Gymnast Creslyn Brose had young fans waiting for her autograph after she scored a perfect 10 on floor exercise against Arkansas. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Sophomore Creslyn Brose and senior Hailey Davis have both had superb seasons and been big reasons Kentucky has been ranked among the top 10 gymnastics teams nationally all season.
Both had similar starts to their gymnastics careers as youngsters.
“I used to flip around the house when I was younger, and my mom thought that maybe that was a little dangerous to be flipping off the couch so she put me in gymnastics,” Brose said. “I started with mommy and me classes when I was like 2, and then I took a break for a while and played soccer.
“But then I decided to choose gymnastics after watching the Olympics. I don’t remember exactly which one, but I fell in love with it immediately.”
Davis said her story was similar except she had a sister three years older who was taking gymnastic classes.
“She would come home after her classes and would try to spot me on back handsprings and back tucks and stuff. My parents decided this is a little dangerous, so let’s put her in gymnastics,” Davis said. “I also started with the mommy and me classes because I was 2. I just stuck with it ever since and fell in love with it.”
Kentucky gymnasts interact with hundreds of fans, mainly young girls, after every home match, and Brose had a lot of them waiting for her last week after scoring a perfect 10 on floor exercise – her third straight win on floor – against Arkansas in the team’s final home match.
“Honestly, it’s like one of my favorite parts of the night. I look forward to talking to all of them,” Brose said.
She has girls who were in her summer camp group wait to get her autograph along with others she’s also seen at previous meets.
“It’s honestly great to see both familiar faces and new faces both,” she said. “I love kids, and I love interacting with kids, so it’s really fun. I will try to talk to all of them.”
Davis is the same way. She doesn’t want any child to leave Memorial Coliseum with an autograph if they want one.
“I feel like they come there and they support us, and I remember being that little girl coming to those meets and looking up to the college gymnasts,” Davis said. “I feel like that’s the least we could do is go and give them a little bit of time. I try my best to also talk to as many of them as I can.
“A lot of those girls come to the meets year after year. They come to every single one of them, and I’ve started to recognize them and form relationships with not only them but also their parents. I think that it makes the experience better for them. It makes it easier when they say, ‘Hey, do you remember me?’ And I actually do because I talk to them and that’s something I think we will always do.”
