Bakken Overcomes Obstacles For NCAA Berth
April 27, 2007
by Holly Laubacher
At the NCAA West Regional earlier this month, senior gymnast Chelsea Bakken competed in every event as if it were her last. An hour after the scores were tallied, however, she received the surprise of a lifetime -- her career would be extended two more weeks, because she was going to Nationals.
With a score above 9.700 in every event at Regionals and a career-best All-Around score of 39.025, Bakken will represent the GymDawgs at Nationals in Salt Lake City this Thursday. It will be the senior leader's first trip to Nationals, an event she has only ever watched on TV.
"I've always wondered what it feels like to be there," Bakeen said when interviewed earlier this week. "I've competed in this arena before but it's a whole different feeling at Nationals."
Bakken's family will be in Utah to support her, as will the family of teammate and Salt Lake City native Cassidy Lance. Also supporting her, in unique fashion, will be the University of Michigan women's gymnastics squad -- first-year head coach Joanne Bowers was an assistant at Michigan the last five years before taking over at Washington last summer, and has said that Michigan will be in full support of UW's Bakken.
Even though her UW teammates can't be in Salt Lake City with her, Bakken knows they are on her side one hundred percent.
"It's been a little awkward because I've been the only one training, but the team has come in during practices to support me, so I'm not alone," she says.
After all, Bakken says, it's her teammates that have made this season "the most enjoyable of all" her four years at UW. Bakken's career has seen its share of ups and downs, including two different head coaches and five different assistant coaches, not to mention a regularly-changing cast of fellow gymnasts.
The Mesa, Ariz., native could alawys at least count on her health -- Bakken missed nary a meet in her first three seasons, a remarkable run of good health in a sport that takes a toll on one's body. That run came to an end, however, in January, when a sprained ankle threatened to derail not only Bakken's consecutive-meets streak, but also her chances of making it to the NCAA Championships as an all-around competitor.
Bakken returned on bars two weeks later, adding beam in mid-March and floor at the Pac-10 Championship meet. Her performance in the all-around at the NCAA West Regional -- where she scored a career-high equaling 39.025 to place eighth and earn an at-large NCAA berth -- marked her first competition on all four events since sufferring the injury nearly two months before.
Through the ups and downs of the past two seasons, Bakken has remained upbeat, inspiring her teammates with her infectious personality.
"I love everyone on the team like a sister," she says. "Going through college being a student-athlete, a Husky athlete, is a great experience. I wouldn't change anything. I feel like I've accomplished a lot here. I know that Husky gymnastics is going to do well in the future and I'm excited to watch them grow and succeed."
With Nationals in her future, Bakken has also already prepared for her life after UW.
"I'm going to be in a performing show at Sea World this summer, and I'm in the auditioning process for a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas," she says.
The entertainment industry would be lucky to have her -- but for now, it's off to Salt Lake City, and the NCAA Championships.
