Rising Razorback senior Heather Elswick had a standout 2015 season, earning All-SEC honors on floor as well as the team’s Most Improved Award. It was the product of lots of hard work and a positive mindset during tough workouts. Elswick went into last summer knowing that she wanted to try to make a big impact on the lineups, and that she did. 

 

During the summer, she trained every event including bars, which she hadn’t trained in over a year due to shoulder pain. After all of her efforts, she was able to break into the bars lineup during last season. Elswick shared, “My score counted on about three-fourths of the meets that I competed in. So that was a huge deal for me because I’ve never been the best bar worker.”

 

Elswick is proud of the improvements she has made during her time as a Razorback, but there are still unmet goals to work toward. “For me, just getting better every single year is always exciting. I started my freshman year and we made it to Nationals, and then last year we didn’t and so that kind of drove me to just work extremely hard all last summer and preseason, and to just keep my head up during season no matter what the obstacles were.” Elswick wanted to help the team in any way possible and that meant training all the events, competing whenever she was needed, and making a difference when given the opportunity. “I just wanted to do what I could do best for my team.”

 

Coming off another year of Arkansas missing a bid to Nationals, Elswick said the dedication levels to voluntary training are extraordinarily high. “We know after last year that we don’t want to feel the same way…I don’t want to come out of my senior season upset with not reaching the goals that we had planned.”

 

No matter what happens this year, Elswick can be satisfied with the incredible experiences she has had. “I’ve learned a lot of things about myself and about life through this sport and those are things that I can take on for the rest of my life and use in my career and just in life in general.” Elswick will continue her time with the gymnastics team after next year, as she plans to be the manager while pursuing a master’s degree—most likely in Kinesiology. She hopes to attend PT school after that. 

 

Elswick’s sister Amanda has recently committed to Arkansas for 2018-19 and will be “continuing the legacy” as a Razorback herself. “It will just be exciting to see her do what she loves to do in the same arena that I competed in.”

 

With the depth provided by incoming freshmen, many upgrades in the works, and a devoted group of upperclassmen, the Razorbacks are headed for an exciting year.

All photos courtesy of Razorbacks Communications

 

Related:
SEC Senior Saturday: Caitlin Atkinson - Auburn

SEC Senior Saturday: Mary Beth Box - UGA
SEC Senior Saturday: Marissa Beucler - UK
SEC Senior Saturday: Blair Elmore - Mizzou