Trip to 2008 Florida-Georgia Dual Meet Sets Dali Lemezan's Mind on Becoming a Gator
Saturday, January 29, 2011 | Gymnastics
It took several months of convincing, a new driver's license, a pair of high school sophomores and a two-hour road trip to get Dali Lemezan to Gainesville.
“It took us forever to convince our parents to let us drive to Gainesville, especially on a Friday night,” the Gator sophomore said. “But we convinced them somehow.”
And so she and a friend made their way to the O'Connell Center to watch their very first collegiate gymnastics meet. Florida was competing against longtime rival Georgia in an arena packed with thousands of fans.
“It was just completely different from anything I'd ever seen before,” Lemezan said. “I think it was then, after I saw them compete, that was when I was pretty set on becoming a Gator one day.”
Lemezan still had two years to go before her high school graduation, but she had a goal, and soon enough it came time apply for college. She didn't think twice about hitting the submit button for UF.
“Every single day, I'd check the website to see if I was accepted. I was going crazy. My parents said if it was meant to be, it would all work out,” she said. “I came home from school the day I found out and my parents decorated the house with orange and blue balloons outside and there was a poster on the door that said 'congratulations.' When I pulled up to the house that day, I was shaking. I just wanted to start crying.”
Just a few short months later, Lemezan made her debut as a Gator gymnast.
“I remember standing there and hearing the announcer announce my name. I'd never experienced that before. It was such an adrenaline rush,” she said. “It didn't really feel like the real deal until I got to compete at the O'Connell Center. I got to lead us off on the vault and it was just awesome. I landed my vault and heard the crowd roar and it was just an amazing feeling.”
She had come a long way since 1996, when the 5-year-old Lemezan and her family came to the United States to escape war-torn Bosnia. They settled in St. Petersburg, Fla., and she was enrolled in baton classes at a local recreation center while her parents worked around busy schedules to keep her active. When the baton classes were canceled, the Lemezans turned to the only sport they could work their schedules around – gymnastics. The 8-year-old had a natural ability and quickly picked up on new skills.
“I was just far ahead of everyone in the class. I was in the rec class for about two weeks and the coaches talked to my parents and I moved over to the gymnastics club,” she said. “When my parents saw that I was serious about the sport, that I actually wanted to do it, they adjusted their work schedules for my gymnastics. There have been quite a few sacrifices.”
At UF, Lemezan has also had to sacrifice some of her own free time. The sociology major eventually hopes to study nursing, and she's just as focused on her education as her training.
“It's wake up, go to class, go to practice, come home, do homework right away. Sometimes, we have a little bit of time in the locker room before practice, so I do homework then too. It's something that you learn to get used to,” she said.
Luckily, Lemezan gets plenty of support from her roommates – teammates Randy Stageberg and Elizabeth Mahlich.
“We live together. We have classes together. We train together. We're together like 24/7,” she said. “Randy and I can pretty much take any situation and laugh about it. I feel like I've known her forever, and I can share anything with her.”
The roommates relax by shopping, watching movies together and playing with their newly adopted kitten, Pearl.
“She's so spastic. When everyone's up during the day, she sleeps, but when everyone's trying to go to bed she'll be running around knocking things over,” Lemezan said. “But she's so nice, she loves to be petted and loves to play.”
Lemezan is looking forward to healing a preseason elbow injury so she can get back to full workouts on the vault.
“It set me back a bit, but I'm working back toward where I was before and really focusing on being able to perform to my best ability and contribute to the team in any way that I can,” she said.
She's also excited for the Gators' annual Link to Pink meet against Penn State and NC State.
“I think we have really respectful fans. They cheer for everybody, and I love knowing how supportive they are,” Lemezan said. “It's such a great cause in support of everybody that's battling or has survived breast cancer. “
By Mara Rudolph, UF Communications
