University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
All-Around with Mary Korlin-Downs
6/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
The Gophers will have three seniors on the 2018-19 roster. One of them is Mary Korlin-Downs who overcame years of injuries to become a consistent scorer on beam for the Maroon and Gold last season. She recently started a summer internship with the Minnesota Medical Device Center. We talked to her about all things summer, internship and gymnastics in this week's summer update.
Gopher Sports: Can you tell us about your summer so far? What have you been up to since season?
Mary Korlin-Downs: Since season and the end of classes I've tried to make the most of my summer! I've been practicing as well as spending time with family and friends while enjoying the weather. Summer classes recently started up as well as my internship and summer practices with the entire team. My schedule is busy, but I love having the team back on campus and seeing everyone work really hard in and out of the gym.
GS: You recently started an internship here at the U with the Minnesota Medical Device Center. Can you tell us what that entails?
MKD: I, along with a small group of students, will be teaming up with sponsors, usually industry workers from Boston Scientific and other big name companies, that have approached the Medical Device Center with a problem they need solved. We will be spending our time shadowing doctors, collecting research on the medical field, brainstorming new ideas and products, prototyping those products and hopefully patent and license them to medical companies around the United States. This internship allows me and many others to experience the actual day-to-day tasks of a Product Designer/Developer in the medical field.
GS: Do you have any trips or plans for the rest of the summer?
MKD: I will be traveling to Denver for Gopher alum, Lindsay Mabel's wedding, which I am extremely excited for. I am also planning a trip to Las Vegas with current and former gopher gymnasts at the end of the summer.
GS: When looking back at the season, what are you most proud of?
MKD: I am most proud of the adversity the team had to overcome while in season. We lost valuable performances on every single event before season started, mid-season and even the week before regionals, yet this team continued to persevere.
GS: The team's mantra was Love the Battle this season. How do you think the team embraced that?
MKD: We didn't simply embrace it, we lived it every single day. We didn't necessarily like to wake up at 5:45 a.m. for morning workouts or study all weekend long for an upcoming exam, but we all had the mind frame of: If we learn to love what it takes to be a top team then what was once a battle is now just a task. So by convincing ourselves that we had no choice but to push through all adversity we came out a lot stronger than before.
GS: What is your funniest memory from the season?
MKD: The night before regionals we had a game night with the team, the coaches and our families. At the end, all the coaches tried to interpret everyone's floor routine and it was complete chaus, but it has to be one of the funniest moments that happened during season.
GS: As one of the seniors now, how are you looking to be a leader on the team and help the freshmen adjust when they come in?
MKD: I want everyone on the team to feel as comfortable and loved as possible. We try to instill a family feel. Every member of this team is important and valued. A freshman's opinion is wanted and heard just as loudly as a senior's opinion. I hope the freshmen can feel that way with the team as soon as possible, because once they do I am sure their personalities and characters will greatly impact this team.
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