Freshman Ellie Lazzari delivered a strong performance in her Gators debut in last week's season-opening win at Auburn. (Photo: Shanna Lockwood/Auburn Athletics)
Lazzari Eager To Compete, This Time At Home
Thursday, January 14, 2021 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Around the time the No. 1-ranked Gators gymnastics team bursts through the blizzard of fog and onto the floor at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center on Friday night, the residents of Foshan, China, will be busy greeting a new morning.
For the first 18 months of her life, Ellie Lazzari called the city in Southern China home.
Now, a couple of months shy of her 18th birthday, Lazzari is a typical American teenager. She enjoys binge-watching "The Gilmore Girls" on Netflix, walking her goldendoodle Coco and learning new hobbies. She tested her skills at baking when the coronavirus pandemic shut down her gym in Illinois back in the spring.
A fresh experience awaits Lazzari on Friday: her first home competition as a UF freshman gymnast.
"I committed when I was in eighth grade," Lazzari said this week. "I just knew this was where I belonged."
The Gators host Southeastern Conference rival Georgia in the first home meet of the 2021 season, providing Florida fans – due to health and safety protocols, the reduced capacity is 2,200 this season – their first glimpse at the UF team since the coronavirus pandemic shut down a team that appeared ready to make a bid to win the program's first national title since 2015.
The arrival of Lazzari is just one of the reasons many expect the Gators to be in similar position later this season. A 5-foot dynamo from Wheaton, Illinois, Lazzari was adopted by an American couple before her second birthday. She has two older sisters also born in China and adopted. One is at the University of Iowa, the other at Illinois State.
What separates Lazzari is that she is the only member of the family to develop into one of the top freshman gymnasts in the country.
"We knew from her past history that she's a great competitor,'' Gators coach Jenny Rowland said. "She thrives. She loves competing."
In her collegiate debut in Florida's season-opening win last week at Auburn, Lazzari's 9.950 score on the beam was the best in school history in a debut. Lazzari competed in the vault, beam and uneven bars, joining fellow freshman Gabrielle Gallentine (bars) as the two newcomers in the lineup.
It was an impressive performance by Lazzari, who growing up trained at Legacy Elite Gymnastics, the same Chicago-area gym that produced former UF standouts Bridgette and Mackenzie Caquatto. The gym is owned by Yuejiu Li and his wife, Jiani Wu, a pair of former Chinese Olympians. Wu was a bronze medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Their daughter, former UCLA gymnast Anna Li, is one of the coaches.
Rowland was impressed but not surprised by Lazzari's debut, knowing the bar is much higher for the newcomer with the big smile. As for the classroom, Lazzari aced that test in the fall with a 4.0 GPA in her first college semester. Not that those close to her was surprised. To enroll at UF early, Lazzari's academic workload included 13 classes from the middle of the junior year through the summer to complete her senior year of high school.
Gators freshman Ellie Lazzari was sharpest on the beam in her collegiate debut last week at Auburn. (Photo: Shanna Lockwood/Auburn Athletics)
"It was really hard, but I just knew this was a goal of mine and it would be worth it in the end,'' she said.
Meanwhile, Lazzari continues to round into form in the gym following a three-month break amidst the COVID-19 shutdown last spring and the transition to college.
"Ellie is still not a 100 percent in our mind,'' Rowland said. "She had a little bit of a slower start this past fall, so a couple more weeks, she's going to continue to gear up. I could see Ellie in the all-around here in the next couple of weeks and really, her strengths are her smile. It really lights up a room and she's just so fun to watch. She's elegant, she's beautiful, she's powerful. She really is the full package."
Less than two years after moving to America, Lazzari's mother enrolled her in gymnastics. Soon, her natural talent began to show and she enjoyed the sport, so she stuck with it as her adopted sisters moved on to other interests.
She doesn't pinpoint an exact moment, but sometime in middle school, the Gators caught her attention because of the exploits of All-American performers such as Bridget Sloan, Kytra Hunter and Alex McMurtry. She caught Florida's attention as an invitee to multiple U.S. National Team camps in 2016 and '17 as one of the sport's up-and-comers.
And now she's here, ready to make her home debut.
"It's going to be amazing. I'm just so excited to finally get to experience my time as a Gator," Lazzari said. "I've always been a Gator fan. Ever since I found out what college gymnastics was, Florida, something about it was just so special it. It just stood out to me."
Lazzari was pleased with her overall performance at Auburn, but seeks improvement as the Gators build toward what they hope is a meaningful postseason. Besides her strong performance on the beam, Lazzari posted a 9.900 on vault and 9.725 on bars.
Ask Lazzari what she can bring to the team in her first season, and it starts in the event she starred in at Auburn.
"Definitely beam. I think beam is my strongest event,'' she said. "I really like how it's all about having good rhythm and trusting yourself and have key words inside your head when you're going. But, also, I think I will definitely contribute with good positive energy and having my teammates' backs and being there for them no matter what."
