Her summer break is helping Rachel Gowey put up big marks for her sophomore season. She set her collegiate beam best of 9.95 versus LSU.
Rachel Gowey: Rested & Ready for Second Season
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 | Gymnastics
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By: Olivia Nutting - UF Athletic Communications
GAINESVILLE, Fla. –Rachel Gowey was no stranger to pressure when she came to the University of Florida. Before her freshman season, she was training for and competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials, but her second collegiate season preparation was much different.
Rachel Gowey's sophomore start is off to a successful start. She leads the Gators with four event titles, including three consecutive beam wins.
This past year, Gowey experienced her first real summer. She had six weeks off at home in Urbandale, Iowa, before she had to come back to Gainesville to take a class and start training again.
During her summer break, Gowey focused on cardio, strength training, and most importantly, rest. She had never taken that much time off before, and her body could definitely feel a difference.
"Last year, I had a lot of shoulder problems," Gowey said. "So taking those six weeks off really helped my shoulder. I don't feel much pain in it anymore, and it was definitely just a good rest."
After heading into the season with some much needed rest on her side, Gowey still said she felt the nerves before this year's first meet. The rest seems to working in her favor, as Gowey currently leads the Gators with four event titles. That includes claiming the balance beam title in each meet. The 9.95 against then No. 1 LSU set her collegiate best.
One person who saw Gowey claim both the bars and beam titles last Friday at Kentucky was her mom. Gowey's mom has been at many of her competitions, but Friday was one of the first she's watched.
"When I was in elite, she never watched me. She and my dad would always get up and leave the arena or walk around the concourse when I competed as an elite. She's finally able to watch me," Gowey said. "She told me before the meet 'I'm going to watch you tonight' so it's great knowing she's watching me in person instead of a recording."
The team atmosphere is something that Gowey relies on. She says that when there's a whole team behind her it, pushes her to work harder. She wants her team to be able to trust her. In addition to the Gator team, the fans in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center make the atmosphere perfect for competition.
"There's nothing more exciting than having everyone there for the Gators," Gowey said. "You kind of just don't want the season to end because you love home meets, but post season is also so fun."
