Jan. 23, 2002

Mizzou freshman Rachael Dombart has spent her first semester on campus just like any other typical newcomer. She left home, came to school and was thrust into a new environment where she knew no one. With a little help from 15 other girls, however, Rachael has found herself not only some new friends, but also a family and her home away from home.

Dombart and the rest of the Missouri Gymnastics team see themselves as a family, and Rachael, a Woodstock, Georgia native, says that is what she values most about her team.

"The atmosphere of the team was what drew me to Mizzou," she said. "They seemed so much like a family and that is what helped me make the decision to go so far away from home to go to school."

An accomplished gymnast and student in her native Georgia, Dombart was afraid that she would miss her parents and her younger brother back home.

"My biggest fear coming to school was that I would be homesick because I'd never been that far away from my house for more than a week or so," she said. "But the team accepted me right away and that helped me not think about it so much."

Individually, Dombart hopes to focus on two apparatus this year, the bars and the beam. She also hopes to help her teammates achieve many of the goals that they have set for themselves as a group.

"I'd like to help the team go farther than we ever have before," Rachael said. "Academically for myself, I'd really like to make Academic All-American, and athletically I'd just be happy to help the team with their goals."

With a perfect 4.0 GPA her senior year and 14 years of tumbling experience under her belt, Rachael will no doubt develop into a strong competitor both on and off the floor.

A national qualifier her freshman and sophomore year of high school and a second place state finish her junior and senior year, Rachael says that her favorite event is the uneven bars because she has always enjoyed it the most and it came naturally to her.

Although she claims bars is her favorite, Dombart also says that her fourth place finish on the beam her sophomore year of high school was her most meaningful award.

"Besides being at nationals, the beam was always the hardest apparatus for me to get good scores on," she says. "I finally had the confidence in myself to do well and everything else just came together."

Dombart says that her trust in herself and in the ability of her teammates is her inspiration. As much as she misses home and her family, she says that the rigorous practices and busy schedule help keep her mind on not being at home.

"I miss my family most of all, we are really close. Some of the other girls are able to home and I can't so that's kind of hard," Rachael says. "But my family is coming to visit this semester!!" she quickly adds.

Until then, Rachael will continue to pursue excellence on her own with the help of her coaches, but also with her team. She loves the sport and hopes that other young girls and future Tiger gymnasts will come to appreciate it as much as she does.