University of Minnesota Athletics
Senior Kelly Ganchan Reflects on her Gopher Career
4/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
An easy pick for the highlight of Kelly’s career was the team’s win at the 2006 Big Ten Championships, but it isn’t the only highlight of her four seasons. “When I think about highlights of my career, winning Big Tens last year is a memory that pops up for sure, but just being here is a highlight in itself,” said Kelly. “What an amazing opportunity, you’re at a Big Ten school, you’re getting a great education, and there’s great gymnastics. From purely a gymnastics perspective, winning Big Tens was the biggest highlight of my career, that was an amazing experience.”
During her four years competing for the Maroon and Gold, she’s performed on vault and beam, and had her best season average score on vault this year as a senior. She has the team’s highest average vault score among gymnasts who competed in the event at every meet this year. Kelly was the team’s highest scorer on vault at three meets. She earned her personal-best score in the season opener with a 9.775.
“One of the things I’m so proud of about Kelly is that she’s had her best season average on vault as a senior this year,” said co-head coach Meg Stephenson. “Our goal is always to try to help them be the best athletes and the best gymnasts when they graduate. Kelly’s success on vault her senior year is a statement to her consistent performances for us on that event. She’s had a few setbacks with injuries this season, but she’s managed to plow through. She’s shown toughness in her ability to perform at the level she has this year, and I’m so proud of her for that.”
Kelly’s academic performance is another highlight of her college career. She’s been an Academic All-Big Ten honoree in every year she’s been eligible, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (freshmen are not eligible for the award), and is a four-time U of M Scholar Athlete. Figuring out the balance between school and gymnastics is one of the things she lists as a challenge during her college career, but she’s managed to meet the challenge.
“It takes a lot of time management, and you have to understand that at times you have to sacrifice time with friends,” Kelly explained. “During the week, it’s always school and gym. Occasionally on the weekends when we’re not in season you can have fun with your friends. You have to understand and accept that school and gymnastics have to come first, and then you’ll be okay.”
Kelly has been an asset to the gymnastics program because of her gymnastics, her academics, and her personality. Coach Meg Stephenson explains how Kelly has contributed to the team by saying, “What’s nice about Kelly is that she’s a very even-keeled person. She doesn’t have major highs or lows, she’s just always right there, very steady and consistent. She’s been such a good student, she’s really done a great job in the classroom. Kelly is very supportive as a teammate, she’s definitely contributed to the success the program has experienced during her time here.”
While Kelly isn’t the only senior on this year’s squad, she is the only senior still competing. Seniors Stephanie Funk and Kim Womack both retired from gymnastics earlier in the season due to injuries. When Kelly joined the Golden Gopher program in the fall of 2003, she was part of a class of five. Ashley Stanton and Andy Cornelius joined the program at the same time as Kelly, but redshirted the 2004 season to recover from injuries. Ashley and Andy are still competing, but are now part of the junior class in athletic eligibility. Because Kelly is still training with two of the classmates she started with as a freshman, she doesn’t feel like the lone senior.
“I don’t think of myself as the only senior still competing, because I still associate Ashley and Andy as being in my class because they are the ones I came here with,” said Kelly. “ At the same time, it’s been really hard not having Kim and Steph in the gym since they’re part of my class as well and it’s been weird not seeing them. In terms of seniors in the gym, I still think of Andy and Ashley as seniors. I see them in the gym all the time, and I’ve been with them for four years.”
“That’s a testament to her, that she’s the only senior competing,” her coach explained. “She’s gone through the rigors of this sport, and been able to manage gymnastics and maintain that high GPA. On top of that, she’s still excited to come in here next year and help the team and give back. It’s very exciting, and means a lot to us that she wants to be a part of the program next year.
The initial adjustment to life beyond gymnastics will be tough for Kelly, but she has plans in place for after her competitive career is over, and looks forward to new challenges.
“It’s going to be weird in general when I’m not training anymore. Ever since I’ve been in school, I’ve always had gymnastics,” explained Kelly. “It’s going to be a challenge to make that adjustment. Starting this summer and into next year, I plan to work in a physical therapy setting, or at least job shadow. Physical therapy is ultimately what I want to pursue, so I want to get situated so I can have a job when I graduate. I’ll also be coming in here next year to work with the team, working as a manager and student coach. I feel like my life will be much less intense when I’m not training anymore, and I think my life will be much less hectic than it’s been. It will be an adjustment, but at the same time, it will be a fun change.”
Her role in the gym will be different next season, but the friendships she’s made with her teammates will remain. “I absolutely feel that I’ve made life-long friends through gymnastics here. It’s all about the team here. It’s about representing your school and working for your teammates and with your teammates.”
Before she closes the door on her gymnastics career, she has at least one more competition to go. The Gophers will travel to the University of Denver for the NCAA North Central Region Championships on April 14. If Minnesota places in the top two at the regional championship, the Gophers will advance to the NCAA Championship at the University of Utah. Kelly is looking forward to the chance to perform at least one more time as a Golden Gopher.
“What we talked about after not doing as well as we had hoped at Big Tens, was that we want to go to regionals and just do our stuff,” Kelly said. “We’re not going to look at our competition, we can’t focus on that. We just want to go in there and do our routines the best we can do, and most of all, have fun. That’s ultimately what it’s about, we have to have fun, and take advantage of the experience. It’s a great opportunity to show our stuff one more time.”
Kelly plans to savor each moment she has left in her gymnastics career. Knowing that her days as a gymnast are numbered, she intends to take in everything she can.
“At this point, I just want to have fun. I want to enjoy these last few weeks of competing that I have left and take advantage of every bit of it,” Kelly explained. “It’s going to be over before I know it, so I want to take each day, and love it, and have fun with it.”
Players Mentioned
