The defending national champions take center stage Friday night at the La Crosse Center.
The UW-La Crosse gymnastics team, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, is set for a massive showdown against third-ranked UW-Whitewater at 6 p.m.
Expectations are high for the Eagles, but All-American juniors Paige Breckwoldt and Raina Christenson say the team has a specific mindset for a postseason run.
“We actually have, like, kind of our phrase this year as a team,” Christenson said earlier this week on WIZM. “It is…” she continued, looking to her teammate.
“Defend, not repeat,” both Breckwoldt and Christenson then said in unison with a laugh.
“Repeating it, of course, it would be amazing to be national champions again, but it’s just not the same team,” Christenson continued. “Like, we’re coming in with a whole different group, different mindset, different skills, everything’s different. So, we’re trying to defend and fight for that title again.”
With the Eagles having won the national title last year, the expectations have grown, but so has their fan base. New fans are showing up to each meet and UW-L coach Kasey Crawford says come ready for a show.
“A lot of them have never been to a meet, never known what a gymnastics meet is like, and they come away being like, ‘That was like a rock concert!’” Crawford said. “It was so loud and so much energy, and everyone is, like, high-fiving and cheering, and the support you have for each other.”
Friday’s meet will also feature a special appearance by world champion gold medalist Maggie Nichols. She was the first gymnast in NCAA history to earn a “Gym Slam” by scoring a perfect 10.0 on all four individual events. She’ll be joining the Eagles in signing autographs and giving away leotards.
La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Find the show on Spotify, Apple Podcast or here. Tune in on the WIZM app or on air at 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska)
Along with discussion about defending the title, the conversation with Breckwoldt and Christenson also revolved around who the best athletes are on campus.
When asked who it was, the duo laughed and said, “Us! Yeah, we think it’s us.”
Crawford talked about how they had other UW-L teams come to gymnastics practice last year and it didn’t go so well for those athletes — though she also admitted the gymnasts didn’t do all that great outside their sport either.
Being the self-heralded best athletes on campus takes skill — but also a ton of work. It’s just not work that includes running any sort of distances.
“We lift two or three times a week, kind of depending on what time of year it is, or like if we’re in season or not,” Christenson said. “We don’t really run — like if I tried to go on a run right now, it probably would not go very well. But we just do a lot of sprints and quick cardio things.”
Crawford added that the intensity often surprises people.
“We practice for two and a half hours, and then you go weight train after that,” Crawford said. “We always get a lot of recruit parents that are like, ‘Whoa, you’re going to hit up the weight room after this?’ And I go, ‘Yep.’”
