Guider, Scholle head into linueup
Hard work earns spots for Danielle Guder and Becky Scholle.
Published April 6, 2007
On April 14, the MU gymnastics team will head to Berkeley, Calif., to compete in NCAA Regional competition. The team has been successful enough to rank 18th in the country. Despite all this, two freshmen have been able to break into the competitive lineup.
Danielle Guider, from Nutley, N.J., competes on vault, beam and floor, and Becky Scholle, from Chesterfield, competes on bars in the competitive lineup. Coach Rob Drass said both girls are calm and consistent.
"They're just able to go up there, and everybody has confidence that they're going to be able to go get the job done," he said.
Senior Whitney Crater said Guider made an especially easy adjustment to college gymnastics. When Guider saw tapes of solid routines, she caught on quickly and worked to emulate them, Crater said.
"No one even had to tell her," Crater said. "It was just kind of like 'monkey see, monkey do.' She's just really observant and caught on really quickly."
Guider said the leadership of the veterans on the team has led to increased confidence, an improvement from the way she felt at the beginning of the season.
"I think when I go out there, I'm more comfortable with my routines," she said. "I've practiced more, and I have more experience, and I know that all my teammates have my back. If they need me, I have their back. I know it's like a two-way street, and we're all there for each other."
Guider said the "team first" attitude is what keeps her working hard on bars, the one rotation she does not compete in.
"I think I struggle with it, but I'm like, 'I'm working hard just in case my team ever needs me to go up there,'" she said.
As for competing on bars and becoming an all-arounder, Guider said she would not be opposed to it but only if hard work earned her a spot in the lineup, and it was best for the team.
Crater said things were different with Scholle. It was not as easy of an adjustment to the college level, something that led to frustration for Scholle and lead the veterans on the team to push her to continue working.
"We were really hard on her but in a good way," Crater said.
Crater said Scholle has plenty of talent but entered college without the necessary confidence.
"I think she just has a lot of talent, and she didn't have a lot of faith in her talent," Crater said. "And so I think that's why I was a lot harder on her. She has a whole lot of potential and a lot of talent to be a really great gymnast on all four events."
Scholle said the main way the veterans on the team have helped her is in improving her confidence level.
"Every day they remind you that you're where you are because of how good you are," she said. "For me, I think my confidence is one of my issues. I don't always believe in myself. Every day they are trying to help me remember how good I am and what I can do."
Scholle said she would like to become an all-around competitor by the end of her career.
"I feel like I can do it," she said. "I just need more confidence in myself."