?
A: "What I am going to miss most about Arizona Gymnastics is being part of an environment that provides constant support from the program including the athletic department, fans, coaches, and teammates. Getting to represent and compete for the University of Arizona has been an honor and provided me with many valuable life lessons. I'm going to miss the excitement of learning a new skill, the feelings of butterflies in my stomach when it was my turn to salute the judge, and the cherry on top of your routine when you stick your dismount. I am going to miss the hard pre-season conditioning, but what helped me get through it was knowing that my whole team and I were in it together. I am going to miss the journey the team goes through each year and watching the team build and get stronger throughout the process. Nothing compares to the feeling of competing and I am definitely going to miss that. I am grateful for my opportunities and getting to be part of Arizona Gymnastics these last four years."
Stay connected with Arizona Gymnastics!
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@ArizonaGymCats) and Instagram (
@arizonagymnastics).
