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October 23, 2006

Getting to know...Sarah Curtis!

As a former Elite level gymnast and two-time Junior Olympic runner-up (2004, 2005) in the all-around, Sarah Curtis could have an immediate impact on all four events for the Wolverines. As a top 10 finisher on all four events at the 2005 L10 Nationals (she won a national title on bars that year), her consistency on all four events will be an asset to the team this season. Curtis hails from Reno, Nevada, where she graduated from Reno High School and was a Level 10 standout with Flips USA Gymnastics Center.

Sarah shared with us some of the initial challenges she encountered in transitioning from high school to college and from club to college gymnastics, as well as her personal goals for the upcoming season.

On what attracted her to the University of Michigan...
"The academics, girls on the team, coaches, facilities, and traditions that Michigan offers."

On some of the challenges that she has encountered thus far in adjusting to college gymnastics (training-wise)...
"The conditioning has been different, so adjusting to that has been hard. Also adjusting to the different bar and vault settings has been a bit of a challenge."

On some of the challenges that she has encountered thus far in balancing both academics and gymnastics...
"I've been up pretty late studying for classes, because there doesn't seem to be enough time to get work done. I'm usually good at prioritizing, but I still can't accept the fact that I can't do everything in one night ... there just isn't enough time!"

On her favorite event...
"I love vault. It's been one of my better events, and I love how explosive and fast it is."

On what her new floor exercise routine will be like...
"My floor routine is different from most of the floor routines I have had. It kind of mixes drums with a jazzy beat ... add that to my powerful tumbling and it should be an exciting combination."

On whether she has a particular nickname...
"I get called Sae in the gym most of the time, but outside of the gym, it's just Sarah."

On what she is looking forward to the most about the upcoming season...
"The chance to wear the Maize and Blue leo and block M. It'll be so nice to compete with so many other girls and know we're all in it for the same goal!"

On what she likes the most about college thus far ...
"I like how you have choices in what you do and how you're responsible for almost everything. What you do on the weeekends, when you study, and everything else is totally your choice...although it all has to be done at some point!"

On her personal goal for the upcoming season...
"I want to help the team in any way that I can. Whether that's competing events or cheering from the sidelines, moving mats and giving pats on the back...wherever I can help, I want to be able to do that."

On the type of profession that she is interested in pursuing after graduation....
"I want to go to Medical School. I've always been really fascinated with the human body and loved anatomy classes in high school. Also, I did some internships at the hospital and loved it."

To learn more about Sarah, check out her athlete bio!

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