Lebegern Finds Her Place Among UA?s Elite
2/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
By Scott Latta
UA Media Relations
For Sarah Patterson, recruiting Ricki Lebegern to the University of Alabama took a little more work than usual, though it wasn’t that the Alabama coach was trying to convince the Annandale, Va. native that she should come to Alabama.
Patterson had to convince her, first, that she could come at all.
“Ricki had a list of schools she was looking at, and I rarely end up trying to convince someone to come to school here who isn’t sold on the fact that they belong here,” Patterson said. “But I felt like Ricki was one of the best examples of someone making the wrong choice for the wrong reasons.”
Lebegern first became interested in Alabama following the Tide’s 2002 national championship, which she watched on TV from her home. After looking at a handful of schools, she said she felt that Alabama had the right combination of coaches, team and academics that she was looking for.
The problem, she felt, came in her training. As a Level 10 gymnast, she wasn’t receiving the attention that the Elite Level gymnasts around her were getting. Despite her strong performances, which included a spot on the U.S. Junior Olympic National Team and a fourth-place finish in the all-around at the 2005 Level 10 National Championships, Lebegern wasn’t fully convinced there would be a spot for her at a tradition-rich gymnastics program like Alabama.
“I wanted to come here but going through the whole process I had other teammates who, along the way, everybody thought they were going to be given the scholarships to other schools and I would be the one there saying, ??I would like to go to these schools, but is it even possible?’” she said. “It wasn’t as if I was being put down but it was like everyone already knew my potential.”
Lebegern’s eventual commitment to Alabama was thanks, in part, to Patterson’s resilience on the recruiting trail. After traveling to Lebegern’s home gym to watch her compete, she said, she was convinced Lebegern was just as talented as the Elite Level gymnasts around her.
“It’s the only time I’ve really not taken no for an answer,” Patterson said.
It didn’t take long for both Patterson and Lebegern to realize Lebegern’s abilities were more than qualified to compete on an SEC level. In her first meet, Lebegern won the vault with a 9.85 before winning five more individual titles along the way. She won the all-around against Arkansas before achieving the crowning moment of her short career in the SEC championships, when the 4-feet, 11-inch Lebegern became the SEC balance beam champion with a score of 9.925.
“When I started my year I just wanted to go out and do the best I could do,” Lebegern said. “An SEC championship wasn’t even in the back of my mind. I was just going up there trying to hit my routine not even thinking about it. The score was pretty close at the time so I just went up knowing I had to hit my routine to the best of my ability knowing it could come down to within tenths of each other.”
It was a fitting accomplishment for a gymnast who wasn’t even sure, at one point, that she belonged on the team at all. For Lebegern, it was a reinforcement that she was where she was supposed to be.
And for Patterson, it was a testimony to hard work and self-confidence.
“After her first few meets when she was doing so well last year I went over and put my arm around her and said, ??Now do you know why I continued to stay on you about coming here?’” Patterson said. “She was very appreciative and thankful that I made her see something different.”
Players Mentioned
