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Bouncing Back

By Daily Bruin Staff

March 4, 2002 9:00 p.m.

  MAIYA HOLLIDAY A reformed Jeanette
Antolin
regained her spot on the gymnastics team.

By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff

Every athlete faces a moment of truth.

For some, it comes on the free throw line in a championship
game. Others find themselves set to kick a field goal as time
expires, or at the plate with the bases loaded and two outs.

For gymnast Jeanette Antolin, the instant did not come inside
the gym. Instead, Antolin faced her moment of truth in the
off-season, after poor summer school grades warranted a visit to
head coach Valorie Kondos Field’s office.

“It was like an out-of-body experience,” Antolin
said as she described her removal from the team. “It was
almost like she was talking to someone else. I didn’t let it
sink in for about 10 minutes.”

When it finally sank in, Antolin began to reflect on the past
year. As for many freshmen, the freedom of college came too
quickly.

In high school, Antolin’s typical day consisted of waking
at 5:30 to practice gymnastics, followed by school, followed by
more practice. If she still had energy after dinner, she studied;
otherwise, she slept.

To the freshman from Huntington Beach, Westwood was a different
world.

Parties and boys became priorities while training and practice
took a back seat. She grew out of shape, struggled in school and
had little to be happy about.

“My gymnastics went straight downhill, (and) my grades
were slipping,” Antolin said of her first year at UCLA.

When they slipped too far, Kondos Field drew a line and
Antolin’s career seemed at an end.

Many athletes might have taken their removal from the team as a
chance for more freedom. No more early morning workouts allows for
a more typical college social life, something many athletes
crave.

Antolin turned the other way, down the path of faith, education
and hard work.

She studied for and received her personal training
certification, garnering a job at a nearby 24 Hour Fitness. In
between classes during fall quarter, Antolin trained clients four
to five hours a day, keeping busy when she used to be idle.

These days Antolin is busier than usual. Three weeks ago,
sophomore Jamie Dantzscher approached Kondos Field about allowing
Antolin back on the team. The squad was battered by injuries, but
more importantly every team member had seen a transformation in
Antolin.

“Jeanette is back on the team because of life choices she
made,” Kondos Field said.

Kondos Field is quick to stress that Antolin was not asked back
to replace injured teammates, but rather because the sophomore
worked her way back by proving she had changed.

“She would not be on this team if her teammates had not
come to me and asked for her back,” Kondos Field said.

The change is evident in Antolin’s actions as well as her
gymnastics. She smiles more, seems to have spring in her step, and
is mature beyond her 20 years.

“She has a calm about her that she didn’t have last
year,” Kondos Field said. “She is extremely
appreciative of every little thing.”

Kondos Field pointed out that she is in incredible physical
shape as well. This is remarkable considering Antolin never had a
break from gymnastics longer than one week prior to her removal
from the team. While away she worked with assistant coach Milo
Johnson during open gym sessions in Yates Gymnasium. She maintained
hope, even though there was never any mention of her being allowed
back on the squad.

“I feel like I’ve seen her make changes in her life;
she’s kept in shape and she’s been working out in the
gym,” Dantzscher said. “I know how hard that
is.”

Being left off a team is nothing new to Antolin. Though she
competed for the United States world championship team in 1995 and
1997, an ankle injury prevented her from making the 2000 Olympic
squad, leaving her crushed.

Some of the disappointment from missing the Sydney trip trickled
into Antolin’s first year in school, causing some of her
adverse behavior.

“I miss Jeanette,” Dantzscher said. “And not
only that, but we can use her. We can use her on vault, we can use
her on everything.”

When Antolin was removed from the team last summer, she vowed
not to let the disappointment eat at her in the same way.

“I am more responsible for my actions,” she said.
“I used to put things off on other people. Now I know it
starts with me.”

What started with Antolin was a major turnaround for the Bruins
in 2002. Since she rejoined the team they have won two straight
meets, including a season-high score of 197.55 last weekend against
Oregon State.

Though she is competing sparingly, Antolin looks to contribute
in any way she can. She is pounding out a bar routine so she can be
ready as an alternate, and has already competed on the vault.

The reformed sophomore adds depth to a depleted team, but she
also adds hope. Antolin knows that her teammates look at her and
see the changes a person can make.

It just might take a moment of truth.

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