On the cover of the 2001 Penn State women's gymnastics media guide, you'll find a picture of junior Nikki Bongiovanni displaying the grace and athleticism that define a few of her talents as a gymnast. Talents that Bongiovanni feel have yet to be completely tapped into, as her first few years in Happy Valley have been marked by setbacks due to injuries.
When you meet Bongiovanni, she rises to greet you with a wide smile, and for most people, they'll find they're looking right over the top of her head even though she's fully standing. Still, in that diminutive 5'1" frame, there is a tremendous amount of power, and desire, and after just a few moments of talking to her, Nikki Bongiovanni's heart and passion for what hopefully lies ahead become quite clear.
The daughter of a former major league baseball player (Terry Bongiovanni), Nikki grew up in Meriden, Conn., where she was introduced to gymnastics at the age of five.
"I tried one year of track in high school, but I was always training for gymnastics, so track could never really come first. Gymnastics was really always it for me of course, there was one year of baseball when I was four or five.that was for my dad".
Bongiovanni's smile when she speaks of her father hints at a tremendous closeness in her family that she is happy to talk about.
"My family is very, very close. It was tough for me to move away from home, but my family still gives me such great support all the time- they're always at every meet for me. Even now, I love going back to Connecticut because I just love being home".
After coming to Penn State in the fall of 1998, Bongiovanni has developed close friendships with many of her teammates; in particular, classmate E'Tona Ford.
"E'Tona and I have always gotten along well, and related well to each other. She's been someone I can vent to, and she's always just been a great friend."
Ford recently suffered a serious injury, a situation that Bongiovanni knows all too well. After a storied career growing up in Meriden, Bongiovanni fielded offers from some of the top programs in the country, including Michigan and Florida. She chose Penn State because, she says, "I wanted to have an impact on the program and be a person that elevated the program. When I came here we were around 11th in the country and I wanted to help move the program forward".
All signs pointed to her doing just that in her freshman season before an injury put her career on hold. After suffering from tendinitis all through her freshman season, Bongiovanni tore her patellar tendon, which forced her to miss her entire sophomore campaign. For the time being, her impact on the program would be put on hold.
"It was so frustrating and hard to deal with. It took a long time and was something I learned some valuable lessons from. Most of all, I learned how much I wanted to be back out competing", she says with a smile.
Finally, Nikki's wishes to compete again were realized a few weeks ago when she competed for the first time in over a year at the Super Six Challenge in Tuscaloosa, Ala.. With the adrenaline rushing, she said it was difficult to feel completely feel at ease initially.
"I had some major jitters, and didn't feel completely relaxed out there. I still kind of second-guess my moves, probably to protect my knees. That's something I'll have to get over eventually".
Now that she's finally competing again, Bongiovanni feels she has the chance to fulfill the potential she knows she has.
"There's so much I know I can do that I haven't done yet", she says with a mix of a sigh and a smile. "I want to help get this team to a Super Six, and there's so much I still haven't gotten a chance to do yet". So will those goals be reached?
"Oh, I hope so. I really want it. I just hope so".
The difficulty for Bongiovanni to put into words how close success is and how badly she wants it are proof alone, but her smile at the end of the sentence seems to show a resignation to how much work lies ahead. At the same time, the smile is almost bursting with desire and anxiety to finally get there. If heart and desire are the ultimate forces behind reaching our goals, then Nikki Bongiovanni will certainly be meeting great success much sooner than later.