Jan. 29, 2004
Interview conducted by Travis Tate, Illionis Athletic Public Relations
TT: The team had a really good performance on Sunday, how satisfying was it to achieve that high of a score, especially at home?
LN: It was definitely a great way to start off the home season. We've been practicing really hard, and now it's nice to see good results in competition. Our first two meets went really well on the road and I think that helped build confidence that we could really hit in front of a home crowd.
TT: What has been the key to the team's success so far this year?
LN: We have had a completely different program starting from the very beginning of the year. Our strength has been different this year, our routines and practices have been different. Basically our whole entire workout is set-up different. I think it is definitely working well. This year we're all on the same page as to what we need to be doing in the gym and how we need to be hitting in competition.
TT: What are the team's goals for the end of the year?
We want to continue to go on the same path we've been going on as far as hitting in meets. Our goal is to be able to hit 24 routines for 24, and this past weekend we went 23 for 24. So to be hitting this consistently this early in the season is great, but we've just got to be able to keep that up and not slack off in practice. We can't let up just because we've been doing well. We've got to work just as hard, if not harder to be able to keep our scores up.
TT: You're doing all-around for the first time in college, what kind of changes have you had to make?
LN: When I came in for my freshman and sophomore year, I was pretty much recruited for vault and floor, and injuries last year limited me to only the vault. Competing all-around now is exciting for me because it's pretty much what I've been training for my whole life up until I came to Illinois. In high school and club gymnastics you compete all-around every weekend, you don't have a choice, so that is what I was accustomed to. Competing all-around again has been exciting and it's been different. This summer I worked really hard to get back on bars and beam since I hadn't practiced or competed on them in a while. It's definitely good because it's a change of pace. It makes workout more enjoyable because I'm staying busy the entire time.
TT: What are your plans for after college?
LN: I'm an economics major right now and I'm applying to the school of business, and I'm particularly interested in business administration. So as soon as I'm done with college I would like to do some kind of consulting work for a couple years and then go back to school and get my MBA.
TT: Why did you choose Illinois over other schools?
LN: First was the excellent academic reputation that the Illinois has. Of the schools I was looking at, this was by far the best academic school. Once my gymnastics career is over, I'm going to need something else to fall back on. As far as gymnastics goes, when I came here on my visit the team just felt like a family. Ashley Williams and I had our visits at the same time and we both felt very comfortable here and knew we would fit right in with the other gymnasts and the coaches. I also like that there's a men's program here and that it's a Big Ten university so there's lots of support for all the sports. And I like how it's a big school, big campus; and being close to home played a little factor. It's only three and a half hours away from my home (Evansville, Ind.), so it's always nice to be able to go home if I ever need to.
