University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Korlin-Downs Beaming with Joy
4/5/2018 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Mary Korlin-Downs remembers going to Gophers meets and looking up to former Gopher gymnast Alexis Russell when she was younger.
"I've been a huge Gopher fan since I was tiny. I came to every single meet when Alexis Russell was on the team," Korlin-Downs said.
When Russell was a senior in high school she was Korlin-Downs "big sister" in JO.
"She was one of the main people I looked up to," Korlin-Downs recalled. "So, when she came to Minnesota, I became obsessed with the U."
Now Korlin-Downs is filling the status of role model for young gymnasts. She has been a key contributor to the Minnesota beam lineup all season long. Whether at practice, at a meet or on social media you can always count on Korlin-Downs to provide support and encouragement for her teammates. She is living out her dream, but getting to this point wasn't easy for the Lake Elmo, Minn. native.
She has gone through three ACL injuries and found herself missing home after choosing to go to Iowa State her freshman season.
"I wanted to be home, close to my family, close to my friends," Korlin-Downs explained. "I was already friends with half the team before I transferred here so, it was the easiest decision that I've ever made."
Korlin-Downs showed up to the Minnesota campus having not actually competed in gymnastics for two years due to her injuries. She was not able to practice with the team her first semester but officially became part of the team in January of 2017.
"I don't think the coaches really knew where I was from a gymnastics standpoint," Korlin-Downs said. "But they knew that I would be able to contribute to the team by bringing good energy and chemistry. I think I've done pretty well because I'm like best friends with every girl on the team and I love them all so much."
"Mary's passion for the sport and appreciation for the opportunity to compete in college is inspiring to us all," senior teammate Abby DeMuse said. "It shows through her contagious positivity and energy that she brings each day to the gym."
Korlin-Downs had a long way to go with rehab when she first threw on the Maroon and Gold but her new teammates embraced her instantly.
"When I walked into Peik for the first time it was so fun to see all the girls," she said. "I actually didn't know all of them when I first came but they all came up and gave me a hug and I was like, `this is the coolest thing I've ever experienced.'"
After rehabbing throughout last season Korlin-Downs came into fall of 2017 determined to crack the beam lineup but was again hampered by pain.
"I was practicing maybe one to two days a week because I was in so much pain," she explained. "I talked to my coaches and I talked to my trainers and we ended up switching my beam series in December so it wouldn't cause me as much pain."
With only a few weeks until season and an entire new beam series, Korlin-Downs made not just every day, but every single turn in practice count.
"I thought if I can only do two turns today then I'm going to make those two as perfect as possible," the junior said. "That was my dream from the start. It was to compete as a collegiate athlete. Nothing was going to stop me, not injuries, nothing. I wanted to be on beam and I knew I could do it."
And nothing has stopped her. She has competed beam in eight meets this season and has gone 9.800 or higher three times including a career high 9.850 in the Gophers regular season home finale.
"It's the best feeling in the entire world. I only want to do a good beam routine to be happy and to go hug my team," Korlin-Downs said. "I remember landing (at the Big Ten Championships) and then paused before I finished because I wanted to take it in."
The Gophers have embraced a "love the battle" mantra all season long. Stories like the adversity that Korlin-Downs has gone through has made it easy for the team to take on any obstacle that they face. They realize to advance out of this Saturdays regional loaded with talented teams such as No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 13 Denver will not be easy. It's just another battle to cross off the list.
"We know that we can do it," Korlin-Downs said. "As long as we have the hope and belief that we can make it to nationals, then we can. Because with hope and belief brings extreme confidence and that's all we have to do. We have to go out there with confidence, be aggressive and hit 24 for 24. If we do that then I think that we have a very, very good chance at making it."
Our goal is bigger than any doubt, fear, or pain. #lovethebattle #regionalsweek @GopherWGym
-- Mar?? (@marykorlindowns) April 4, 2018
Make sure to follow Gopher women's gymnastics onFacebook, Twitterand Instagramto stay up-to-date throughout the weekend!