ITHACA, N.Y. – While it can be said of most sports that the road to reach top potential is a grueling year-round process of training requiring the utmost discipline and focus. The above statement cannot be exemplified any more perfectly than when discussing the Ithaca College women's gymnastics team.
 
The competition season for Division III women's gymnastics is one of the shortest, with only a 10-week sprint separating the opening week of competition from the NCGA National Championships at the end of March. However, the Bombers road to reaching the crescendo of that final weekend begins well before the opening weekend of the year in mid-January. The official preseason for college gymnastics is the longest of any sport, with official team activities commencing shortly after arriving on campus in late-August for the fall semester. The long lead-up to the season is a necessity from an abundance of safety perspective, as the sport itself is a constant test of the limits the human body can achieve. As much as the sport is a constant physical grind, it also challenges from a mental perspective as well. Routines must be meticulously practiced again-and-again to fine-tune every last detail because once competition gets underway there is only one chance to get it right – every misstep judged, every balance-check deducted.
 
While every competition season is looked forward to, the 2020 season had a distinctly different hype for Ithaca College. For the first time since 2014, the NCGA National Championships were slated to return to Ben Light Gymnasium, giving Ithaca a chance to showcase itself on the national stage. Coming off a two-year stint that was among the most successful stretches dating back to the program's 1998 National Championship, this season was going to be the one in which the Bombers took the next step. The regular-season was a bit of a rollercoaster for the squad, with high points and low points along the way, but Ithaca certainly was riding a wave of positive momentum down the stretch. IC capped the regular-season with a season-high 189.225 during its Senior Day head-to-head win against Springfield. However, just 48-hours ahead of the team's biggest meet of the year at the NCGA East Regional Championships – the meet that decides the qualifiers for the National Championship Meet – all that excitement and momentum came to a jarring halt as the COVID-19 pandemic took grip of the global spotlight. Follow along in the next installment of our "In Their Own Words" story with reflections from IC gymnasts on the experience of the past few weeks.
 
We'll kick off the story with senior Baylie Trammell, who has been a lineup mainstay for the Bombers throughout her career. A two-time All-Region finisher during her career, Trammell had her sights set on an All-American performance during her final year. She gives a vivid lens into grueling physical and mental challenge that the sport can impart. Despite nagging injuries, her drive and desire to do her best for the team never wavered.
 
"…My team needed me to hit my routines and I used that as my motivation to keep pushing myself even when my morale was low," Trammell explained. "I had always aspired to be an All-American on bars, and I was hungry to make it happen this season. The last few years, I would have considered myself to be a reliable competitor, however, this season I found myself in a very different position… Six meets into the season, I started to feel panicked, knowing that if I didn't change my mindset then I wasn't going to achieve my goals. More importantly, my team needed me to change my mindset and be the leader that could help us reach our maximum potential and go to Nationals. Instead of worrying about running out of time and focusing on how bad my body hurt, I reminded myself  that my routines would come together if I remained confident in myself. As far as injuries go, I had to recognize that it was my senior year and my joints were beaten up, but pain had never stopped me in the past, so why would I let it stop me now? Once I was able to adopt that mindset, my outlook on the rest of the season became more positive. I was finally on the up, and so was the team. After a rocky to start to not only my season, but the team's season, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and it hit me that we could win Regionals. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to Nationals and that we would be giving the other teams a run for their money."
 
Fellow senior, Paige Landes, a standout contributor on the balance beam throughout the past three seasons described the rigors of balancing her academic work as an Athletic Training major with the backdrop of her final collegiate gymnastics season.

"For me, during tryouts and the beginning of the year were challenging," Landes recalled. "I am an Athletic Training major, so during the beginning of the year I was assigned to work with the Men's Soccer Team as part of my clinical work. Due to this, I had to train most days by myself until the end of soccer season. This did cause me to be behind, but as soon as I got back to working out with my team, they were all there to support me. I was very excited to enter my senior season and see what all it had to offer. I was looking forward to seeing what my team would accomplish because we had a lot of talent and so much potential."

The year began with a fairly strong start on the road at Brockport, but as the week's continued injuries and missteps frequently left the Bombers just shy of maximizing their potential. Senior Emily Szembrot, a 2018 East Regional Champion on balance beam, talked about her adjustment from competing as a beam specialist to impacting the lineup in other events.

