March 27, 2015
By Gabby Richards, GoPSUsports Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - When most kids are an 11-year-old, their career is usually the last thing on their mind. Penn State women's gymnastics senior Alex Witt was different; she has always known that she wanted to become a doctor.
If the Florida native knew one thing for certain, aside from her desired career path, she knew that she wanted to continue competitive gymnastics in college. She needed to find a school that would allow her to excel in the classroom and in the gym, and Penn State was that place.
"Moving up here was a huge adjustment for me," Witt said. "I was hundreds of miles away from home. But, by the end of sophomore year, I was involved with clubs, doing really well in school. You have to take advantage of everything this school has to offer."
Witt's junior year was a roller coaster ride; she missed the first eight meets of the season due to a thumb injury. Witt's primary event is uneven bars and was unable to train her upper-body for a good portion of the season.
"It was crazy," Witt said. "I had to have surgery on my thumb and then I was out for three months. But, I never lost faith that I would be back at sometime that season. I did walkthroughs with the team in the gym and was constantly doing cardio. Uneven bars is my best event, so I knew I just had to keep my mind fresh."
After three months of rehabilitation, Witt was ready to start to fight her way back into the starting rotation.
"We had to shuffle some things around in the lineup before NCAA Regionals last year," head coach Jeff Thompson said. "If Alex [Witt] didn't step up and perform as well as she did on bars, I don't know if we would have made it to the [NCAA] championships."
At the 2014 NCAA Regionals, Witt delivered a career defining performance, scoring a 9.850 on uneven bars. Her score not only lifted the team to the NCAA Championships, proved to her that she was `back' and ready to compete.
This mentality that she has grown into because of gymnastics has influenced her desire to become an emergency room doctor or even venture into cardiology.
"Being an athlete has taught me how to deal with high pressure situations," Witt said. "As an ER doctor, I would have to be aware of multiple patients at once. Being able to focus and have a clear head is something that I have learned from this sport. I know that I would be prepared for that line of work."
This season, Witt has been consistent, delivery solid performances on bars at every meet. She is not only a senior, but also a leader in the event category. Penn State has always been solid, consistently, on floor and vault, but this year Witt's dedication has forged a path for new success on the apparatus.
"Alex [Witt] is the type of kid you want to recruit," Thompson said. "She is a hard worker, but she also knows how to have a good time. She makes you laugh and really understands that you have to take the good with the bad and make the most of it."
Most recently, Witt helped the team to a securing it's second highest bar score of the season at the Big Ten Championships. Witt's 9.850 performance helped the team to a 49.275 finish in the category.
"You just have to breathe," Witt said. "At the end of the day, it is just a sport, you can't be too hard on yourself. Things aren't going to go your way 100 percent of the time. In club gymnastics, you only compete for yourself, but college is different. Here, you compete for your teammates, coaches, all while representing your school. If you keep perspective, everything will be okay."