Behind the international accolades and Olympic success of Stanford’s freshman class sits a group of young women who openly admit that their team is made up of a bunch of weirdos.
“We have a weird team to be honest, and we love it,” redshirt freshman Levi Jung-Ruivivar said.
“Every one of us has something unique, but we embrace that, and we love it,” former Romanian elite Ana Barbosu explained.
The weirdness is easy to see as a simple conversation about gymnastics turns into conversations about math homework and trying each other’s smoothies, but one thing that isn’t weird about Stanford’s freshman class is the impact it has made in just one year as the Cardinal prepares for a trip to Fort Worth.
The freshman class has contributed across the board, from all-arounders Barbosu and Jung-Ruivivar to event specialists like Summer Gronski and Jennifer Williams. All have career-highs of 9.850 or higher on all events they competed this year, with Barbosu entering the postseason ranked in the top 40 in the all-around.
While different factors brought each of them to Stanford, getting experience early on in their careers was an intimidating and surreal experience at first that each had to learn to control. Gronski laughed as she recalled her nerves getting the better of her in her first meet, causing her to miss the vault table entirely. An Olympian and former elite, Barbosu says that seeing her teammates who have been competing regularly for multiple years now gave her the confidence that she would reach that level as well.
As a redshirt, Jung-Ruivivar’s experiences are a little different this year compared to last. After a leave of absence found her off campus and unable to attend any meets last year, adjusting her mindset to be ready to compete weekly has been the hardest part. “It’s more mental for me, figuring out how to get centered and how hard to push, but not push too far past what is required,” said Jung-Ruivivar. “I feel like I’m still learning, but it is an honor to get to contribute, and it’s so exciting, and I’m really grateful.”
Despite it being her first competitive season, Jung-Ruivivar has been a valuable asset to the true freshmen on and off the competition floor.
“[She’s] talking herself down,” Gronski said. “She’s phenomenal.”
“She’s incredible,” Williams, a former Swedish elite, stated. “Coming in and [being] so confused, she’s helped me calm down and figure things out. She’s just been a good part of my experience.” Williams came to Stanford recovering from a PCL injury to her knee, and having confidence that her team would step up in her absence made her calmer and able to focus on her recovery. The patience paid off as Williams officially made her scoring debut in late February with a 9.900.
While their impact has been noticeable in competition, they’ve also been able to make an impact on the program outside of competition. Head coach Tabitha Yim says that while they are a very silly group, they’ve added a joyful dynamic and have made a tremendous impact on their team culture in just one year, something she attributes to the leadership of her seniors and how they’ve welcomed them into the fold in year one.
“Those freshmen love those seniors,” Yim said. “They recognize that it’s not every day that you have that type of leadership [and] connection that they’ve been welcomed into in their very first year, and I know that they want to [do more] because they want to carry the legacy that the seniors have helped build.” Gronski echoed Yim’s comments, saying that having that support from the entire team, especially the seniors, was a big reason why their class was so successful this year.
As they prepare to conclude their freshman season at the national championships, this group plans to continue the legacy by making sure the team stays connected as a new group of freshmen arrives this summer. Jung-Ruivivar said she is excited to take a new group under her wing and continue to grow the team by building the legacy one day at a time.
“Stanford is making a name for itself,” she said. “We’re one to be reckoned with, and we’re going to continue to be reckoned with, and I feel like that’s not going to change.”
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Article by Savanna Wellman