"…Our team needed people on the floor since we had some girls experience injuries," Szembrot said. "I stopped training vault and took to the floor. The last time I competed on floor was freshman year, and every season since then I tried to make a comeback to the floor lineup. However, sickness or injury kept me from doing so, until senior year. After our second competition, I came back into the gym and started easing my way into tumbling. I spent nights in my living room making choreography to my new floor music. Within a week I had a full floor routine with my tumbling passes. I even was put in floor lineup for our third meet which was incredible…With all the highs and lows, senior year gave me more than I could've asked for. I got to compete in my two favorite events for the last time with my closest friends."

The season began to turn into something special during the final week of February at the team's Harriet Marranca Memorial Invitational – an annual meet honoring the program's first head coach and founder. The Bombers earned their first title of the year, out-pacing East Region rivals Brockport and Ursinus. The good vibes continued over the next two weeks, as IC turned in a strong performance in a second-place effort at SUNY Cortland, before smashing it out of the park with a 189.225 on Senior Day. The excellent finish had the team riding a wave of confidence heading into its expected trip to Springfield on March 15 for the NCGA East Regional.

Szembrot remarked on the emotions of the team following its Senior Day meet.

"The days leading up to season being canceled were some of the best practice days we've ever had. Our skills were becoming automatic and routines were easy. We were riding a high from winning our previous two competitions and there was no sign of us stopping. We were peaking at the perfect time."

First-year gymnast Cameryn Nichols – who was in the midst of a fantastic debut campaign – also felt confident in the team's standing heading into the biggest weekend up to that point of the season.

"We were ready to compete at our fullest potential at Regionals," Nichols said. "We felt confident in our abilities after battling through a tough season."

However, as the week continued and colleges across the country began to announce plans to combat the impending spread of coronavirus. As athletic events continued to be canceled, the Bombers talked about the struggle of remaining focused on the task at hand amidst the uncertainty.

Trammell describes the progression of feelings throughout the tumultuous week.

"I think the severity of the situation began to hit us the Monday that Spring Break started. We were gearing up for Regionals at Springfield that weekend when we heard that both Syracuse and Cortland had to moved to online classes for the rest of the semester. At that point, I knew IC was next to move online but was confident that we would still have the rest of our season. We were so close to the end, why would they cancel it now, I thought. We were together at a team dinner when the email was sent that we would have an extended Spring Break and online classes. Athletic events were said to be carried out as planned, so I was not too worried at the time. At practice the next day, Rick reassured us that his only worry in this whole mess was winning Regionals. That was enough to keep the team focused on our goal of making it to Nationals and practice carried on as usual. Our goal was to win Nationals, and no one on the team was going to let anything stop us, even the virus. However, things took a turn for the absolute worse that following Thursday. A few of us were out to lunch when my teammate found out from her friend that Ursinus' season had been cancelled and they would not be traveling to Regionals. My stomach sank at that news because I just couldn't see how we were going to have a Regional Championship without one of the teams there. I arrived at the AT clinic for my pre-practice treatments where I was informed that NCAA had cancelled the rest of Fall and Spring seasons but had an inkling of hope that we would slide under the radar and perhaps, we would just compete without spectators. Still, at practice that day, Rick assured us that we were going to get on a bus Saturday for Regionals. Honestly, his words are what got me through that practice with the mindset to be ready to compete. I was feeling positive and hopeful right up until the very end of practice when [Associate Athletic Director] Erienne [Roberts] walked in the gym to deliver us the disheartening news."

Szembrot talked about the raw emotions when the news was made official shortly after the conclusion of practice on Thursday, March 12.

"The Thursday of Spring Break was when we got the news that our final two meets were canceled and that we were to evacuate the campus by Sunday evening. We just finished practice and were sitting on the floor when we received the news. It was always in the back of our minds that season could end at any minute due to the virus, but we thought that we would at least get Regionals and maybe Nationals without spectators. However, those measures would not be enough. I don't remember much of the speech Erienne gave since I sat in a ball and cried. I thought of how today was my last practice, my last time doing a beam routine or a floor routine. I was done competing for Ithaca Gymnastics and done with the sport in general. By the time she finished speaking almost everyone was in tears. We were so upset because we were on the up-rise. We were ready to go to Regionals and place to secure our spot in Nationals. We worked so hard the week of Spring Break and it hurt to have everything we put into the year just evaporate so quickly."

Trammell reflected on the mix of emotions when the news was ultimately delivered.

