A month before their first competition of the season, four high school gymnasts with plenty of international experience signed national letters of intent for the UCLA gymnastics team.
Coach Valorie Kondos Field announced Friday the signing of recruits Samantha Peszek, a 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Mattie Larson and Olivia Courtney, both U.S. national team members, and 2009 Canadian national champion Sydney Sawa, who will compete with UCLA starting in the 2010-2011 season.
“Any time you get recruits that have had a lot of international experience, you minimize the small little mistakes that can be deductions that can just kill you score-wise,” Kondos Field said.
At the top of the class is Peszek, widely considered the top recruit in the nation.
The McCordsville, Ind., native has been on the USA National Team since 2004, but for Kondos Field, Peszek is more than an athlete.
“She is just a great all-around student athlete,” Kondos Field said. “She is not just a great athlete, but she is just exciting and fun to watch. So she’s not just going to bring great scores, she’s going to bring enthusiasm, and every time she gets on the floor, she is going to light it up.”
Though Peszek sprained her left ankle during the 2008 Olympics and could not continue to compete, she was nonetheless a member of the U.S. squad that took home the silver medal.
Larson, Courtney and Sawa all come in having competed on the world’s biggest stages. Kondos Field said their acumen is especially helpful in minimizing mistakes.
“They can go into any situation, no matter how many people are in the stands, no matter how big or small the meet, and they can just bring their A-game every single time,” she said.
Kondos Field said the gymnastics team’s high level of talent likely factored into the commitment of the four recruits.
“Recruits want to come where they can win,” she said. “And recruits came because they liked what they saw with the team we have now.”