Though not on scholarship, Ali Gilmore and Lisa Puccio still have big roles.
The Missouri gymnastics team has had its share of leaders this season. Senior Lauren Schwartzman is ranked second in the country on balance beam. Another senior, Jodie Heinicka, is tied for second on uneven bars, and freshman Adrianne Perry is 15th in the all-around. But when you ask Heinicka about team leadership, two names are at the top of her list: Ali Gilmore and Lisa Puccio.
“They’re the backbone to this team,” Heinicka said.
Gilmore, a junior, and Puccio, a sophomore, aren’t on athletic scholarships. At meets this season, they’ve been competing in an exhibition capacity, meaning their scores don’t count toward the team’s score. And they’re called “walk-ons,” which almost makes it sound like they just wandered into the gym one day and joined the team.
In fact, both have been studying gymnastics since they were 8 years old, and both have been an integral part of the team’s success.
“Even if people on the outside might not see what happens, they are such a valuable part of the team,” Heinicka said. “I wouldn’t be as good of a gymnast without them on the team because they make me better. They push me, and they make me dig deeper on days that I don’t necessarily have it.”
Coach Rob Drass said Gilmore and Puccio are indicative of the depth of the team this season. Both are bars specialists, and have improved substantially since they’ve been with the program.
“Sometimes it’s just someone needs to believe in them and give them an opportunity, and I think these two both have great potential,” he said. “I see them both being able to be competitive in the bar lineup whether it’s later this year or next year.”
But beyond their gymnastics skills, Drass said they also set an example for the team with their dedication.
“They serve as motivators because they do it for the love of the sport — what’s pure about the sport, why you got into the sport to begin with,” he said.
Both women said that while the team has been tremendously supportive, the uncertainty of not knowing whether they will get to compete from week to week has sometimes been a challenge.
“You have a little more pressure on you,” Gilmore said. “A little more weight on your shoulders every week to do well in practice.”
Neither of them has let that get them down, though. Senior Sarah Zigler said they have been two of the most supportive people on the team.
“They’re awesome team members,” Zigler said. “They are supportive of everybody. Ali picks people up when they’re down. Lisa has a great sense of humor.”
Zigler spent her first two years with the Tigers as a walk-on after transferring from Arizona State. This season she was awarded a scholarship and has been a regular on Missouri’s vault and bars lineup. But she remembers well what it was like her first two seasons.
“I feel like it’s definitely harder than being a scholarship athlete,” she said. “You might have to work twice as hard to prove yourself or get in a lineup.”
Gilmore and Puccio have formed a close relationship. In fact, their similarities have become somewhat of a running joke. They even showed up at a recent practice unintentionally wearing the same outfit.
“We’re the only two walk-ons on the team,” Puccio said. “It’s almost like a special bond that the two of us have. We’re both bars specialists, and we’ve been in each other’s shoes before, so we always pretty much know what the other one’s feeling.”
The similarities don’t end there. Both are also outstanding students, being named to the dean’s list and the Big 12 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll for student-athletes.
Gilmore is in the journalism school and hopes to go into advertising. Puccio is studying business and is planning on going to law school.
“I always have my own opinions on things, so that’s something I think I’d be good at,” Puccio said.
Although both are working for a spot on the competitive lineup, their top priority is the team, which this year reached its highest ranking in program history. Entering tonight’s home meet against Centenary, the Tigers are ranked ninth in the country, the fifth time this season they have been among the nation’s top 10.
“My main goal is more for my team than myself,” Gilmore said. “And that is to make it to nationals this year.”