"Initially, when we were first told the news, I felt sad and defeated. I was disappointed that the team would never get to show off all our hard work on the National stage. We had big things coming for us in post-season and I just couldn't accept the fact that we would never be able to see that through. Then it sunk in that cancelling the season also meant that my gymnastics career was over. I had competed in my last meet and was done with the sport I love for the last time without even knowing. I was angry, there was no doubt. But I also felt a sense of desperation and denial that it was time to start moving on from the sport that has been my life the past 20 years."
 
Landes expressed similar sentiments.

"We were all devastated, we sat in a circle and tried to process the news. We were sad, crying, hugging each other and realizing we were done. We could not believe it was over."

Nichols talked about the immediate aftermath and the strong bond she felt with her teammates to help get through the challenging news.

"Devastated is an understatement.  I was disappointed because my freshman season was ended so abruptly without my goals being accomplished.  I was hurt because my seniors competed in their last meet and practiced their last practice without even knowing it.  I was upset because there was no way to fix the situation or make up for the emotional damage that followed it…Our season was just simply over. We did a senior circle, which is usually done at Nationals with family included. We stuck around for a while after crying, hugging, and being upset together. Before leaving, we circled up for one last ICG cheer – 'Hill Defended', which was based off our team slogan for 2020 to 'Defend the Hill'."

Adjusting to the reality of the past few weeks has certainly presented unique challenges for everyone. However, the unbreakable bond that has formed among this tight-knit 2020 IC gymnastics team has not been diminished despite not being together.

"I still talk to my teammates because they are my closest friends," Szembrot said. "Some of them I've known for three or four years, and it is so hard to break that bond of seeing each other at least five times a week. We even stay in contact with the coaches too. Coach Rick's wife, Kim, will text me pictures of their cat that I adore. We have such a wonderful relationship, it's going to be strange not seeing them every day."

"There are so many unknowns right now," Landes said. "Will we see each other again? Will we have a graduation ceremony? I'm very thankful to have my teammates to help get through this challenging time. My team and I have all stayed connected through social media and talk almost everyday. Coach Rick working on figuring out how we can have a remote banquet."

While the seniors have struggled with coping that their gymnastics careers are finished, Nichols highlights the challenges social distancing measures have placed on those continuing in the sport.

"I've adjusted as much as I can to the new situation we're in. This new reality is especially tough because not only am I at home away from my college team and coaches, but my gym in Massachusetts is also closed for the time being, so I haven't been able to practice since that last Thursday practice at IC.  If gymnasts aren't practicing for an extended period, it's because of an injury, so this is strange for everyone. It is really tough to stay in contact with each of the other 19 members of the team individually, but social media helps a lot. We've talked over text and Snapchat. We all contributed to making a video for our team Instagram page, and we also just had a team Zoom meeting with the coaches too, so that was fun.  It's just not the same as being in the same place though."

While this season, which promised to be such a special one for the program, certainly did not finish the way anyone had hoped, IC gymnasts have reflected on the lessons that can be taken away.

"My message to the student-athletes is to take this and use it as motivation for next year," Szembrot said. "If you were a junior or younger, you get another year, you get another chance. Go in with the mindset that we had before Regionals and just knock it out of the park. There's nothing else to do. If you have another year, use it to your advantage. You never know when your sports career will end so go into every practice with a positive attitude and work hard. I know there are going to be bad days, and not every day is going to be perfect, but motivation and effort will help you achieve your goals. If you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for the seniors that didn't get the ending they hoped for. The memories I have made as a part of this program will last a lifetime and I will always cherish the time I spent at Ithaca. Never take the opportunity to do the sport you love for granted."

Trammell and Landes echoed similar thoughts.

"I am very thankful to have been a part of the gymnastics team during my four year at Ithaca," Landes said. "I am thankful for my coaches, the experiences, and most importantly all my teammates that have turned into my best friends. The message I would share with other student-athletes is to cherish and make the most of every opportunity you have with your team. Whether that is practice, competitions, lift sessions, team bonding, etc. They will be some of the best experiences during your college career and memories you will have with you forever."
 
For Nichols it is a motivation to heed the words above that will drive her and her returning teammates into next season.
 
"I am beyond excited for next season," Nichols exclaimed. "After the abrupt ending to this season, everyone returning is going to be competing for a purpose, competing with a vengeance.  Nothing should be taken for granted and this season was a harsh reminder of that.  ICG has unfinished business and 2021's season is going to be so amazing with a renewed sense of purpose."
 
Stay tuned as we continue to publish new installments of the "In Their Own Words" series in the coming days.