In her first year at UCLA, freshman gymnast Vanessa Zamarripa showed her stuff. Despite entering the season below the national radar, Zamarripa proved she was more than able to compete with other elite gymnasts and shine in team competition.
While she displays a well-rounded skill set, Zamarripa’s specialty is on vault. She scored three perfect 10s on that apparatus, averaging a 9.918 over the course of the season.
The perfect scores came at a meet against Cal State Fullerton, at a quad meet against Boise State, CSUF and Washington, and at the Masters Classic in February.
Her strong drive for perfect routines is what keeps Zamarripa high in the rankings. The gymnast refuses to stop practicing until she gets the results she wants.
“I’ll admit I’m a bit of a perfectionist,” Zamarripa said. “I don’t want to quit until it’s perfect. I try my best to work on every little detail and make sure it’s to the best of my ability.”
Although she had an impressive first season, Zamarripa’s adjustment to UCLA was not an easy one. In addition to having to adjust to a life in Westwood, away from her home in O’Fallon, Ill., Zamarripa came in without having experienced team competition.
As a member of the Midwest Twisters gymnastics club, Zamarripa competed individually.
At UCLA, she quickly got the chance to perform in a team environment and benefitted from the constructive criticism her teammates were able to provide her. Although she is pleased with the contributions she made to the team in her first season, Zamarripa believes she has much more to offer in the future.
“The routines I did this year weren’t even at my highest potential,” Zamarripa said. “I still have a lot of cleaning up to do. I’m just really looking forward to next year.”
Coach Valorie Kondos Field has no doubts about Zamarripa reaching new heights in the 2009-2010 season. Kondos Field said that only two gymnasts, both seniors, were ranked higher than Zamarripa, meaning the freshman has yet to peak.
“She is going to bust out next year from the very beginning of the season,” Kondos Field said. “She understands what college gymnastics is all about now. She loves to perform. She loves to win. She embraces a challenge. She is going to be on fire next year.”
Even with plenty of time left for further accomplishments, Zamarripa had an extraordinary season.
Zamarripa’s teammates and coaches honored her with their annual Freshmen Phenom Award; Kondos Field believes the recognition was well-deserved.
“Vanessa is blessed with that special DNA that all phenomenal athletes have,” Kondos Field said. “She not only has the perfect combination of grace, strength and flexibility, but she was born with the ability to make the extremely difficult skills look easy.”