Long Islander Shani Sirota can’t wait to begin her first season competing for Maryland. She’s been told about differences in the atmosphere between club and collegiate meets and is now excited to experience it for herself.
Her student-athlete experience began similarly to many athletes in the recruiting class of 2022, with zoom meetings during COVID and maintaining a presence on social media. Her persistence with emailing and video updates paid off, as Maryland expressed interest in her gymnastics. College Park proved to be great for her, as she didn’t want city life to be a part of her college experience. She loves the campus and even more importantly the team’s culture.
While she tends to keep her involvement in Jewish life separate from her day-to-day gymnastics world (save for this past summer’s Maccabiah Games), she notes that there are plenty of opportunities to stay involved with the community on campus.
The University of Maryland has one of the largest Hillel programs in the country, engaging roughly two-thirds of the school’s 6,000 Jewish students. Known as the main foundation for Jewish life on college campuses, Hillel provides holiday programming, kosher meals and clubs for students. “I went there for the holidays and they have Shabbat services every Friday,” Sirota said. “I try to go as much as I can. That’s a really nice community and a bunch of nice people to meet.”
Inclusivity is a big tenet to Maryland’s gymnastics program, which no doubt eases freshmen into the team’s culture. Sirota excitedly said that at team holiday parties, she can wear Jewish sweaters instead of matching the ugly Christmas attire.
This season, she’s looking forward to seeing how lineups shake down and is hoping to contribute on two or three events. In her words, “We’ve all been working so hard, and we all have the numbers behind us.” At the Terps’ recent Red vs. Black intrasquad, Sirota put up one of the team’s eight floor routines.
For many, the anticipated highlight meet of the year either comes during postseason or when scheduling reunites club teammates on opposing college teams. For Sirota, the meet she’s most looking forward to is not even a question—she’s counting down to Big Fives because “it’s literally 15 minutes from my house!” The opportunity to compete closer to home in NCAA than in level 10 is rare and one she’ll eagerly take in at the former home of the NHL’s New York Islanders.
More than anything, she’s simply excited to have fun and put herself out there. Her season will begin on the road facing Kent State and West Virginia on January 13, and her first taste of a collegiate home meet will be when the Terps host Michigan State on January 29.
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Article by Peri Goodman
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