Michigan State University Athletics
Alina Cartwright: Just Believe
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
By Matthew Bontorin, MSU Athletic Communications
The ups and downs of gymnastics can be echoed by anyone who has competed. The mental discipline, physical endurance and commitment to training at such a young age make the sport unlike any other.
Senior Spartan gymnast Alina Cartwright is no exception to the wave of highs and lows. In her career, Cartwright has had highs elevating her to the top of the Big Ten, earning All-Conference honors in 2014, while lows that nearly took her out of the sport completely.
Growing up in Naperville, Illinois, Cartwright was placed in a gymnastics recreational program at the age of three.
"I was a brat when I was a kid and had a lot of energy," said Cartwright. "My sister was into gymnastics at the time, and I wanted to do everything my sister did. So, I followed in her footsteps."
Her sister would eventually go on to pursue dance, but Cartwright decided to stick with gymnastics. By the age of five, she started training with the Naperville Gymnastics Club.
Shortly after her seventh birthday, Cartwright was eligible to compete, and was more than ready after training with girls much older than she was. She coasted through the compulsory levels of gymnastics and was ready to be more serious about the sport.
In the sixth grade, Cartwright made the switch to Aeriel Gymnastics in Downer's Grove, Illinois, a gym known for producing top-level gymnasts. While she improved exponentially as a gymnast, the effects were nothing she could have anticipated.
"It got really hard for me, and I wasn't sure if I liked gymnastics anymore," said Cartwright. "I was in middle school and everyone was going out and having fun, and because of the time commitment, I didn't have many friends. It was difficult to deal with."
The disconnect she felt with her peers made her take a step back from the sport at the most crucial time in her development.
Cartwright made the decision to switch to a far less competitive gym, one that would allow her to have much more free time.
When high school came around she was encouraged to get back into competitive gymnastics. In most coaches' minds, her talent was worthy of getting a scholarship. The next step was to get Cartwright to believe in herself.
She returned to her original gym in Naperville and reverted to competitive form.
"Those were probably some of my best years," said Cartwright. "I was training hard and, most importantly, made a lot of friends at my gym. They helped me transform into the best gymnast I could be."
Cartwright finished level 10 in her junior year of high school, which was extremely late if she were to be considered for a college scholarship.
"People usually have their scholarships by sophomore year and I was a junior so I didn't think there were any scholarships left," said Cartwright. "I did really well at one of my meets that Michigan State attended. They contacted me and came to watch me at my gym, and eventually offered me a scholarship."
As it would turn out, this was not just Cartwright's best offer, but it would be her only offer.
"To get that offer was huge because it was so late in the recruiting process," said Cartwright. "I came from a huge school, with a graduating class of almost 1,200 kids, so the big school atmosphere that Michigan State had was really appealing to me as well."
Despite her late scholarship offer, the Spartan staff saw a great deal of untapped potential in Cartwright.
"During the recruiting process you're always looking for someone who doesn't just stand out, but can make major improvements in college," said head coach Kathie Klages. "We had a lot higher expectations for her than she realized."
Cartwright came to East Lansing with a belief that she would compete in only a few events, likely vault and floor, her two favorites. It was not until the coaches approached her about being an all-around competitor that she realized just how high expectations were for her.
"There was a lot of pressure because I didn't know they saw me that way," said Cartwright. "I didn't see myself that way. I didn't believe I could be who they wanted me to be."
The Illinois native competed as an all-around competitor her freshman year, earning her first top-three placement on vault with a 9.725 at Iowa. Cartwright also recorded a personal-best 9.775 score on bars on six different occasions that year, yet still did not feel like she had lived up to her coaches' expectations.
It was not until her junior year that Cartwright began to believe in her abilities.
"Every meet I competed in my junior was all-around," said Cartwright. "I was being very persistent and was loving it. I thought to myself, `this is fun, why did it take me so long to realize I was good at this.'"
Cartwright placed in the top-three in the all-around in seven meets, winning the title on three occasions. She went on to compete as an individual in the 2014 Regional Championships, placing fifth in the all-around. The rapidly improving gymnast was gaining national attention and, by the end of the year, earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors.
"Alina grew that year to the point where she realized she was an extremely talented young women," said Klages.
With Cartwright's confidence at an all-time high, the coaches made the decision to name her one of the team captains heading into the fall of her senior year.
"If you had told me I was going to be captain my senior year, I would have laughed," said Cartwright. "I struggled so much my freshman year that I didn't know if I was going to survive all four years. It just took time to understand how good I was and how capable I was of influencing others to be the best they could be."
Cartwright had the best offseason of her career and was ready to make a run at nationals as a senior leader. Just as the 2015 season got underway, Cartwright was sidelined with a foot injury that would keep her out of action for the first portion of the season.
"It definitely hurt at first because I prepared myself so much for this year after doing so well last year," said Cartwright.
While recovering, Cartwright used her time in the gym to develop another set of skills − videography. As an advertising major, Cartwright had some experience using a camera, but for the first time began creating videos, short clips and highlight tapes during practice and at meets.
"I've always wanted a go-pro, so I bought one and started filming the girls a lot," said Cartwright. "I thought, `you know what, if I can't be out there the least I can do is make the girls look good.' I love videography, especially with athletics, and it took me getting injured to realize it."
As her foot progressed, Cartwright was able to increase her workload and soon enough was able to start training again. With events like vault and floor still weeks away from being attempted, she was able to focus on bars, her self-proclaimed weakest event.
"I would say this injury is a blessing in disguise," said Cartwright. "I got really mentally tough on bars and got a 9.900, which was one of my goals. It was a career goal to get a 9.900, so that was huge. It probably would have never happened if I didn't hurt my foot."
Now fully recovered, Cartwright competed in the Big Ten Championships on March 21 and paved the way for the Spartans on beam, scoring a season-high 9.875. Cartwright also led the Spartans on vault, marking a 9.825, while also sticking a 9.825 on bars.
With regionals approaching, Cartwright still has a few goals to accomplish before her time in the Green and White comes to an end.
"My biggest goal is to score a 10.000 on vault, it's my favorite event" said Cartwright. "I want to place at Regionals and make it to Nationals."
The Spartans will compete as the No. 5 seed in the Iowa State Region of the 2015 Regional Championships. Cartwright will have one last shot to reach her goal of making it to Nationals, but, regardless of the outcome, will be remembered as one of the most hard-working and talented senior leaders in recent history.
"She will be remembered as someone who has come in here and changed the culture of Michigan State gymnastics," said Klages. "It took her a little while to realize it, but once she believed in herself there was no limit to what she could achieve."
Players Mentioned
