Driving Miss Davis
4/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
April 2, 2002
Consistency is a word that describes Lindsay Davis' quest for athletic excellence. Whether it is for her team or for herself, this Missouri gymnast is committed to not only achieving, but also maintaining, her personal best.
Davis, a sophomore from Derby, Kan., was a freshman standout last season and has taken advantage this year to build on that success. As a freshman, she shattered the all-around record for a Missouri newcomer scoring a 38.975 against Iowa State. This past season, continuing her record-breaking streak, Davis totaled 39.200 against the Cyclones to break her own personal best all-around score. Less than a week later, against Texas Women's University, Davis posted a 39.100 to again come close to topping her personal high.
This sort of outstanding consistency is just what Rob Drass and the Tigers have come to expect from Davis, who said that the injury that kept her out of the all-around rotation during the first part of the season only drove her to succeed even more.
"There's no single event or score that stands out from this past season," she said. "My main goal was getting back into competition and getting back to consistency after I was injured."
Davis was able to compete in vault and bars while she was injured, but was kept her out of all-around competition, limiting her involvement on the balance beam and floor exercise.
Davis said that she missed all-around competition and was glad to return to the full lineup in February.
"We had a really good meet at Texas Women's'," she said. "But Iowa State was the best for me this year because I got my highest score during that meet."
Davis said that the Missouri team overall has improved this year for a variety of reasons.
"We're a lot more consistent this year than last year," Davis said. "We're performing a lot harder skills and we're doing what we wanted to up to this point in terms of qualifying for NCAA Regionals, so now we just need to step up there."
And step up she will, no doubt. Davis qualified for NCAA Region III Championship last year and is looking to extend her performance at the end of this season by making the national final. But whether or not she makes it to Nationals, Davis said that as she looks to next season, she sees nothing but more success for the Tigers.
"We have no seniors, so we won't be losing anybody. Things will be just as good if not better next year," she anticipates. "The main thing is staying consistent. That was what worked for us this year that we didn't have last year."
Davis, who began tumbling at the rambunctious age of six, has worked to improve herself and her routines as a sophomore this season, and hopes next year will once again bring her new challenges and heights.
"I'd like to improve on bars next year and add some more difficulty to my routines," Davis said.
Davis said that bars is her favorite event to practice on, though it may not be her strongest during competition. Floor is her favorite event to compete on because it's there that the athletes are able to show off their own personalities and spend the most time in front of the judges, according to Davis.
In front of the judges is the place that Davis feels most at home, and strong encouragement from her parents and club coaches was hat drove her to compete at the collegiate level.
"My biggest success so far would be competing on a college team," Davis said. "I never really knew if I wanted to, but now looking back I'm so glad that I did. I was nervous about coming here, but things have changed a lot. Now my motivation is being there for the team. My scores are there to help the team be better."
The team framework of the Tigers took a blow this season when junior Alina Hamm fractured her hand in February. The loss of Hamm in all-around competition for the Tigers affected not only Davis but the whole team.
"It affected everybody and somebody else on each event had to step in where she stepped out and that was when I got the chance to start competing on floor again," she explained. "It definitely had an effect on me."
Davis said that she also feels that the loss of Terri Baker, Leah Gremaud and Laura Anson to the Mizzou line-up will not phase the Tigers or their resolve. She is confident that the team will once again step up and become stronger to fill the void left by some of MU's influential athletes.
"We can all push ourselves a little more," Davis said. "You think you're doing what you can, but you can always do a little more. I try and have a positive attitude and I am able to get rid of a bad event and move on to the next for the team."
Davis is driven towards success, both for herself and for her Mizzou family. Her consistency in competition is something the team relies on her for and something she loves about herself.
"I love the competing part of gymnastics," Davis said. "And that is what has kept me in it."
